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The UK energy crisis: Is this our opportunity to switch to renewable?

December 7, 2021
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The partial collapse of energy provider Bulb follows the collapse of 22 other energy suppliers who have ceased trading during the gas crisis. Soaring natural gas prices, combined with the UK’s energy price cap, have sent 22 energy firms to bust this year, leaving millions of customers facing disruption and prices that are far higher than their previous deals.

 

Bulb, which supplies around 1.7 million customers, is the largest company by far to face difficulties in the UK energy crisis. 

 

With this many energy suppliers and retailers going bust, something needs to change. Is this the way we generate electricity? The way we consume energy in homes and businesses? How do we support our transition to a smart energy system with stability through renewable and efficiencies?

 

Why are energy suppliers going bust?

As with any market, the cost of a commodity can go up and down. Typically, at this time of year, energy costs do rise, with an increase in demand, heating and people switching on the lights earlier. However, this year also coincides with the economy opening back up from pandemic lows, so demand is even higher. 

 

A perfect storm of other macro-economic complications to hit the energy sector: such as supply shortages from Russia and high demand in Asia, has led to all-time highs for natural gas.

 

Higher gas prices also push up wholesale electricity prices, as over a third of the UK’s electricity is generated by burning natural gas.

 

Accelerating our transition to renewable – is this our wake-up call?

The current energy crisis could be used as a platform to accelerate our transition to more renewable forms of energy backed by smart energy technology.

 

High gas prices, along with a lack of supply and storage, have shown us that the retail decentralised energy market focuses on supplying energy up to the meter. There is little focus to integrate efficient, low carbon or energy supply with self-generation — utilising how we use our energy from a behind-the-meter perspective. That is what carbonTRACK does best.

The current energy market is built around a historic centralised energy system and means of generation, with the ‘energy system’ ending at the customer’s meter. Driving smart energy change requires a focus on energy efficiency, renewable generation, and technology to assist us in driving this change in people’s homes and businesses.

 

At carbonTRACK, we have already proved we have the technology and solutions to solve the challenges faced in integrating renewable generation, with demand on a flexible basis — but we are going a step further and proving this with collaboration at Energy Systems Catapult and Living Labs trial.

 

Energy Systems Catapult is supporting carbonTRACK to test its flexibility platform in homes with solar PV, battery storage and an electric vehicle alongside a smart meter and more regular appliances such as a gas boiler, fridge, dishwasher, washing machine etc. In particular, Energy Systems Catapult will help carbonTRACK to:

 

  • Better understand energy demand profiles, including electric and gas data;
  • Test the control of both clean technologies and regular appliances in homes; and
  • Better understand how UK energy consumers interact with carbonTRACK’s solution.

 

In the short term, the energy crisis will provide a shock to the energy sector, families and businesses feeling the cost of higher energy prices and picking up the bill for failed energy suppliers. 

 

The long term, however, proves that carbonTRACK can help and be part of the solution, creating a more flexible energy system that integrates renewable generation, reduce peaks in demand and better match demand with supply with dynamic time-of-use tariffs.

 

If you are interested in becoming energy independent, book your demo with carbonTRACK today.

 

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    Situation

    Barbara lives in Melbourne’s outer east with five children. She increased the capacity of her pv solar system to manage her spiraling electricity costs. However, her electricity bill remained the same. Barbara was convinced that her solar panels weren’t working.

    Barbara wanted to understand how this was possible after all the solar capacity she had invested in. She called her solar company and they suggested she install carbonTRACK, so she could keep see what was really happening with her solar.

    How She Did It

    Barbara’s solar provider installed carbonTRACK to reassure her that her system was working, and to map her solar production against her family’s consumption. With carbonTRACK installed, we took a look at the data.

    carbonTRACK showed that Barbara’s system was working and had decreased her grid energy use by over 50%. But, we noticed that she was using quite a lot of energy at night, when everyone was asleep.

    Barbara explained that her power company had advised her to run the pool pump from midnight to 3:00 am to take advantage of the Off-Peak tariff. Barbara’s electricity fees were 30 cents/kWh for energy used during peak times, and 17 cents/kWh for off-peak (and ‘shoulder’) electricity. Her solar feed-in tariff was only 8 cents/kWh – so it made more sense for Barbara to use as much of her solar during the day as possible.

