A new smart energy app and portal that gives heat network customers greater control of their energy consumption and spend has today been launched by Vital Energi, helping service operators at one pilot project to reduce debt by 12.5% in under 6 months.
Named Glass, the software gives heat network users the visibility and control to better manage their energy and allows users to top-up or pay their bills anytime, anywhere. Additionally, heat network operators can access energy consumption and financial data via a dedicated portal that allows them to better serve customers and optimise network performance.
Housing associations, local authorities, developers and other service managers can view data across multiple sites as well as individual properties. This can help identify and proactively support residents by providing energy saving and payment advice to reduce debt and ensure bills are paid on time.
Operators and service managers will be able to send payment reminder alerts and notifications to residents through the app to help aid their financial management, and recent pilot schemes have shown Glass has helped improve revenue collection by up to 44% within weeks of being implemented.
Since 27th November of this year, the Government's new Heat Metering & Billing Regulations has ensured that energy customers only pay for what they consume. Glass will give users and operators the ability to view real time consumption data and support operators in achieving compliance.
Glass has been successfully trialled across four projects being delivered by Vital Energi, and it is currently working with residential rental company UNCLE to support over 200 properties as part of a £100million build-to-rent development at Wembley.
From early next year, Glass will support 137 homes to manage and reduce their energy use at Peel L&P’s Liverpool Waters as part of a £5 billion regeneration project to transform the city’s northern docks. The project will provide heat both for homes and commercial space connected to Peel L&P’s Mersey Heat district heat network, with the potential for 9,000 homes to benefit from the software over the coming years.
For more information about Glass, please click here.
