The new smart meter rollout in the UK is marked by a national campaign, called The Campaign for a Smarter Britain, aimed at helping people understand smart meters, the national rollout and how to use their new meters to get gas and electricity under control. For this purpose, a series of adverts have been released, urging people to contact their energy supplier and have their free smart meter installed.
One of the most recent spots, titled “Save your energy for powering cities,” informs that, “if we all got a smart meter, we could save enough energy to power every home in Aberdeen, Cardiff, and Manchester for a year.” “Save your energy for powering Britain,” the voiceover says on the 20-second ad, which features a variety of persons using water to brush their teeth, the cooker to make breakfast, the vacuum cleaner, the washing machine, and more. Teenagers having fun at a party, a youngster relaxing in the bathtub with headphones on, a mother reading to her child a bedtime story are also seen before the lights in a flat are turned off, at night.
At the end of the spot, which is soundtracked by the 2018 single “Wriggle” by vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cosmo Sheldrake, from his debut album, “The Much Much How How and I,” the voiceover urges viewers to contact their energy supplier about getting their free smart meter.
Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters coming with an in-home display screen that shows you exactly how much energy you’re using in pounds and pence, in near real time, how much energy was used in the last hour, week, and month (and what it cost), whether your electricity use is high, medium or low and will give updates in almost real time for electricity and every half hour for gas. Installed by energy suppliers in every household in England, Scotland, and Wales, they will bring an end to estimated bills, since they show a digital meter reading and automatically send the reading to your energy supplier at least once a month. Everyone will be offered the opportunity to upgrade to a smart meter by their energy supplier. Smart meters will be provided and fitted by your energy supplier, along with a handheld in-home display, at no extra cost.
