Changeworks has been awarded £100,000 to explore the feasibility of delivering a smart home energy project that will benefit low income and vulnerable households.
The Smart Tenant Smart Home service will provide end-to-end support to registered social landlords and offer smart, flexible energy for tenants by understanding their energy usage and needs, then maximising when it’s available on a cheaper rate from their supplier.
The £100,000 award is part of the Inclusive Smart Solutions (ISS) programme, a £2.75m programme funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and led by Energy Systems Catapult.
When developing the service idea, the Changeworks team were able to lean on their vast experience of the home energy sector to understand some of the challenges social housing providers face.
One of the main challenges is the implementation and funding needed for energy efficiency improvements. By enabling social housing providers to plan, finance, install, and operate smart building systems, Changeworks’ project plans to help overcome these barriers.
Using a smart building operating system made by smart local energy systems experts Scene Connect, individual parts of a low carbon system like batteries, electric heating and smart appliances will be able to work together. This will manage energy demand and supply to reduce energy consumption and cut costs.
Changeworks will be seeking to work with registered social landlord partners to co-create and develop the business model, engaging with landlords and tenants along the way.
External partner TPXimpact are interviewing social tenants to understand attitudes towards new technologies, and how they can adapt to new systems, alongside Carbon Trust who are seeking the expert advice of various stakeholders to inform the service viability including financiers, energy companies and social landlords.
Changeworks’ Retrofit Strategic Development Manager, Sam Cribb, commented: “We are delighted to be awarded this funding and be able to now move forward and develop a business model that allows us to implement a product that will have real, tangible benefit to social tenants.
“There is a direct link between Scotland achieving its net zero goals and the fuel poverty crisis we are currently experiencing. Being able to help and protect those most susceptible to fluctuating energy markets is the first step of the journey, and we look forward to engaging with tenants and landlords over the coming months.”
Alex Schlicke, Director at Scene Connect, said: “We have developed software which can provide smart control over household energy, and we want to make this accessible to those who need it most.
“Working with Changeworks, we are using our energy simulations capability to model how low-income and vulnerable tenants use energy in their homes, identify the best combination of low-carbon measures to install, and then develop optimised energy control strategies.
“This programme provides an opportunity to work with social landlords to help them meet their housing energy standards, and to support their tenants to have healthier and warmer homes and reduce fuel poverty.”
Find out more about the Inclusive Smart Solutions programme.