AlertMe links up with British Gas for home energy management trial

By Martin LaMonica on 21 July 2009, 11:39am

UK home-monitoring maker AlertMe has announced a trial service that will allow British Gas New Energy customers to control their central heating from the Web or mobile phone.

AlertMe makes a home energy-monitoring system built around a Zigbee home-area network. A cube-shaped hub acts as a central control point and separate devices, including smart plugs, communicate with the hub.

The British Gas trial, which is expected to be available by the end of the year, is designed to allow people to program their home heating systems to shave their bills.

People can view consumption data via a Web site and change settings from a phone. For example, a person can turn on the heat remotely or change the settings when going on holiday using a key fob.

AlertMe, which raised £8m in venture capital earlier this year, is developing a system for controlling home electricity use and home security systems as well.

There are growing number of home energy monitoring tools to give people more detailed information so they can reduce consumption or control their appliances.

Rather than rely on smart meters as a communications gateway, AlertMe's hub connects to the Internet and smart plugs transfer data to the hub.

In the British Gas trial, consumers who choose to participate pay for the equipment, which ranges in cost from £149 to £399. There is a monthly subscription of £10 for advanced monthly services, such as mobile phone access, or a pay-as-you-go option. Find out more at AlertMe's Web site.