equiwatt

Households across Oxfordshire are set to benefit from new energy saving trials in Oxfordshire involving equiwatt as part of Project Leo that will reward them with Amazon or John Lewis vouchers worth nearly £200 for simply using less energy at home during peak times of the day.

equiwatt's simple, free to use app connects to household smart meters to earn users points when they switch off or avoid the use of energy intensive appliances, such as fridge freezers, electric car chargers and washing machines, during specific peak time events. Points are rewarded according to the amount of energy and CO2 saved, which can then be exchanged for money saving vouchers.

equiwatt is already a provider to National Grid ESO to enable homes to take part in its Demand Flexibility Services (DFS) trials this winter, but has also joined Project LEO, an ambitious energy trial that is seeking to accelerate the UK’s transition to a zero-carbon energy system. Project LEO is a collaborative project involving businesses including SSEN, academia, social enterprises, and local authorities. The new equiwatt scheme will offer greater energy saving rewards to Oxfordshire residents in postcodes taking part in Project LEO.

Customers of any energy supplier can join the scheme and homes just need a connected smart meter to take part. They can also automate their energy saving to earn points up to the value of £200 a year by linking appliances with smart plugs and connecting smart EV chargers.

The equiwatt team will be out and about around the county this month helping residents keen to take part and cut their energy bills whilst helping to shape the future of greener and more cost-effective local energy management.

Every year, 1,000 homes that connect to the equiwatt service and take part in energy saving events can save 250 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent amount of CO2 as 11,900 trees absorb annually. The more Oxfordshire homes that take part, the greater the collective impact will be on their environment of the future.

Johnson Fernandes, Founder and CEO of Equiwatt, said: “I’m delighted that we’re able to help people across Oxfordshire to earn great rewards for reducing energy usage at the same time as shaping a Net Zero future.”

“With global energy prices remaining exceedingly high, local people want to do all they can to reduce their energy costs, and the technology that we’ve developed makes doing this incredibly easy and rewarding at the same time.”

“National Grid is doing a great job managing the network through its usage reduction scheme, but only a limited number of suppliers are taking part and even if you are with a company that’s part of the scheme you might not be picked to take part.”

“With our technology it doesn’t matter who you get your electricity from, meaning tens of thousands of people across Oxfordshire can save energy, reduce their bills and cut greenhouse emissions.”

Stevie Adams, Senior Project Manager at SSENsaid “Project LEO is a flagship innovation project for SSEN, with established trials in Oxfordshire that are working to build a broad range of reliable evidence of the technological, market and social conditions needed for a greener, more flexible, and fair electricity system. We are delighted that equiwatt has joined the team and are developing opportunities for households to engage with a smart energy system that benefits their own budgets and also supports a net zero future.

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF equiwatt

For further information contact Jason Brown 01325 363436

Editors’ Notes:

equiwatt is a free energy management platform that enables households to reduce emissions and energy usage while earning rewards from big brands like Amazon or John Lewis. Through the equiwatt app, users get notified when there is a period of peak demand and collectively people turn off their high-consumption appliances like fridges, dryers, or electric vehicle (EV) chargers for up to an hour. Households can connect with equiwatt via their existing home technologies like smart meters and smart plugs, giving them greater control over how they use energy and when. Smart plugs make participation automatic, but manually switching off devices works too.

When energy demand is high, there’s a strain on the national grid, and utility companies traditionally respond by powering up expensive, heavily polluting fossil fuel power plants. But, when you have thousands of homes ready to voluntarily turn off in unison, you have what’s known as a ‘Virtual Power Plant’ – something with the equivalent ability to meet the change in national energy demand.

Project Leo is one of the UK’s most ambitious, wide-ranging and innovative energy system projects that will help the Government achieve its legally binding commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Partners include Low Carbon Hub, University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Scottish and Southern Networks, equiwatt, Nuvve, Origami and Piclo; with part-funding from the Industrial Strategy Challenge fund.

https://www.equiwatt.com/

project-leo.co.uk/