Our energy needs and dependence on electricity and gas has increased many folds in the last few decades. We depend on appliances for most of our daily chores. Energy bills and gas bills account for a major spending every month for households. Technically it is very difficult to cut down on energy usage but we can definitely reduce the bills by adopting smarter solutions. One of the easiest ways to do so is by using Smart Meters. These meters give us more control over our energy consumption allowing us to cut down on energy consumption substantially by avoiding wastage of energy.

It has been estimated that every household spends about 54% of the energy for heating and cooling alone and most of the energy wastage occurs in running these appliances. Thus one of the ways to consume lesser energy would be to ensure that our air conditioners and water heaters are used more efficiently. Smart Meters help us in consuming energy efficiently.

Why Are Smart Meters Smart?

The traditional household meters charge us based on the total energy consumption per month. What such meters cannot tell us is how much energy we are consuming during particular phases of a day for instance during the peak hours. Smart meters on the other hand the fees on a per-hour basis. They directly communicate with your energy supplier and ensure that the bills are more accurate helping you pay only for what you use. Let us now take a look at some of the advantages that these meters offer and how we can cut down on the energy consumption in our daily lives.

• These meters give us near real-time information on energy use that is expressed in pounds and pence. When you are armed with this information you can easily cut down on the energy consumption during peak hours when some suppliers charge you a higher tariff.
• Such meters have the ability to manage energy use. All the energy that comes from the supplier to our house in used in a much more efficient way by preventing any leakage. This means that you can save money and reduce emissions for a better future.
• As we have discussed earlier Smarter Meters are bringing an end to estimated billing. The supplier doesn't need to come to your home to get the reading as the meter constantly communicates the same to your supplier. Thus you pay only for what you use.

However switching to Smart Meters alone won't help you reduce energy consumption as you need to adopt more energy efficient appliances and lighting solutions in your home. For example traditional halogen bulbs waste about 80% of the energy as heat and convert only 20% energy into light. Switching to CFLs and LED lights you can cut down on the consumption by about 75%. Maintaining your air conditioners at 77°F/25°C and turning them off before leaving home can also reduce the consumption of energy. You can also alternate between a fan and an AC to reduce energy consumption.

This post is contributed by SpireMT, a leading supplier of Electrical Energy Meters, Handheld Ultrasonic Flow Meter, digital flow meters, water flow meter, Handheld Ultrasonic Flow Meter and many more. For more information visit at http://www.spiremt.com