SENS reports published
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have published the reports on the impacts from the Smart Energy Savings (SENS) trials of innovative feedback products on domestic energy consumption. SERL supported the trials by collecting and providing access to smart meter data to the evaluators.
A series of seven documents were released on 9th June 2023 detailing the findings from the project to evaluate energy saving initiatives, including an overall report, a technical report, and reports on the five project products that were trialled.
The project
SENS ran from February 2019 to March 2022, having been extending for one year to due to COVID-19. The project looked at the energy-saving effects of five innovation product projects, namely:
- Smart EnergySmart Thermostat (SEN-ST)
- Combining Gamification with energy insights to create an energy-saving mobile app
- More Effective and Efficient Thermal comfort with Smart meter data (MEETS)
- Smart Local Energy Markets with Smart Meters (SENS Energy Local)
- Intelligent Digital Energy Advisory (IDEAS)
The evaluation
A Trial Design and Evaluation Lead (TDEL) team was set up, led by Ipsos MORI and featuring the Energy Saving Trust, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the University of Edinburgh to evaluate the impact of the projects. SERL’s role was to collect and provide access to the smart meter data of the homes participating in the trials (with their fully informed consent).
Findings
Overall the SENS project showed that providing additional feedback to consumers on how they are using energy in their homes can deliver additional energy savings on top of those generated by smart meters alone. The project also showed an interest from trialists in learning more about their energy consumption in order to reduce costs and wasted energy.
SENS provided an early example of the important work SERL can do to support government analysis of energy consumption by providing recent and detailed data in order for policy makers to be able to make evidence-informed decisions on energy saving initiatives.
Access the reports
For the full reports see the DESNZ website