Appliances and lights that turned on and off autonomously used to be the hallmarks of great horror movies. But like so many “working stiffs” in this flat economy, spectres and poltergeists are pounding the pavement, having recently been replaced by advanced technology.

In fact, across the pond, a pre-programmable, energy efficient smart home platform has been developed through a collaboration between OnStream, a U.K.-based  metering company, and Telenor Connexion, a Swedish machine-to-machine developer. During periods of peak electric consumption, smart appliances on the platform will automatically power down, saving the homeowner money and effort.

OnStream, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Grid plc, has already has deployed more than of 3 million standalone smart  gas meters and 1.7 million independent smart electricity meters in homes and businesses throughout the United Kingdom; and is based in Solihull, West Midlands.  Stockholm-based Telenor (News - Alert) Connexion, a leader in premium machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for business and life critical applications, has been working alongside OnStream for more than two years, providing the connectivity for the new smart meters.

The partnership for the smart metering rollout in the United Kingdom included development and extensive piloting in multiple markets. A trial at 2,000 British homes in conjunction with two major energy suppliers (npower and Scottish and Southern Energy) was conducted in 2010.

Sharon Rodriguez, director at OnStream, said, “Smart meters and smart grids will be a key part of Britain’s energy future. Our new meters are a major breakthrough in the technology, and a significant development toward making smart grids a reality. [They offer] our customers— the energy suppliers —a significant step forward in both technology and service.”

The gas and electric meters offer a combination of unique benefits:

• WAN and LAN communications: Both meters have integrated WAN (wide area network) and LAN (local area network0 communications allowing them to work independently of one another and offering suppliers maximum flexibility with their customers. Local area communications also enable the meters to communicate with in-home displays and smart appliances.
• Energy efficiency: The new electricity meter uses low levels of electricity, giving it a power consumption of only 0.6 watts when fully operational.
• Smart grid functionality: The meter supports demand-side management, can accurately record the true energy consumed at every endpoint, and monitor the supply frequency.
• Roaming SIM: The new meters also feature a roaming SIM (mobile phone SIM cards that operate on more than one network within their home country), allowing the meters to detect the strongest available mobile network to transmit information to and from energy suppliers.

“Connectivity will be a key element to success in the smart rollout and, therefore, Telenor Connexion, renowned for their coverage and reliability, was the logical choice for the future commercial rollout of our smart metering offering. We selected Telenor due to their consistent and proactive support as well as their high level of technical knowledge and operational flexibility,”commented  Keith Hawkins, Strategy and Smart Development manager, OnStream.

“OnStream’s high-quality solution will play a part in the development of smart metering deployment in the U.K. over the coming years. The new connected smart meters are significant in the development toward making smart grids a reality”, said Dean Woods, head of Region U.K. & Ireland at Telenor Connexion.