Smart meter spin-out

Oxford University's technology transfer arm, Isis Innovation, has announced that a new spin-out company has been formed based on technology developed at the university.

The company, Intelligent Sustainable Energy (ISE), has received funding from Navetas Energy Management to develop a smart meter that will allow households to monitor which individual appliances are consuming electricity in real time and over time, delivering the data in a form most suited to individual consumers, such as a PC or a mobile phone.

The technology was developed by Dr Malcolm McCulloch and his colleague Jim Donaldson in Oxford’s department of engineering. McCulloch explained that the technology is designed to identify both short- and long-term energy savings by providing information about specific appliances in a building.

He said: 'If the amount of electricity your washing machine uses increases considerably, this might indicate that it will be more cost-effective to replace it.

'If there’s a spike in the amount used by the fridge, maybe the door has been left open.'