How Wheatley Group Energy’s ‘connected response’ gives people more control, costs less and reduces emissions

All social landlords face the challenge of optimising the energy performance of their homes by 2032, under the Scottish Government’s legislation for Energy Efficiency Standards in Social Housing (EESSH).

Wheatley Group – Scotland’s leading housing, care and property-management group – is increasingly using renewable generation technology such as zero-carbon district heating schemes, air source heat pumps, solar panels and more to meet that challenge. These initiatives, as well as improvements to the fabric of our homes, are also part of Wheatley’s strategic focus on reducing the costs of running a home for our customers and tackling fuel poverty.

Wheatley has also come up with an innovative solution to dealing with the legacy of inefficient and expensive electric heating which gives customers more control, costs less and significantly reduces carbon emissions. Wheatley has around 14,000 homes which use electric storage systems for heating and hot water, mostly in high-rise flats in Glasgow.

We have been working on a sequence of technology test and refinement pilot projects over the past four years, supported by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council. One of these projects – called ‘Connected Response’ – has been shown to reduce energy use by between 20% and 30%, with a consequent reduction in energy bills of up to around £300 per year.

Importantly, we achieve this by working with existing heaters, which reduces cost, avoids waste and extends the viable life of existing appliances. The technology – in the form of a small device attached to the wall of someone’s home – performs a number of functions automatically that allow householders to set a time and temperature control to their preferences.

How It Works

The system assesses the internal temperature and humidity in the home every 10 minutes, and by taking into account the hourly weather forecast as well as the forecast for the rest of the day, calculates how much energy will be required to reach that level.

It uses a range of cheaper tariff periods throughout the day or night to charge the heating and hot water only to the requisite amount necessary. This is very different from the rigid night-time only option currently the case for most people – and helps prevent over-purchase.

We conducted live monitoring over a 20-day period in February this year, when the average external temperature was 2.5 degrees and, in fact, dropped to -11 degrees on one day. Our monitoring showed that the connected response system allowed us to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature of 22 degrees, to within four degrees.

Investment in the Future

Wheatley plans to invest between £5m and £7m on this over the next four years – an innovation which builds on our previous improvements to the insulation efficiency of homes, ensuring that not only is the home easier and cheaper to heat, but the warmth stays inside.

Working closely with Scottish Power Energy Network, Wheatley plans to provide resilience to the electricity network. By offering opportunities to manage demand at a local level we can help reduce the need for additional reinforcement, potentially avoiding the need for further investment and therefore reducing costs to consumers.