Graphic and Alphanumeric Display for Utility Monitor

摘要

A method of monitoring resources, e.g. for electricity, water and gas, comprises monitoring usage of the resource and comparing this to expected or optimal resource usage to provide a consumption indicator for display 26. A block 30 of a display has fifteen bar sections having an LED. The lower bars have a green light, middle bars have an orange light and top bars have a red light to provide a traffic light warning system. A bar is lit and expanded in size to clearly indicate currant resource usage compared to expected consumption and alphanumeric characters display further information. The monitoring may be continuous or split into a series of consecutive time periods. The expected resource usage may be pre-programmed, input by the user or calculated by the system. The user interface may comprise numerical outputs and light sources to draw the users attention. The display may be continuously updated or updated at set time intervals. Thus relative and actual output are displayed together.