After the successful completion of the first phase of the Chameleon Alternative Market for Energy Assessment project (CAMEA), Chameleon Technology has won £3.7million in additional funding to advance to the second phase, involving trials with consumer participation.
The project forms part of a wider programme from the UK government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Alternative Energy Markets Innovation Programme. It is designed to deliver a large-scale trial of an innovative home energy proposition that combines an energy tariff offering fixed price bundles for heat and EV charging, connected via a home energy management system (HEMS). The concept has been designed to help evaluate the interest in, and ease of, flexibility options in potential future energy scenarios.
The smart energy specialist will work with its experienced consortium of members to lead and deliver a large-scale, real-world trial that encompasses a range of technologies and customer archetypes to demonstrate the impact of this innovative proposition, and unlock the value of increasing demand-side response (DSR) flexibility.
About CAMEA
The aim of the project is to demonstrate the feasibility and interest in a comprehensive HEMS solution, comprising a range of options tailored to a customer’s home construct, preferences and comfort levels.
The proposition set to be offered to the trial group as part of CAMEA is based on a HEMS-as-a-service model, paired with a bespoke energy tariff from partners Tomato Energy that offers fixed price bundles for heat (from a heat pump) and set miles of EV charging.
The trial group will receive a HEMS solution which pairs with their home energy assets, to be used alongside the ivie app. The app, created by Chameleon Technology under its ivie consumer brand, reports on home energy insights to support a broader reduction of home electricity use.
This will be tested against hypothetical future energy scenarios and benchmarked against a control group, to determine both the impact and value of the proposition.
Multi-faceted expertise
As lead partner of the project, Chameleon Technology will provide the HEMS and user interface, as well as lead in the creation of the trial environment, recruitment of participants and the trial’s overall delivery.
The consortium includes energy supplier Tomato Energy, pioneers of time of use tariffs in the UK; Solo Energy (SMS plc), whose Flexigrid platform is already being used to aggregate domestic loads to offer flexibility services; and Energy Systems Catapult who will support trial definition and delivery, alongside enhanced understanding of consumer behaviour.
In addition, Homely and Passiv will provide heat pump optimisation technology and interfacing for the HEMS.
Finally, energy market and modelling experts Cornwall Insight are subcontractors providing independent analysis and support to deliver the trial scenarios to create maximum value.
This project has received funding from the government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which provides funding for low-carbon technologies and systems. By decreasing the costs of decarbonisation, the Portfolio will help enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change.
Flexibility for the future is key
Smart meters, and the real-time energy data provided by in-home displays (IHDs), play a fundamental role in building a flexible, decarbonised and digitalised energy system that will benefit both the environment and consumers.
Bringing consumer benefits from new, low carbon technologies to the forefront of a modern energy experience is only possible with smart meters. Real-time energy usage data is key for the management and optimisation of home energy use and low-carbon technology, in the quest to achieve optimal benefits for consumers through the reduction of energy bills and carbon footprint.
By combining this data with these new formats of energy tariffs, Chameleon Technology is generating fresh insights into the future of the UK’s decarbonised energy networks.
