Over the coming decades much of the UK’s home heating provision will shift to electric heat-pumps. This move from gas fuelled central heating boilers to electrically powered heat pumps will lead to a significant rise in both overall and peak electricity demand. This will be exacerbated by an increase in electric vehicles. At the same time, renewable generation is replacing fossil fuel electricty generation. In combination, this creates two significant issues for the electricity system:

1. An increase in peak electricity demand may exceed the capacity of the electricity distribution network in some areas, particularly during cold winter evenings. This increased demand will lead to expensive network upgrades that will be passed on to consumers. Alternatively, by actively managing the peak demand on the distribution network these costs can be reduced.

2. The National Grid make sure that there is enough electricity generation to meet demand at any point in time. In the past this meant switching large, coal, oil or gas power stations on and off as the demand for electricity changed during the day. As the electricity system moves to greater use of renewable generation, the ability to shift the timing of demand is becoming more valuable. This allows the electricity system to better match periods of high demand with the available renewable generation (for example when it is windy).

Who will manage the Heat Flex events?

The Heat Flex events will be managed by the Good Energy Works Support Engineering team, who will also ensure that heating is restored to its previous power levels and settings, and that your heating system operates normally afterwards. Good Energy Works will be continuously monitoring the system and in the unlikely event that there is a problem, their Support Engineers will immediately investigate to resolve the issue. If you think there is a problem with your heating, Good Energy Work’s support team will be available via phone and email.

What if I have a vulnerable family member visit?

If any member of your household has a medical condition which requires a stable level of heat comfort, we would recommend that you do not participate in the project. If you have occasional visitors who require a stable level of heat, you can still participate and email the project team so they can opt you out of the trial whenever they visit.

Participate in occasional 3-4 question surveys that will be sent via email.

Keep your broadband connection live so that we can continue to monitor your system and apply the Heat Flex events.

Install a small Bluetooth temperature sensor, sent by Good Energy Works, in your living room. (Note if this location is out of range for the sensor, you will be asked to move it closer to the heat pump gateway unit)

For certain households we will ask you to place a matchbox-sized temperature logger (that we will send), so that the living room temperature can be captured before, during and after the Heat Flex events. We will provide you with a pre-paid envelope, so you can return the logger at the end of the field trial.