Shell Energy Retail has partnered with Cambridge-based smart energy specialist Geo to deliver a trial of its Trio + Heating system to Shell Energy customers’ homes.
The partners’ project was selected as part of the Smart Energy Savings (SENS) Innovation Competition run by BEIS.
The trial will understand whether better insights about energy use and the direct impact that heating and hot water has on bills will help customers make decisions that can reduce energy consumption and bills.
Shell Energy is running the trial with 600 customers until September 2022.
With a full year of data, the results will help Shell, BEIS and geo to understand how smart thermostats and energy insights can change customer behaviour and in turn reduce energy consumption.
The geo device is unique to the market as it combines a smart thermostat with an IHD, allowing customers to control their heating and hot water via a smart phone and understand how much it costs.
They can also set an energy budget to manage their heating within a certain price range.
Shell Energy head of product Elvin Nagamootoo said: “We hope to understand whether combining insights and control together in a single device can lead to effective energy saving improvements for customers, without impacting comfort.
“Adding more flexibility and control into homes and improving energy efficiency is one part of the journey to Net Zero.
“But we need to bring customers on the journey and make it a compelling and beneficial experience for them.”