Birmingham residents are saving the planet, and cash, thanks to an international energy project.

Twenty households in Summerfield have signed up to a pilot scheme which has seen Family Housing Association install special smart meters in their homes to help them understand more about how much energy they are using and how they can reduce their usage and cut their energy bills.

By testing the ‘Digital Environment Home Energy Management System’, in Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Bulgaria, the Save Your Energy project hopes to develop a user-friendly smart meter product for use in homes across Europe.

As part of the Save Your Energy project, Family Housing Association has worked with local households to fit the smart meters, and is supporting residents to use the system, which includes an online facility to calculate energy use patterns and the households’ carbon footprint.

The association has also set up focus groups to enable the Summerfield residents taking part to meet up and give their views on how easy the meters are to operate, whether they are useful and effective, what they like about them and how they could be improved to make them more useful and user-friendly.

Initial feedback shows that residents found the smart meter helped them understand more about how they use energy in their household and prompted them to make changes in order to reduce their consumption and save money. Simple measures including not leaving equipment on stand-by, reducing the temperature on the washing machine down to 30 degrees and only filling kettles with the amount of water actually needed have slashed bills and energy use.

Chris Vaughan, Secretary of the Summerfield Residents' Association, and his family are one of those who have taken part in phase one of the project.

He said: “We’ve become much more aware of our energy use and now have a tighter rein on how we use electricity around the house. By using the meter we can see how small changes can make a difference, so for example which appliances use the most power and what time it is best to run the washing machine to get the cheaper tariff. You certainly notice when the family is round on a Sunday now!

“It has helped save us money and enabled us to get into the energy-saving habit. The feedback sessions have been extremely useful and a good way to get tips to cut down our usage further. We’ve given ideas for further improvements to the system, and look forward to taking part in phase two.”

Family Housing is working closely with Digital Birmingham - Birmingham City Council – which is managing the Birmingham side of the project, Be Birmingham (Birmingham’s local strategic partnership) and Summerfield Residents’ Group. Households in Manchester and Bristol are also taking part in this project, with households in Bulgaria joining in and testing the smart meters from November.

The ultimate intention of the European Union funded project is to reduce household energy consumption and help cut carbon emissions.

Phase one of the scheme ended in June, with feedback gathered from residents now being used to develop version two of the smart meter. The revised smart meter will be installed in the 20 Summerfield households as well as 30 further households in South Lozells. The project will be completed in autumn 2010.

Claire Hardwick, head of community investment at Family Housing Association, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer residents the chance to take part in this valuable project. As well as learning more about their own households’ energy usage and how to reduce this and cut their bills, participating households are also providing valuable feedback about the smart meters which is helping the designers develop more effective and user-friendly equipment.

“We are committed to helping residents keep their fuel costs down, as well as enabling Birmingham to meet its carbon targets, and this scheme is just one part of that pledge.”

The project builds on other eco-work already pioneered by Family Housing Association, including the delivery of the Green Doctor / Home Energy Advisor service, the installation of solar panels on homes in Summerfield and South Lozells and the de-conversion of older properties into energy-efficient homes.