PassivSystems boost for islanders
Project will also help address fuel poverty for islanders
Newbury-based PassivSystems is to begin deploying its cloud-based energy management systems to homes on the Isles of Scilly this summer.
It will fit 100 properties (10% of all homes on the islands) with home energy management systems, and 10 homes will pilot a variety of additional smart energy technologies, including smart batteries and air-source heat pumps.
The technology integration, which will be completed by November, will enable the more efficient use of locally-produced energy on the islands and delivering the flexibility required for a low-carbon energy system.
The project will also help address fuel poverty for islanders, who face some of the highest energy costs in the country.
The £10.8m Hitachi-led Smart Energy Islands project (part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund) is demonstrating how solar power, batteries, smart heating technologies and electric vehicles can be used to help support the islands’ energy system and reduce bills for the whole community.
The pioneering technology from PassivSystems is designed to forecast energy demand and control the use of energy for heating, storage and generation.
PassivSystems’ technology will integrate with Hitachi’s Internet of Things platform and with battery energy storage technology provided by Moixa Technology.
Together, the integrated solution will balance energy supply and demand on the island and reduce the use of expensive fossil fuels.
“We’re excited to have reached the next phase of this project where we can deploy our scalable cloud-based energy management platform,” said PassivSystems chief executive Colin Calder.
“This project will demonstrate the effectiveness of using leading-edge digital energy management systems to reduce costs, carbon and a community’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.”
While the Smart Energy Islands project will quickly transform the lives of the 2,200 islanders, it will serve as a pilot for systems within other communities that can be replicated worldwide.
PassivSystems was founded in 2008, employs 50 people and operates through its headquarters in Newbury Business Park.
