PassivEnergy launches in the UK - new home energy management product reduces wasted household energy by up to 18 per cent

• Thursday, 20 May 2010

PassivSystems has today launched PassivEnergy, a unique home energy management system that can reduce household energy use by up to 18 per cent, a saving of £214.92 on the average household energy bill of £1,194. PassivEnergy optimises a home’s energy use, learning when it needs to use energy and when it needs to save it.

PassivEnergy is the first energy management system that manages a home’s hot water and heating systems based around how people live their life, a function known as ‘Adaptive Occupancy Control’. The user simply tells the system their occupancy status - whether they are in, out, asleep or on holiday - and PassivEnergy looks after the rest, providing exactly the required amount of hot water and heat for that status.

It comes with an occupancy button – usually placed by the bed or the front door – that allows the user to change their status at the flick of a switch without having to re-programme the entire system.

“PassivEnergy is intelligent and intuitive enough to adjust to your household’s needs and really addresses wasted energy in the home,” said Colin Calder, CEO, PassivSystems. “It takes the guesswork out of ensuing your heating and hot water are as you want it. For instance, if you get up for work at 7:00 it will start the heating at just the right time and temperature to ensure your comfort. If you pop to the shops for a few hours you can hit the occupancy button on the way out and the house will go into a low energy state until you return.”

The systems works by talking wirelessly to sensors and controls installed around the home and is managed using the wireless touch-screen PassivController which replaces existing boiler and heating controls. This handheld device makes it easy to adjust the temperature in the home, when the heating comes on or off and when hot water is needed.

PassivEnergy can also integrate with a home’s alternative energy sources, helping people manage energy generated from sources such as solar panels more efficiently. The energy from clean sources is optimised and fossil fuel only used to top up a household’s energy when needed.

“With 84 per cent of the energy used in the home coming from heating and hot water, PassivEnergy addresses the issues that really impact the consumer,” said Colin Calder, CEO, PassivSystems. “It is completely user-friendly and once you have told it how your house behaves it manages your energy effectively and efficiently, without you even really adjusting your behaviour.”

Research conducted by YouGov to coincide with the launch of PassivEnergy revealed that 47 per cent of people in Great Britain do not know exactly how to programme their heating system. 86 per cent have admitted to committing a variety of ‘energy crimes’ from going on holiday without turning the heating off to leaving the TV and computer on stand-by.

“With antiquated heating and hot water systems operated by overly-complex controllers, it is not surprising that nearly half the UK population are unable to programme their heating and hot water effectively,” continued Colin Calder, CEO, PassivSystems. “But home energy management does not need to be that complicated and in PassivEnergy consumers now have a product that gives them greater control, greater comfort and is capable of lowering carbon footprint and energy bills.”

Other features include a zone control that allows the user to manage energy in different areas of their house separately and Advanced Heating Control that ensures the house is heated only when it is needed. It manages the temperature so the house doesn't get too warm or cold and automatically adjusts itself based on the temperature outside.

With a recommended retail price of £395 including the touchscreen hardware that allows the users to control it from anywhere in the house, PassivEnergy offers a different and richer experience than smart meters, long touted as the solution to managing energy in the home. The research revealed that less than a third of people surveyed (32%) said they would change their energy behaviour based on the information provided by a smart meter if they had one. Smart meters have been estimated by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as being able to reduce energy usage by only two to three per cent, and bills by just £28 a year.

“PassivEnergy provides consumers with the control they have been lacking over their energy use,” continued Colin Calder. “Smart meters and other display devices provide information on household energy use, but this is not the solution. People lead such busy lives they do not have the time to act as their home’s energy manager and our research showed they want help, not information.”

PassivEnergy will soon also be able to address the issue of electrical appliances on stand-by. The research showed that more than half of respondents left their TV on standby (52%) and their computer on when not in use (56%). The next version of PassivEnergy will detect when a product has gone into standby mode and completely cut the power based on the home’s occupancy state. It will even cut the power to connected equipment, so if a TV is put onto stand-by, PassivEnergy will cut the power to the DVD player too.

To buy PassivEnergy, visit www.passivsystems.com to find the nearest supplier.

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Media enquiries:
Paul Allen – Rise PR
paul@risepr.co.uk – + 44 (0) 7515 199 487

Notes to editor:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2085 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th - 22nd April 2010 . The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).


About PassivSystems: www.passivsystems.com

PassivSystems Ltd was established in 2008 and aims to be the leading provider of Home Energy Management Systems. Bringing together specialists from two normally separate sectors, energy and telecoms, the PassivEnergy Home Energy Management System has been designed to help people reduce wasted energy, increase comfort and save money. The system has been designed to be simple to install and easy to use.

PassivSystems has been highly commended by industry in 2010. It was one of ten companies chosen by UK Trade & Investment in January 2010 to be part of an exhibition of Britain’s best new technologies at the world’s largest consumer electronics show, CES and in February was selected to participate in the Clean and Cool Mission 2010. This trade mission saw 19 leading UK clean tech companies spend a week in San Francisco taking part in a range of activities designed to help them open up their business to the US market. In May, PassivSystems was selected as a finalist in the Red Herring Europe 100 awards which recognise the most innovative technology startups in Europe.

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