A government-funded smart meter trial led to a dramatic reduction in average annual energy bills, while at the same time decreasing consumers’ carbon footprints.
The small-scale Core4Grid trial took place over two years and concluded in February 2021. It was given just under £1 million by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) as part of a £9.78 million grant competition.
Core4Grid involved 24 EDF customers and used smart energy specialist Geo’s whole home optimisation solution along with data collected from their smart meters to manage assets such as rooftop solar generation and batteries, with the latter having been installed in every home by Geo.
The solution connected to the smart meters and used machine learning to assess how best to use EDF’s GoElectric 98 smart energy tariff and any energy being generated.
From this it would accurately calculate the homes’ power needs. The system used that information to balance stored and self-generated energy, minimising waste, costs and household carbon emissions.
The system can rapidly increase or reduce the amount of electricity drawn from the grid to utilise renewable energy when it is most abundant and reduce stress on the grid during peak times.
Announcing the results today (20 July) Geo revealed that on average households saved 49 per cent on their annual energy bills and cut their carbon footprint by 14 per cent.
Steve Cunningham, chief executive of Geo, said: “The Core4Grid trial is the clearest proof to date of the immense potential of Great Britain’s smart meter rollout to homes across the country.
“Whole home optimisation is driven by real-time smart meter data, allowing us to predict and balance individual household energy usage to save consumers far more than UK government had initially estimated for the rollout.
“This moves theory into practice and clearly shows how households can actively – and automatically – reduce their carbon footprint, reduce their bills and at the same time, play a critical part in the drive towards net zero.”
Camilla McCorkell, head of Blue Lab Proposition Innovation at EDF, said: “We’re very pleased to see such great results from the trial, showing how smart meters can enable whole house optimisation
“This means customers can utilise cheaper, zero carbon off-peak energy through our GoElectric tariff, and store energy to heat and electrify their homes or electric vehicles throughout the day.
“This extracts significant value for both customers – as we can see from the savings – and the grid, as the data allows us to predict supply and demand, helping customers reduce their emissions in the UK’s transition towards net zero by 2050.”
Energy minister Lord Callanan said: “Millions of households are already benefiting from smart meters that are putting them in charge of their energy use and cutting their bills.
“Now, thanks to almost £1 million of government funding, the Core4Grid trial is showing how smart meters can link to other innovative technologies to further drive down costs for homeowners and help tackle climate change by effectively managing their energy needs.”