Issue link: https://read.utilityweek.co.uk/i/665572
NETWORK / 37 / APRIL 2016 customer-centric companies have developed collaborative platforms that service di erent customers based on their individual needs, wants and behaviours. Futurewave is an online energy hub that will help consumers nd and install the best energy solutions for their homes and communities. Futurewave takes homeowners from education to action. We believe it represents a new paradigm for connecting consumers with their networks. To date, a large proportion of investment in the energy sector has been directed towards technological innovation. This has resulted in signi cant advances and a landscape of technological solutions that is wider than ever. However, there is a disconnect between these solutions and their uptake by homeowners and communities across the UK, preventing them from realising active ambition to make di erent energy choices. More than 5,000 community groups considered an energy project between 2008 and 2014, but there were only 146 operational installations in the UK in 2013. Meanwhile, individuals have been failed by the Green Deal. This was talked up by government as the biggest building improvement scheme since the post-war period, according to reports by Business Green, but it has now been cut with only 15,231 Green Deal Plans in progress by the end of September 2015. In short, although initiatives have tried to spark customer interest, few end-to-end solutions have been developed that educate homeowners and guide them through the process of making their homes and communities more eŒ cient. As a result, few people feel empowered to act, and fewer still are installing technologies that could bene t them. Futurewave will break this inertia by helping customers navigate today's fragmented energy market. Its services marry-up customers who want energy solutions, installers who want to deliver them and How will Futurewave help future-proof the gas network? Initially this was our aim in starting the Futurewave project – to avoid the potential redundancy of the gas networks that was being talked about in government at the time. But we soon saw that there was an opportunity to do something much bigger and our ambition changed. We went beyond just looking at the future of gas, to enabling real understanding of consumer behaviours – and to putting them in control of their energy choices. So is future-proofi ng the gas networks something we need to worry about? It is important – but not because we ought to be protecting pipes in the ground. It's important because our research with consumers shows that gas has an important part to play in giving them what they want. How will communities use Futurewave? That's what we want to fi nd out in the third phase of the project. We've got a lot of assumptions to test about consumer behaviour, some based on our own research and trials of the platform, some based on lessons from SSE's Save Project. When will Futurewave be available for use by all consumers? The hope is that we will launch in 12 months' time. Before that though, we need to complete the third phase of trials and do a soft launch of our new brand to see how that is received by consumers. We also need to establish Futurewave as an independent company and foster a reputation as a trusted, independent expert. the right sources of funding to activate them. There are three components to the tool: Find it will give customers clear information on their energy options and connect them with trusted installers. Build it will connect energy developers and network operators with each other and with relevant projects that have been triggered by customers. It will also enable them to identify areas of demand and to "seed" projects where appropriate. Fund it will connect individuals and communities with sources of investment that can fund their energy projects. The project is supported by Northern Gas Networks, Wales & West Utilities, National Grid, Scottish and Southern Energy Power Distribution and SP Energy Networks. Over the next 12 months, these partners and EIC will deliver a pilot programme to validate the Futurewave business model and the product itself. Our immediate priority is to nalise the brand that we take to market, and to launch this brand as an independent entity›that can command consumer trust. In the longer term, we hope that once we engage customers we will gain an insight into what makes energy-eŒ ciency schemes work, get visibility of where demand is being met – or not – and provide real-time data on the impact of energy- eŒ ciency policies. For industry, the aspiration is that data will also accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies for decarbonising of the UK heating system. As a not-for-pro t business, if we succeed in our long-term goal to make the product self- sustaining, this will open up hugely exciting opportunities for social progress by generating extra funding that can be given back to communities to address issues such as fuel poverty. Freddie Tilbrook, Futurewave lead, Energy Innovation Centre H O T S P O T DENISE MASSEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ENERGY INNOVATION CENTRE