Overcome barriers to Net Zero innovation with independent performance validation, real-world consumer insights, business model analysis and system integration
Affordable demonstration and simulation
Real-world or simulation, product or service, government or start-up – our test and demonstration environments allow innovation to flourish.
The Living Lab is a national facility of over 500 connected homes providing space for innovators, industry, government and regulators to trial new technologies, products, services, business models, policies and regulations under simulated in-market arrangements with real consumers.
Home Truths® is our consumer panel of thousands of people who can help you better understand customer needs supported by experts in consumer insight, business modelling and energy system engineering.
And Home Energy Dynamics is a first-of a-kind dynamic simulation tool that explores how low carbon heating solutions interact and perform with other energy efficiency measures.
Trial your innovation with real consumers in their homes
We offer quick, safe and affordable real-world testing of new energy products, services and business models to de-risk and scale innovations for market. Our Living Lab of over 500 digitally connected smart-homes, is truly open, interoperable and scalable.
Consumer research backed by energy experts
Understanding consumers is vital to designing and deploying better products and services. Get rapid, cost-effective consumer feedback on your product, service or policy idea with our Home Truths® consumer panel.
Try simulation before demonstration
Before committing to real-world trials, we can simulate how your product will interact with a range of housing types, including heating systems, smart controls, building fabrics, weather and consumer profiles to help determine efficiencies and cost effectiveness.
What we offer
Energy Systems Catapult offers a range of labs, tools and expertise drawing on cutting-edge data science, whole systems modelling and in-depth consumer insight to help innovators accelerate to market.
Living Lab
Quick, safe and affordable. Rapidly design, market-test and launch innovative energy products, services and business models with real people in over 500 connected homes.
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Home Truths® consumer panel
Get feedback from thousands of homes with the only UK consumer panel backed by thought leaders in energy policy, business modelling and systems engineering.
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Dynamic Energy System Simulation
Utilising our groundbreaking EnergyPath® Operations simulation tool to assess system design choices, business models and digital solutions for future system architectures.
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ZeroCarbon.Vote
Unique online consultation tool designed to help local authorities and businesses understand the zero carbon preferences of local people.
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Home Energy Dynamics
First-of-a-kind simulation tool that analyses complex interactions between low carbon technologies and many facets of homes - including heating and hydraulic systems, building fabric and consumer profiles.
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How to work with us
Energy Systems Catapult offers technical, commercial and policy expertise to drive Net Zero innovation across the whole energy system.
We are not-for-profit, independent and technology-agnostic – building a trusted track record of delivering thought leadership, collaborative R&D and commercial commissions – so are uniquely placed to take on the challenges that others cannot tackle.
We use our grant-funding to develop capabilities, tools and labs – from world-class Net Zero modelling and cutting-edge systems engineering, through to digital and data science and real-world innovation trials that drive start-ups to success.
Supporting, convening and advising government, academia, industry, local/regional authorities, investors and SMEs to create new markets that unleash innovation and define the pathway to Net Zero.
Collaborate with us
We work with partners from the public and private sectors to secure funding and collectively deliver the thought leadership and innovation projects that tackle the hardest challenges in the way to Net Zero.
Commission us
We offer technical, commercial and policy expertise through our independent evidence and insights to identify and deliver Net Zero innovation priorities. Then actively support clients to develop actionable plans for implementation.
Case Studies
Home Energy Dynamics
Mixergy has designed an innovative, smart hot water storage tank that allows consumers to heat only the water they need, in contrast to conventional hot water tanks which heat all or nothing. This saves on energy, cost and carbon emissions.
Energy Systems Catapult utilised our Home Energy Dynamics modelling toolkit to help Mixergy simulate how their hot water tank interacts with varied building and occupancy profiles without needing to deploy the innovation in the real world.
HED has been tested on a number of homes to date, to demonstrate a very strong correlation between predicted and measured energy performance, which supports validation work undertaken with Salford University’s Energy House.
David White, Head of Commercial Operations, Mixergy, said: “Home Energy Dynamics allowed us to test Mixergy’s product when deployed in a varied ecosystem of products and applications, which is often challenging to model. These insights are extremely valuable when articulating to prospective clients and stakeholders the full impact of deploying smart home technologies.
“We were really impressed with the accuracy of the model and also how it is able to quickly identify effectiveness of a solution without need for a full laboratory set-up.”
Living Lab
Edinburgh- based Amp X has developed a digital energy assistant, ALICE, ithat makes autonomous demand-side-response decisions based on real-world market signals.
With advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and user-centred autonomous control, ALICE is able to schedule energy usage by household devices’ when the energy is greenest and cheapest. This will unlock flexibility, improve grid resilience and maximise renewable energy usage.
Energy Systems Catapult is helping Amp X test and demonstrate ALICE by:
- Managing the recruitment of up to 60 households into the Living Lab.
- Consumer Insight specialists will work with trial participants to analyse their experience of ALICE, test the benefits and to understand what the customer values.
- Using room-by room digital control and sensors to monitor performance, the Living Lab can gather and analyse real-world data such as energy consumption, air temperatures, relative humidity and local weather.
The six month trial from the Autumn 2021, will analyse and validate:
- ALICE’s potential to facilitate demand-side response, provide carbon savings, and reduce energy costs.
- The consumer experience – providing real-world consumer insight and feedback on ease of installation/set up/removal, usability and the quality of the consumer-interface.
- The interface between ALICE and various in-home devices, including Electric Vehicles, smart meters, appliances, and Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning controls.
Commission us
Working with innovators to design and run trials or get rapid consumer feedback that accelerates new products, services or business models to market.
Contact usCollaborate with us
Working with governments, regulators and consumer advocates to test the hardest policy and regulatory challenges on the way to net zero.
Contact usWant to know more?
Find out more about how Energy Systems Catapult can help you and your teams
Get in touch
Want to know more?
Find out more about how Energy Systems Catapult can help you and your teams