There’s a technology revolution coming to millions of homes across Europe in the next decade – and a Cambridge Cluster firm is determined to be a key player in it, with the help of UK Trade & Investment.

As part of an EU-wide roll-out of new ‘smart’ electricity and gas meters, consumers will get basic user-friendly monitors providing a range of information designed to make them more aware of how much energy is being used, enabling them to contribute to achieving a big cut in domestic CO2 emissions and be in control of their own expenditure.

In the UK alone, there should be 47 million of these new new-look meters in 26 million properties by 2020, monitoring power consumption and sending readings back to the HQs of utility companies – making that knock on the door from an inspector wanting to read your gas and electricity meter a thing of the past.

Green Energy Options has already sold 1.4 million of these gadgets mainly marketed or sold by the power companies themselves – and from next year they will become an even more familiar feature in homes, thanks to the EU initiative.

But GEO Vice-President Rachel Bennett says these displays, simply providing information in-home, on line and by mobile are just the beginning and the idea of turning the lights, cooker or heating on or off remotely is fast becoming fact, not science fiction. And displaying water consumption is next in the pipeline.

She says: “As energy prices have risen and households have looked for ways to manage their resources more efficiently, displays became more popular.

“To begin with we were talking about making energy visible. But now we’re making energy engaging as well by adding more features, like the ability to access information on websites, providing you with some element of control over appliances and indeed the whole of your home – either online or through mobile phones.”

Nine out of 10 sales at the moment are in Britain but GEO also markets its range of display monitors and online services to energy companies in Scandanavia and countries like Germany, Portugal, Poland, and, further afield, Australia.

There are 35 staff at its Hardwick headquarters near Cambridge and a small satellite office at Potsdam in Germany, looking after design and sales, with the devices being manufactured in China.

Bennett said: “It was very helpful as a new company with limited budgets to be able to tap into the enormous opportunities that UKTI could bring.

“Using its Passport to Export programme, for instance, we could get staff trained on the basics of working overseas, which I would not have had the time to do myself. And we have been able to get UKTI grants to enable us to go to exhibitions abroad to promote our products.”

John Tingle, trade team manager of UK Trade & Investment, says: “UKTI is keen to help innovative companies with high growth potential to maximise that potential in the export arena.

“We are delighted to have supported Green Energy Options with UKTI programmes and those available under our EU-supported Envirotrade programme to help them reach key decision makers and more than double its staff through export-related activities. We continue to work with GEO and are confident of their continued success in the future.”

• PHOTOGRAPH SHOWS: Prince Charles with Rachel Bennett from Green Energy Options, Antonio Mexia of EDP Portugal and Miguel Stilwell, head of the Smart City project in Evora, Portugal.