Almost £9 million has been awarded to innovation projects across SMEs, schools and colleges seeking to use smart meter data to allow for greater control of energy use as part of the government’s industrial strategy.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) awarded the funding to nine UK-based competition winners ranging from small energy management companies to tech giants like Samsung and Toshiba.
The £8.8 million will be used to develop smart information systems for restaurants and other hospitality businesses as well as educational facilities that will offer real-time, tailored data on their energy use to help them save money by being more efficient.
The winning projects include:
RAE2 BY ANDtr – increasing awareness of energy consumed at near to real-time by using data from smart/advanced Meters to offer software that can visualise energy usage and push alerts or recommendations.
Element Energy – develop, demonstrate and pilot an online and mobile friendly tool providing energy management services including real-time comparative feedback on consumption, provision of a range of customer-specific energy saving analysis and advice, and a direct demand-side response (DSR) engagement facility.
The Energy Saving Catalyst Platform for SMEs by Pilio – building an energy management tool into an integrated platform and marketplace to enable retailers, hospitality and small businesses to reduce energy consumption and save money.
hub4 for SMEs by Toshiba – Using historical and live consumption data from smart meters to provide clear and accurate energy usage information, before allowing users to set and track performance against monthly energy budgets; receive energy saving advice and estimated savings from each action; and a forecast of future consumption.
The funding is aimed at reducing the energy consumption of the hospitality, retail and education sectors, which are thought to equal the demand of 4.3 million homes.
Minister for energy and clean growth Claire Perry said: “The scale of the ambition displayed by the winning projects demonstrates that the UK is ready to lead the world when it comes to helping smaller businesses understand their energy use through smart systems.
“Smart meters are an opportunity for us to rewrite the rules on how we engage with the energy market and these winners will ensure that the benefits can be felt by businesses and schools as well as homes.”
Over 11 million smart meters are in operation in homes and small businesses around Great Britain, with an aim for all 52 million to be offered and potentially installed by 2020.