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Network Innovation Allowance (NIA) Projects
Low Power Hot Water
Digital Exclusion
Low Power Heat
Low Power Hot Water is a project we started in April 2022 with Haydale Ltd. The project aims to achieve an alternative solution to current hot water and heating appliances provided when a customer in a vulnerable situation is off gas and there is a health or PSR need where hot water is required for hygiene reasons. This project is working to remove risk, where market ready products currently require someone potentially in ill-health or of older age, to carry hot water to an appliance, whereas this product sees cold tap water being poured into the device in situ and then the water heats. Haydale Ltd offer a potential low power usage solution to heat water in domestic premises when the gas supply is interrupted. The solution can be easily adapted into assorted designs, by using a graphene ink-based heater. The heater will function as the inner layer within the product; in this case a container, therefore when connected to an energy source, will heat the product, which will in turn heat the water in the container. This potential solution will enable many customers in vulnerable situations to be able to heat water to an optimum temperature for hygiene, allowing them to wash and clean in their home whilst their hot water is impacted by a gas outage. The solution will also be cost effective to run, ensuring that customers are not impacted by further energy costs. The project, which we completed in November 2023, successfully designed two 3D prototypes that could be used
in the kitchen and the bathroom. The kitchen unit would allow our customers to keep hygienic by allowing them to clean their dishes, as well as wash their hands, and the shower unit would allow our customers to keep clean, whilst they are in an off-gas situation. These prototypes were reviewed by the project to establish how easy they could be used by customers and how effective they were in heating water to the required temperature. The review highlighted a few areas for improvement and modification, so the customer could feel the full benefit of the unit. These areas ranged from having the rechargeable battery integral to the device rather than separate, ensuring the lid at the top of the device was easy to manoeuvre, having the display unit simplified so it was easy to recognise when the device was switched on or off and at the required temperature and extending the tap, so water did not leak onto the kitchen side. As a result of these modifications, the project was extended by a further three months. With the development being successful, we are now pursuing an opportunity to further progress the project. This will involve creating two workable prototypes that could be used in an operational environment and ensuring that the materials used in manufacturing the devices are recyclable and environmentally friendly.
Working collaboratively alongside Energy Catapult Systems, NGN and National Grid Electricity Transmission, Digital Exclusion was a research project that aimed to establish how energy networks can communicate effectively with customers who currently do not have digital ways of communicating, either through choice or poor digital connection. It is estimated that 20% of the population are digitally excluded, therefore potentially missing key communication messages such as gas/electricity supply interruptions, as well as future information about changes to services to meet the UK’s net zero challenges. The project conducted research in two principal areas, to establish good practice methods by other industries in how they communicate with digitally excluded customers and identifying good practice regarding energy outages and what needs to be communicated.
The project conducted activities such as literature reviews, stakeholder interviews and stakeholder workshops to establish: • High-level communication needs of digitally excluded customers. • Current messages being sent to customers in planned and unplanned events. • Considerations for customers when sending messages. The research identified communication challenges, messages that need to be sent, and good practice communication methods that can be used in planned or unplanned energy outages. The project closed in September 2023. Should there be a further phase of this project, then these activities would form a key part of the scope. The project also validated that the gaps in communicating with digitally excluded customers are already understood within the energy networks.
In August 2023, we commenced a project with Haydale Ltd to establish if we could provide an additional alternative heat source for customers in vulnerable situations. Utilising the innovative graphene ink solution that we have been exploring with Haydale in our Low Power Hot Water project, we will look to explore if this solution can be used to provide heat, at a low cost, to enable customers to stay warm in an off-gas situation, ensuring that the customer has no or minimal disruption to their normal day to day life, make them feel safer in an off-gas situation and be able to still live independently in their home. The initial idea of the unit is to have a device that can be positioned over an existing radiator. We have currently completed Stage 1 of the project, which conducted feasibility studies in terms of technical requirements, size and weight of the device, heat transfer rates and power options. We will then move into Stage 2 of the project which, based on the feasibility study, will look to develop a proof of concept demonstrator. We aim to have this ready at the beginning of autumn, which will then allow pre-production unit to be built and scaled up ready for internal testing prior to deployment.
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