University of Oxford spin out Intelligent Sustainable Energy (ISE) is to make electricity meters so smart that they can recognise which domestic appliance is operating at any time.
"We would aim to recognise the majority of appliances in the average house uniquely, and how much electricity they are using," said CTO Jim Donaldson. "This will help people understand where their energy is being used - like an itemised phone bill."
The technique solely analyses the supply at the meter. There are no separate metering points, and appliances are not modified.
"You can buy smart plugs to monitor individual sockets, but that is not what we do," said Donaldson. "Most people aren't going to fit out the house with loads of plugs."
Instead, the firm's intellectual property covers algorithms that interpret mains voltage and current waveforms. "It is artificial intelligence - pattern recognition," said Donaldson, who would not go into any more detail.
Some arbitrary limits have been placed on development. The company is for now ignoring items that consume less than 10W, and "there is not an awful lot of value in working out which make of kettle has just been turned on", said Donaldson. "Although in certain circumstances you could recognise the brand."
He has teamed up with Dr Malcolm McCulloch from the University to develop the technology, and funding for ISE has been provided by energy management company Navetas. Oxford University's technology transfer firm Isis Innovation identified Navetas as an investor and will licence the intellectual property to ISE.
"Navetas will play a role of more than just investors in this technology. We will also be providing commercial expertise in the field of energy management and smart metering," said Navetas Energy Management director Chris Shelley. "Consumers need a device that provides information which they can actually act upon to reduce their energy consumption, and a smart meter that is clever enough to provide this level of useful detail."
A prototype smart meter has been tested at the University of Oxford.
ISE plans further trials, to refine the design to industrialise smart metering products, and to offer licenses where appropriate to commercial partners in various parts of the world.
It is anticipated that meters with the technology will be on the market by 2010.