EnergyWise launches project to assess the impact of smart meters on vulnerable customers

The EnergyWise LCNF Project has launched a pilot study to test participant recruitment rates. This project is the first to assess the impact of smart meters on fuel-poor and vulnerable customers. Early progress is good, with the initial target recruitment of 33 per cent being achieved within weeks of launch.

The project, a randomised controlled trial, will test the energy savings and energy shifting response of this group to smart meters and time of use tariffs over two (successive) year-long trials in the Tower Hamlets area of London. The full project will aim to recruit 550 households from the 1650 sample.

Using local intermediaries and social capital approaches, the project aims to maximise participation and engagement of the fuel poor and vulnerable with smart metering, answering government and industry questions on how to maximise these sectors’ benefits from the rollout.

The UCL Energy Institute’s People, Energy and Buildings Research Group is the academic partner on the project. In this role the research group is leading on the research design and analysis of the social, smart meter and distribution network sub-station data to assess the social and energy benefits of the project.

For more information contact David Shipworth