Working Smarter: Realising the Potential of Smart Meters in Business Sam Ibbott

1. Working Smarter: Realising the Potential of Smart Meters in Business Sam Ibbott Deputy Public Affairs Director, EIC Sustainability Live, 3rd April 2014

2. About the Environmental Industries Commission • EIC is the lead trade organisation lobbying for the continuing growth of the UK’s environmental technologies and services sector. • Our mission is to provide this sector with a strong and effective voice with government (in all its forms) – promoting a strong domestic market and export opportunities abroad.

3. Project Programme • Industry-led project aimed at understanding how maximum energy and cost savings can be realised from smart meter rollout • Research undertaken by EIC and Acclaro Advisory, and included a questionnaire, workshops and one to one interviews to capture industry views • Project commenced in September 2013 following discussions and agreement with DECC

4. Scope of the research • The project is focused on non-domestic buildings – typically SMEs of fewer than 250 people (smart meter class 3 and 4). However, these meter classes are defined by the amount of energy used in a building, rather than size of organisation – so bank branches would be included, for example. • Project aims to understand how to deliver energy efficiency from data generated:

5. Smart meters • Smart meters provide real-time feedback on energy usage and costing, and automatically send electronic readings to the energy supplier. Measurements on total gas and electricity consumption is taken in half hour, daily, weekly, monthly, or annual time slots. • Smart meters are installed ‘free of charge’ by energy suppliers under the national upgrade programme, with the cost of the meter being recouped through energy bills.

6. Smart meters – perception of benefits Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

7. Research looked at four main areas: • Energy management within an organisation • Data requirements • Customer interface • Delivering behaviour change

8. Energy Management • Typically, energy is managed for larger organisations by an Energy Manager – a role developed to meet energy reporting requirements rather than focus on efficiency measures. • Efficiency measures commonly implemented and managed by maintenance team – a split can sometimes occur between where data resides and the implementation of activities. Similar problems with landlord-tenant spaces. • For smaller businesses, energy management is a general manger’s role, and receives limited time and attention.

9. Energy Management research findings • A sensitive segmentation of the market and differing needs/solutions is required – from single sites to multi-property portfolios. • A taxonomy of buildings should be developed (by Government?) to standardise property classification. This will enable easier benchmarking and energy profiles to be better understood. Will further enable easier knowledge and experience sharing across industry. • To enable this knowledge sharing and benchmarking, building data needs to be captured in an anonymised format. A platform such as CarbonBuzz already exists to facilitate this. • Energy efficiency policy landscape focussed on reporting and compliance rather than encouraging proactive measures. Aligning of these policies with enhanced tax breaks for energy efficient organisations will promote uptake of smart meters.

10. Data requirements • Organisations have a piecemeal approach to metering – data goes into a variety systems including centralised teams, managing agents or to the site itself. • Accurate data is required to make precise assessments of potential cost/energy savings, the level of investment required, and the ability to verify outcomes. • Consumption data alone is not enough – context necessary to understand efficiency potential including building fabric, age and occupancy patterns. Info required from both meter and owner to determine energy use and benchmarking. “Smart meters do not save energy – they can only give you the data to enable this to happen” Survey response

11. Data requirements • Ownership of smart meter data is complicated – especially when it comes to moving energy provider. Issues relating to the transfer of historical data and differing software packages has led to reluctance to install meters. Ability to avoid these problems is poorly understood. • Multi-tenanted buildings have extra challenges – no ‘ownership’ of the problem and little transparency. Poor understanding of where, and how, energy is being used. This gap requires further analysis to determine potential efficiency measures. • Smart meters need to be chip-enabled and ‘future-proofed’ to enable finer quality data to be collected and support technological developments in this area.

12. Customer interface • Ability fordata to be understood by end users is critical. • Different stakeholders involved in energy decision making process have different requirements: • Senior managers – high level dashboards at board meetings • Energy/property managers – provide energy solutions from the meter, and engagement with end users tailored to the business and sector • Staff – actionable outcomes e.g. closing doors, supported by incentives and competitions

13. Customer interface What additional information would be useful to help drive behaviour change?

14. Customer interface research findings • The provision of open source data would significantly improve the capability of third parties develop appropriate software systems for utilising data, including gamification. • Issues around data security/protection, and levels of anonymity required. It is recognised as a significant issue, but one which has been dealt with successfully by social media platforms such as Facebook and Google, and lessons can be learnt. • Data shown on interface needs to be actionable, empowering individuals to make changes. • Appointment ‘energy champions’ to utilise tailored apps/interfaces to engage staff proven to be beneficial. • Upskilling of key staff is critical to understanding energy use, engaging employees, and communicating to senior management.

15. Delivering behaviour change • Current engagement is focussed on short term campaigns with little or no measure of success. • Long term change requires an understanding of staff motivations, and is driven by an organisation’s culture. • Survey respondents raised concern that senior managers did not engage the wider business in energy matters, leading to staff reticence to put forward ideas – a link must be made whereby staff are accountable for energy use if behaviour change is to be achieved. • By extension, most successful change is seen where personalised feedback is given, and staff feel part of ‘the system’ rather than separate from it.

16. Delivering behaviour change • To be successful, triggers for energy efficiency need to become habit, linked with gratification. This varies depending on individual interests or company culture – though all survey responses considered incentives to be a purely financial mechanism, for either business or individual. • Capture of energy data through an accurate baseline, and the ability to prove that the behaviour change led to a reduction in energy use. A granularity of data at a local level will help with this understanding. • The potential of gamificationto engage and motivate the business as a whole and its employees is not recognised and poorly understood, but research showspotential to drive behaviour change.

17. Delivering behaviour change Would you consider staff incentive schemes for energy reduction? • Majority of responses favour an incentive programme, but a need for examples of how this would work. • All responses considered incentives to be a purely financial mechanism

18. Delivering behaviour change Which elements would most motivate your organisation into energy reduction? • Highest motivation is savings on energy costs for the business. • Companies are least focused on brand and PR benefits – despite legislation (eg CRC) being geared toward this.

19. Recommendations – Government • Develop an agreed taxonomy of properties, including sub-categories, and standardised protocols for how energy information is collected. • Publish anonymised aggregated energy-use data to enable benchmarking. • Communicate government’s approach to ownership of and access to data from smart meters. • Require ‘future-proofing’ of smart meters by ensuring they are chip-enabled – to enable finer quality data to be collected. • Facilitate the development of a standardised methodology to measure and verify the energy use benefits from behaviour change.

20. Recommendations - Business • Recognise that energy efficiency can be an investment opportunity. • Empower localised management of energy within the business. • Include energy management in business planning. • Appoint ‘energy champions’ to operate within the business with full support from the senior management team. • Upskilling of key staff members. • Explore the potential for long-term behaviour change programmes.

21. Final report to be published in May 2014 If you would like a copy, please email: Sam.ibbott@eic-uk.co.uk Thank you