Scots mum's energy saving idea wins her inventor's award

Apr 16 2008 By Samantha Booth

Tanya Ewing FULL

TWO years ago,mum Tanya Ewing would never have believed she would one day be named as British Female Inventor of the Year.

Then, she was a former dental nurse and sales executive, who could no longer work because of the debilitating condition Lyme disease and had also just started a three-month cycle of IVF.

She is also dyslexic, with only a handful of O-Levels to her name.

But none of that stopped her when she came up with the idea for a real-time energy monitor.

Now, two years down the line, her innovative creation, known as Ewgeco, has just won her the title of British Female Inventor of the Year.

It all started with a simple spark of inspiration when Tanya and her husband, George, received a particularly large gas bill.

She said: "When the bill arrived one morning, I couldn't believe how expensive it was.

"The amount of gas used on my bill was in cubic metres, which meant nothing to me, so I went out to take a look at the meter. I noticed the gas was kilowatt hours on the meter, which confused me even more.

"It was also a really cold day and, when I got back into the house, it struck me that it would be great to have some kind of simple device to monitor your gas and electricity usage from inside.

"I started trawling through the internet to find something that did just that but there seemed to be nothing available.

"I couldn't really believe it because I thought it was such an obvious idea.

"I contacted the Innovators Counselling and Advisory Service for Scotland and they told me there was nothing like it on the market."

From there, Tanya's idea simply took off.

With the help of ICASS, she went the to E D Technology Support Centre, who were able to tell her the technology was all there to make her invention, it was just a matter of putting it together in a way that had never been done before. Tanya said: "I had never invented anything before. I have never been to university. I have no engineering or industrial design background and I am dyslexic. But I just thought, let's go for it."

Her excitement about the development of her idea was only overshadowed by the news she was pregnant with twins.

Sadly, though, she lost one twin early on in her pregnancy. But despite her own personal heartache, she bravely kept pushing forward with the development.

She said: "I actually saw developing the idea as a distraction from the IVF because it is not the most pleasant of procedures.

"I got encouragement from everyone I met. Nobody questioned why I was inventing something when I was about to be become a mum.

"Of course, it was upsetting to lose one of the twins but, in a way, I looked on it as ablessing because one foetus was always much smaller than the other. I was just happy to still have one baby and he is now a 14-month-old cutie called Coll."

The Ewegeco "talks" wirelessly with utility meters to give clear, simple readings of energy usage on traffic light-style displays.

It is going into production this month and is set to revolutionise how homes and businesses use their gas, water and electricity.

It is little wonder, with increasing fuel costs and a greater emphasis than ever on environmental issues, that Tanya's idea impressed the judges at the British Female Inventor and Innovator of the Year Awards in Cardiff last month.

Tanya said: "When they announced my name as the winner, I started to cry because I was in so much shock.

"I went because I hoped to be encouraged by all the inspirational women who would be there. But I never thought for a moment I would win.

"I want people to be aware of it because I am really into trying to help people cut their utility bills and I believe the Ewgeco can do that.

"After all, I have produced something with the end user in mind because I am an end user myself."

Tanya hopes the Ewgeco will be on the market by the end of the year.

For information visit www.ewgeco.com.