28th April 2010, Bglobal plc (AIM:BGBL), the leading UK smart metering and energy data company is delighted to announce that its new Smart1 meter is ready for mass residential market roll out across the UK from today.
The Smart1 offers both COP10 compliance for the UK business market and MID approval for roll out across the UK and all EU countries. Deploy Smart-Ready or Smart-Now, it's your choice.
The Smart1 is a full-specification, modular, communications agnostic, ZigBee-enabled single-phase electricity meter designed specifically to service the needs of energy suppliers and distribution networks serving the SME and residential metering markets across Europe.
The Smart1’s revolutionary design delivers future-proofing against communications change-risk (whether regulatory or technologically driven) as well as compelling cost-saving advantages in the installation process.
Bglobal announced earlier this month that it had received Measuring Instruments Directive (“MID”) and UK specific regulatory approval for the Smart1.The MID (2004/22/EC) is a directive by the European Union (EU) which creates a common market for measuring instruments across the 27 countries of the EU. Meters which receive MID approval may be used in all countries across the EU. Further, the use and performance of Electricity Meters in the UK is governed by Schedule 7 of the Electricity Act, 1989 and supporting legislation. The Smart1 has gained approval for all the requirements referenced by this legislation.
The Smart1 has been designed by Bglobal’s Research and Development team located in Lancashire, UK and Brisbane, Australia, and leverages Bglobal’s deep understanding of the needs of UK energy supply customers and end-users alike. Bglobal’s partners in South East Asia are producing the communications and modem modules whilst Singapore-based EDMI, a long time partner of Bglobal, will produce the meter component exclusively for Bglobal, leveraging their extensive experience in making high-performance smart meters for global markets.
Click
here for the Smart1 brochure and specification.
Chief Executive Officer, Tony Barnes, said: “The design of the meter offers unprecedented flexibility and significantly de-risks aspects of the UK residential roll out which is likely to be delaying the decision by some utility suppliers to commence early rollout of meters to homes and small businesses across the UK. By properly separating the communications and metering components and a using wireless interface (patent pending), a world first for metering, it is possible to roll out a fully compliant smart-ready Smart1 meter without a communications module today (Smart Ready) and return to it in months or years and make it Smart-Now for a fraction of the cost that the utilities who are currently rolling out fully-smart products have to bare at the moment.
“The Smart1 marks a revolution in metering, and one in which utilities can participate today. Utility companies which want to forge ahead with residential market smart metering can deploy the Smart1 right now and know it reduces their exposure to technological and regulatory risk."
Chief Technology Engineer Andrew Thomas, comments: “The Smart1 meter has been built from the ground up specifically for the UK Market although it is perfectly suited to other markets. Not only does the product meet the needs of both the business market and current residential requirements (SRSM Specification) for electricity metering, it is a modular future-proof platform that will continue to deliver benefits over the entire lifetime of the asset.
"We have built a data-centric smart metering architecture that not only delivers electricity metering, but also supports Dual Fuel and Gas only installs.
"We have shifted the focus of the smart metering system from the meter to the data and communications (the Smart1's Top Hat™ hub being a crucial part of this). This shift makes the Smart1 meter more cost effective, inherently more reliable and minimises the effect of technology change on the metering device itself."
For demonstrations of the Smart1 or to engage more deeply with Bglobal on the Smart-Ready opportunity,
contact us today here.
Smart-Ready or Smart-Now, it's your choice.