As our energy system becomes greener, it also needs to become smarter and more flexible to accommodate high volumes of renewable energy. We need to change how and when we use energy, to make the most of times when it’s plentiful – when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, powering solar farms and turbines. To encourage this, a wide range of smart energy options are emerging – schemes and technologies which help people participate in flexible energy use. These include simple devices like smart plugs, kits that help people optimise using low carbon technologies like solar panels or heat pumps, and schemes like the new Demand Flexibility Service. 

These smart energy options come with benefits like convenience and savings on energy bills. But they also risk creating new forms of unfairness as new complexities or costs can exclude some people. So, it’s vital that people have access to impartial advice to help them benefit from smart energy options, and understand how they work and what’s right for their circumstances. 

Piloting a new kind of energy advice 

The Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) was funded by National Grid Electricity Distribution to trial a method for helping people make the most of new options in the smart energy market. We piloted this innovative smart energy advice scheme – known as the Smart Energy Action Plan project – from November 2022 to November 2023. 

We aimed to provide support to households using the smart energy capabilities lens. This theoretical tool was developed as part of CSE’s Smart and Fair research programme. It helps match people with smart energy offerings that they are capable of engaging with. Using this tool, clients could be advised on suitable smart energy options, as well as actions they could take to improve their smart energy capabilities. 

The pilot was successful in helping many people take advantage of smart energy offers. It also provided key learnings that will help us give even more effective smart energy advice in the future. 

Helping people make the most of smart energy options

Through the pilot, we provided tailored advice to people with varied needs, like June and Keith*.

June’s story

June is a housing association tenant. She has rooftop solar panels but when she spoke to us, she expressed frustration that they weren’t helping her to save much money. She also suffers from chronic back pain.  

We gave June advice on how she could shift her electricity use – changing the times when she uses lots of electricity – to make the most of the free power generated by her solar panels. We also recommended that she get some smart plugs. These would enable her to set timers for different appliances to turn on and off throughout the day. They’d also let her control appliances remotely, so she didn’t need to access awkwardly placed power sockets, which triggered her back pain.  

Keith’s story

Keith is a local authority tenant and full-time carer. When he spoke to us, he said he was desperate to reduce his energy bills.  

We gave Keith advice about getting a smart meter and how this could help him monitor his energy use and save money. Keith is digitally confident and often at home during the day, so we also suggested he could benefit from a dynamic time-of-use tariff, which offers cheaper prices for electricity at variable times. We advised that smart plugs could help him control his appliances more easily, so he could make the most of this kind of tariff.  

The difference we made

Following our advice, many people we spoke to have taken up new smart energy options relevant to their priorities and capabilities, some of which they received funding for. These included:  

• Timer and smart plugs.
• Smart heating controls.
• Electric batteries.
• Solar panels.
• Smart Export Guarantee tariffs.

Through making these changes, they have reduced their energy bills and carbon emissions, as well as making their homes more convenient and comfortable. 

I find it really useful, especially if we’re away. We can switch the heating on an hour before we come back and the house will be nice and warm instead of coming into a cold house – that’s always beneficial!  

Smart energy advice recipient

Receiving smart energy advice has also helped people improve their smart energy capabilities. Some of the people we supported have installed smart meters. Others have learnt new digital skills and tips for making the most of low-carbon technologies. Many have also benefited from understanding more about energy usage in their home, and how usage can be shifted to different times of the day. 

It’s made an amazing difference to how I think of my home. I think of it now as a much smarter home than I did before.

Smart energy advice recipient

Improving smart energy advice options

This scheme trialled a new kind of offer in the UK energy advice landscape. It evidenced that providing this kind of support is possible and that there is a real need for it. 

The pilot also highlighted the benefits of using a capabilities approach in providing smart energy advice. This kind of detailed, bespoke support is crucial for ensuring we provide the right advice to clients in an emerging market in which information can be dynamic and complex. 

Our approach was particularly effective in supporting clients who already had or were thinking about installing low-carbon technologies. It was also highly beneficial for clients with health conditions such as limited mobility or visual impairment.  

This pilot enabled CSE to combine our experience supporting people in fuel poverty with expertise from our Smart and Fair research teams. We’re acutely aware of how many people are at risk of being left behind in the transition to a smarter, greener energy system and hope the learnings from this project will inform a fairer, more inclusive transition.

Karn Shah, Senior Project Manager

The pilot underlined the need for robust training for advisors providing smart energy support. This will be a key focus for future rollout of the project. 

The broader energy context also offers challenges. Smart meters are key to unlocking smart energy benefits. But recent news stories about suppliers remotely switching smart meters to prepayment mode have eroded trust in this technology. In the cost-of-living crisis, some very vulnerable clients may also have limited capacity to engage in a new area of advice. Finding ways of making smart energy advice meaningful for these groups will be a key aim for future work.