An Energy Local member can use a Smart Plug in tandem with their User Dashboard to schedule appliances for the optimum time of day to get the cheapest power whilst being ready for when you need them finished.
Background
Energy Local has launched an ‘Internet of Things’ system to assist members of its Clubs benefit further from their locally generated renewable energy and Time of Use Tariff. The Energy Local Dashboard can be used by members as a guide to assist them in choosing the best time to use electricity especially with heavy loads. They are now able to use this in tandem with a Smart Plug paired to the dashboard.
Energy Local would like to roll Smart Plugs out to Club members once the Clubs are established. To that end, we have dispatched a number of Smart Plugs to volunteers to trial them and to provide us with feedback on how easy or user friendly they found the process.
Smart Scheduler
The ‘demand shaper’ on the user dashboard uses the forecast of the collective demand of a Club, forecast of generation, and the Time of Use Tariff to estimate how good each half hour in the next 24 hours is to use power. Using the Smart Schedule function, a Club member can set when their appliance must finish it's load by and the length of time in needs to run for. The Smart Scheduler will identify the best period available to run the load prior to the set time.
The user can also choose if they are happy for the appliance to be turned on and off more than once during its run period to capitalise on the best available tariff and by the set end time using the 'OK/Not OK to Interrupt' option. This is useful for charging something with batteries which does need a continuous load.
Example screenshot showing the Smart Scheduler function
How do I get one?
If you would like to try a Smart Plug, please follow the points below:
- Sign up for the SENS project by providing your consent here. In signing up you agree to a consortium of universities to analyse your half hourly energy use and Ipsos MORI to call you for a survey. This allows us to fund the Smart Plugs and other parts of the project.
- Send an email to gillian@energylocal.co.uk and trystanlea@openenergymonitor.org confirming that you would like a smart plug.
- Email your Wi-Fi name and password to trystanlea@openenergymonitor.org and Trystan will set up your Smart Plug for you so that you only need to "Plug and Go" to start exploring your new device. Alternatively, a set of instructions will be emailed to you so you can set up the Smart Plug yourself so to connect it to your dashboard.
If you have any questions, please contact gillian@energylocal.co.uk - or trystanlea@openenergymonitor.org for technical support.