    Result

    We helped Barbara to identify what was increasing her electricity bills, and she was able to implement a new schedule for her pool pump. Using carbonTRACK, Barbara shifted her pool pump schedule from a night off-peak tariff to the middle of the day to take advantage of excess daytime solar production.

    By running the pool pump from noon until 3:00 pm Barbara avoids paying 17 cents/kWh and uses more of her solar. This simple change saved Barbara 10% on her bill.

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    How he Did It

    Brendon used carbonTRACK to understand how much electricity his major appliances uses. He recognised that his electric hot water system used electricity constantly, even though he only used hot water early in the morning before work. He used carbonTRACK to set timers to monitor his hot water system.

    Result

    By changing his hot water schedule, Brendon was able to cut his average daily electricity use to 14.54 kWh. He is now saving 27.88% on his electricity bills!

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    Michael had battery storage installed at his home to complement his PV solar and manage his night-time electricity use. However, his bill remained much higher than he imagined.

    How he Did It

    Michael installed carbonTRACK to understand why his bills were still high. He looked at the data collected by carbonTRACK and released that when his solar generation was lower. His battery was being charged from the grid connected mains. With this information, he was able to reset his battery’s parameters primarily to charge from his PV solar production.

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    Using carbonTRACK, Michael saw when and how his battery was being charged. He greatly reduced his reliance on the grid, and his electricity bills!

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    Vicky and her family installed a 5kW PV solar system. Her electricity bills however, hardly changed. She was frustrated and didn’t know what to do.

    How she Did It

    Vicky used carbonTRACK to monitor her solar system’s performance and verify her electricity bills. carbonTRACK helped her identify when excess solar was being produced.

    Vicky began controlling and minimising the cost of running her electric hot water system by setting up automatic schedules to switch it on and off so she was only heating water for when she needed it. She also used carbonTRACK to run appliances during the day to ultilise the solar electricity she was wasting.

    Result

    Vicky and her family increased their solar energy consumption by 12%. They improved their energy efficiency and reduced their overall daily energy consumption from 31 kWh to 19 kWh – a reduction of 45%!

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    Deepa lives in a large home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Her daily energy consumption averaged 116kWh. The addition of two family members into the household meant that her electricity bills started creeping up and prompted Deepa to look into her electricity use.

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    Twenty four hours after having carbonTRACK installed, Deepa discovered excessive energy waste. Various appliances were guzzling electricity overnight – and many of them she could easily schedule to switch off with carbonTRACK.

    carbonTRACK made it easy for Deepa to control her home’s heating and cooling cycles, electric hot water systems and the wine cellar.

    Result

    Within a week, Deepa’s household energy use fell by 55.5 kWh a day, a reduction of 47.66%! Data insights on the carbonTRACK app showed that Deepa could offset an additional 25.58% of her energy requirements by installing solar.

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    James installed carbonTRACK to see when he was using electricity, and where improvements could be made to reduce his expenses. With carbonTRACK, James determined that heating of the two hot water systems and appliances such as the food displays, toasters, sandwich press and the coffee machine were routinely left on overnight.

    Using carbonTRACK, James set timers to reduce excessive cycling of electric hot water systems. He also switched off the coffee machine at the close of business and monitored his fridges to identify areas for improvements.

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    James made some small simple changes with how he operated his business and used his appliances. As a result, he was able to save 13% on his electricity bills.

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    Managers wanted an understanding of energy demands. Without information identification of performance, improvements were impossible.

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    Store managers used carbonTRACK to monitor electricity consumption and control two electric hot water systems in each store. As a result they were able to reduce peak demand events and the overall bills for their franchaises.

    Results

    Alerts for peak demand spikes warned management of spikes in power use and they were able to adjust how and when they used electricity. With these improvements, they reduced the severity of their electricity consumption.

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    How they Did It

    Hot water control carbonTRACK monitored and controlled a three-phase electric hot water systems in five stores. Each unit was put on timers to stop unnecessary heating at night. Temperature sensors carbonTRACK installed temperature sensors to automate readings from the food displays, freezers and refrigeration units.

    Real-time results on the carbonTRACK user dashboard meant all five stores could be monitored remotely. Costs were reduced as control over temperature was tightened; email alerts notified managers when HACCP regulations were breached; and accurate control of cold chain temperature reduced food spoilage.

    Finally, carbonTRACK measured ambient temperature and the air conditioner settings in the restaurants. carbonTRACK showed that slight adjustments to the temperature offered further savings.

    Results

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