Yello Strom, a subsidiary of the third largest German utility, is banking on the idea that broadband connections will transform how consumers use energy. “There’s close to a revolution happening,” said Martin Vesper, executive director of Yello Strom, regarding the combination of the Internet and energy management.
The Internet has already revolutionised how consumers access and consume media, purchase products, work, and communicate. It’s not much of a stretch to consider what broadband Internet can do for energy conservation and the environment. Yello Strom believes the energy revolution will redefine the role utilities play as well.
Germany’s energy industry is deregulated and open to competition. The emergence of Yello Strom reflects the need to innovate in order to attract customers. Germans are free to choose what company will provide their energy. Realising that consumers want more than the lowest rate from their utility, new and revolutionary products and services have become available as a result. Deregulation demands that utilities differentiate from one another to survive. After all, prices can only be lowered to a certain point.
Yello Strom has developed and marketed its own smart meters after finding disappointment in what was available, according to Vesper. Called the Sparzähler meter [savings meter], the device was built upon the Microsoft Windows CE operating system and includes a Web server and client application.
With that kind of processing power, the Sparzähler meter is more expensive than your typical smart meter but customers have the option to rent the device at price ranges that depend upon the type of services desired. The services, which cost between €3.99 and €8.00 monthly, can also be included the purchase price of a new home. Once again, these costs aren’t forced on German consumers – homeowners have the choice to participate and Vesper says that many are.
Since the Sparzähler meter first became available in December of last year, sales have hovered between 100 and 200 a day. While those numbers don’t approach the size and scope of the Pacific Gas & Electric smart meter project in California, the sales to reflect a market that is eager to actively participate in managing energy consumption. “Those with the biggest interest in managing energy will buy it,” said Vesper.
Building around a broadband connection guarantees that Yello Strom’s consumers will have fast access to their energy usage information. Other utilities are building their own proprietary networks utilising various wireless protocols or rent access to telecom networks. Vesper says that Yello Strom makes consumption data available to customers within 10 minutes while other utilities may only make this information available once a day. Researchers at Stanford University’s Precourt Energy Efficiency Centre found that the more current the data is for energy consumers the more active their role will be in managing their consumption.
Building around public networks is a much more cost-effective option than developing a proprietary one. It’s also much easier to introduce new services, such as the new Twitter application. The Sparzähler meter has a Twitter account that is automatically updated with energy consumption data. When a consumer “follows” the account, Twitter pushes the Sparzähler meter’s “tweets” and the customer is prompted to read them. Vesper says that the service can also be integrated with Microsoft’s Hohm when it becomes available.
http://www.smartmeters.com/the-news/573-yello-strom-brings-smart-metering-to-twitter.html
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