Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund has provided £450,000 in new funding to a Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) project to develop new ways of accelerating the roll-out of heat pumps.
The project, called EqualLCT, will exploit the fact that heat pumps can be scheduled to use power when demand is low by co-ordinating their installation with energy efficiency measures such as better insulation, to reduce demand at peak times.
EqualLCT, developed by SSEN’s Future Networks Team, uses the technology behind the operator’s Local Energy Net Zero Accelerator (LENZA) which helps planners in local authorities make informed decisions about where best to locate low-carbon technologies in their communities.
SSEN’s Innovation Team will combine LENZA’s existing data with information on housing stock, customer data, and details of any relevant schemes which are available in local areas.
Ross Bibby, who is the Project Manager for EqualLCT said: ‘At SSEN, we’re leading the way in the transition to net zero, but we know an integral part of this journey involves supporting everyone in our communities to make the choices which will benefit our environment. We know there are currently a number of factors preventing some people from adopting new low carbon technologies, and EqualLCT was born out of a desire to remove these barriers.
‘We’re just setting out on our journey to develop this idea, but we expect that if realised, it could cut customers’ bills and defer millions of pounds of network reinforcement.
‘The decision by Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund to back this new phase of this project means we and our partners from the energy experts Baringa and SMS will be able to establish a proof of concept for this idea. We’d then hope to demonstrate and operate the technology we’re developing by the end of 2025.’
The project is funded through the Strategic Innovation Fund, which is an Ofgem programme managed in partnership with Innovate UK.