AN innovative scheme has been launched to help people save money on their energy bills - courtesy of their local library.

North Yorkshire County Council has taken delivery of nearly 200 "Smart Meters" - which allow people to monitor their electricity consumption and work out ways of reducing their bills.

And they will be available to borrow from the county’s libraries – just the same as library books, with a three-week free loan period and fines for late returns.

The county’s corporate director of adult and community services, Derek Law, said: "This is a fantastic way for people to check out their power consumption.

"As well as allowing people to cut down on their energy costs – a very important consideration always, and particularly during this time of economic downturn – the meters also help to lower power consumption, thus contributing to the efforts we all need to make to reduce our carbon footprint."

Every library in the county, and every mobile library, will have Smart Meters available for library members.

*The meter functions by measuring and recording the power consumed in a household.

It shows how much electricity costs every month, and also measures the reduction when certain appliances are turned off or turned down. A graph displays consumption split into day, evening and night periods.