Like a lot of people in her generation, graphic designer Kylie is passionate about protecting the environment. She believes that the key to cutting down carbon emissions and reducing global warming is personal responsibility – individuals taking charge of their own energy consumption.

For that reason, Kylie jumped at the chance to have a smart meter system installed in her home. The Estonian-developed equipment and accompanying software not only monitors her consumption habits, it gives her more control over her energy use than ever before.

Whether at home, at work or on the train, Kylie can open her laptop, make a few mouse clicks and get hour-by-hour data on how much electricity she's been using. If there's a way to cut down, she'll find it.

More importantly, the system lets her compare various offers by electricity providers and choose between them. She can instantly see what new deals are available, and which package entails the highest percent of renewable energy.

While logged in, she can also shop for energy-saving products, like a fridge that uses half the wattage of her old model.

And for Kylie, the fact that no meter reader has to drive to her house, burning fuel along the way, is another bonus of the system. Every little bit counts.