London office reduces Small Power energy use by 33%
PUBLIC Hall powered by Huckletree is a co-working space in Westminster for innovators in GovTech, AI, security and policy. PUBLIC Hall is a proud champion of brave minds transforming the world for better. That’s why they saw a great opportunity in doing a pilot with measurable.energy. A step in the right direction for PUBLIC Hall’s space and the environment.
Daniel Korski, CEO and Co-Founder of Public Group International Ltd explained: “Transitioning to net-zero begins and ends with individual action. It’s in everybody’s best interest to play their part and seek out innovative ways to minimise the impact on the environment.”
Small Power isn’t small
When we say Small Power we mean electricity used by devices that are plugged in via power sockets or fused-spur connections. It is also known as plug load or miscellaneous electric load.
Whether plugged in or directly wired, Small Power devices include monitors, printers, task lighting, chilled or hot water taps, heaters, laptops etc.
Small Power today often exceeds 40% of total electricity usage in most commercial and office buildings. And up to half of Small Power usage results from things left on or in standby mode, which is wasted energy. That waste incurs unnecessary expense and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
Measurable results
PUBLIC Hall saw significant savings in energy used, GHG emissions and electricity bills even though it was a small pilot of only 17 sockets.
Over a full year measurable.energy identified and eliminated 1,491kW of energy, equal to charging 128,533 smartphones. This meant a 33% reduction in the Small Power energy consumed. This also resulted in 282kg of GHG emissions avoided, equivalent to carbon sequestered by 5 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
In addition to the savings in both cost and GHG emissions from eliminating wasted energy, measurable.energy solution worked as a preventative maintenance system for both plugged-in devices and physical electrical systems. This was achieved by looking for hot spots and unusual power activity.
Daniel Korski added: “PUBLIC Hall’s partnership with measurable.energy represents the genuine strides we can take together to reduce our emissions and energy consumption. We continue to be impressed by the sizable gains their sophisticated technology provides and believe they are a vital part of our sustainable future.”
Results PUBLIC Hall achieved in the first year, based on 30p/kWh:
- Energy reduction – 33%
- Sockets – 17
- Initial cost (first year) – £637
- SaaS cost/year from year 2 – £255
- Electricity cost reduction/year – £447
- Energy reduction/year – 1,491 kWh
- CO2e eliminated/year – 282 kg
- Payback in months – 17 months
Measurable opportunities ahead
An additional 10% of savings can be achieved by activating further automation of the system and encouraging behavioural change in occupants supported by the light feature in the sockets. This would unlock a further 452 kWh of savings accounting for 85kg emissions.
This would deliver following results:
- Energy reduction – 43%
- Sockets – 17
- Initial cost (first year) – £637
- SaaS cost/year from year 2 – £255
- Electricity cost reduction/year – £582
- Energy reduction/year – 1,943 kWh
- CO2e eliminated/year – 367 kg
- Payback in months – 11 months
In addition, activating Demand Side Response for just 10% of the time would allow PUBLIC Hall to receive approximately £739 in balancing payments per year. Total savings to be had are a £1,321 reduction in yearly electricity bills and at least 367kg of CO2 emissions avoided annually, bringing down the payback to under 6 months:
- Energy reduction – over 43%
- Sockets – 17
- Initial cost (first year) – £637
- SaaS cost/year from year 2 – £255
- Electricity cost reduction/year – £1,321
- Energy reduction/year – 1,943 kWh
- CO2e eliminated/year – 367 kg
- Payback in months – 6 months
measurable.energy install
17 sockets were used to capture data and eliminate wasted energy across a wide variety of devices including monitors, laptops, chargers, TVs, coffee machines, hot water taps and kitchen equipment.
The pilot was set up by PUBLIC Hall staff using the extension lead sockets before committing to permanent wall fixtures. The m.e sockets were connected to local Wi-Fi via user dashboard and were ready to collect data on baseline energy use and carbon intensity.
Small Power and measurable.energy
measurable.energy are a UK based startup with a bold mission to eliminate all energy waste from the built environment, starting with Small Power.
Most commercial and office buildings have devices left on standby or fully on whilst not in use. This creates Small Power waste which isn’t all that small.
Which is why measurable.energy have created a solution that automatically identifies, measures and eliminates Small Power waste.
measurable.energy achieve this by combining their unique smart sockets with machine learning and software. This allows measurable.energy to automatically identify devices plugged into the sockets, monitor their energy use, report granular real-time data and turn individual or groups of devices on/off to prevent energy waste.
In addition, the light on the socket displays a colour spectrum that indicates the carbon intensity of the National Grid, from red for fossil fuels to green for renewables. This drives impactful behavioural change as occupants opt to wait for ‘greener’ energy supply.
If 100 people chose a green phase over red when charging their phones using m.e power sockets, at least 40g of CO2e emissions could be avoided that day. 1,000 people could avoid 104kg a year. If everyone in London did it, we could avoid 988 tonnes of CO2e emissions per year!
Adam Wright, Head of Commercial at measurable.energy, concluded: “We can no longer afford to waste energy due to the energy and climate crises. We offer businesses and building owners a real opportunity to significantly reduce their electricity bills and CO2e emissions.”
