PRESS RELEASE
Smappee launches in the UK shedding light on home energy consumption and saving consumers over £110 a year by ending energy waste
LONDON, 14 July 2014 - A lamp in the hallway, a computer on standby, or a phone left on charge all day - energy waste occurs in almost every household in Britain; adding over £110* to unwitting consumers outgoings each year. With most households oblivious to the real cost of standby power consumption, and power-hungry technology devices on the rise, consumers pay energy suppliers a total of over £2.8bn in unnecessary electricity bills annually*.
Released today in the UK, the Smappee energy monitor individually identifies devices and appliances in the home and allows consumers to take immediate action to end unnecessary power consumption. By intelligently measuring in-home energy use, the Smappee energy monitor, together with a free app for smartphones and tablets, provides instant insights on where energy is being consumed - allowing users to take immediate action to reduce energy waste. Smappee even makes it possible to see if you have left something on when out of the home, and turn it off remotely via the Smappee Comfort PlugTM.
"The cost of energy waste is an unnecessary burden on British households. Our goal is to reduce power consumption in the UK by helping people to change habits, become more aware of their on-going energy use, and realise sustainable savings. Smappee is the consumer's energy buddy, measuring, informing, motivating, entertaining and making life easier - always and everywhere. This is not a just a product, but a service," said Stefan Grosjean, the founder of Smappee. "Depending on a user's consumption pattern, Smappee pays for itself in just over a year and realises cost savings of over £500 across five years. More importantly, you're helping to achieve a more sustainable world for everyone; lowering the burden on already strained power grids and on the environment."
The Smappee monitor is easy to install by clamping a single sensor around the main power cable of a household meter. Through this unique single monitoring point, Smappee identifies, measures and sends detailed energy consumption information about the electrical devices in a user's home. This information is then available anywhere via a simple to use smartphone/tablet app (iOS / Android).
Simple interactive graphs within the Smappee app display energy use and costs per day, month or year, with different appliances and devices in the home automatically identified through the unique ‘interference pattern' of each item. The performance of solar panels a user may have in their home is also measurable, with the Smappee app showing the contribution these make to a home's electricity, and how much consumption is therefore covered by solar power.
The information provided by Smappee means users always know exactly what's going on, can take steps to adjust consumption accordingly, and reduce their energy bills. The app also rewards their energy efficiency with awards which can be shared with family and friends on social media.
*By identifying where electricity is wasted, the Smappee energy monitor can reduce electricity bills by an average of 12 per cent in a four-person household in the UK, which means a saving of a least £110 per year. Source: Consumer Federation; Energy costs for an average household (4 people). In the UK there were last noted to be 25,691,000 households in the Private households by Household Type - Measurement data from the UNECE Statistical Division as accessed on 2 October 2011. A saving of £110 across every UK household is therefore equal to a potential saving value of £2,826,010,000 per annum.
Availability and Price:
The Smappee energy monitor is now available for £169 (RRP including VAT) from the Smappee e-shop as well as all the European Apple retail stores. Each Smappee energy monitor is supplied with a comfort-plugTM, with additional units available separately. The free Smappee app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
The advantages of Smappee:
1. Measuring smartly is key to knowledge
The free Smappee app provides you with an instant overview of your current electricity consumption, your standby power consumption and the yield of your solar panels. You can even monitor the consumption of your electrical appliances via a visual dashboard. This way, you gain a clear understanding of your consumption. You can also identify your (hidden) energy-hungry devices and intervene immediately. Via your computer, you can analyse that data in more detail.
2. Instant response.
As soon as you know which devices are consuming too much energy, you can take immediate action: even before you get your energy bill. Consumption in "sleep mode" can be monitored in the exact same way.
3. Mobile.
Monitor your energy consumption at any time from any location via the Smappee app for smartphone and tablet.
4. Peace of mind.
Detect abnormal consumption immediately. And if you're not sure whether you disconnected a certain device, you can check via Smappee and even turn it off remotely, if you so desire. This feature requires a Comfort PlugTM (a wireless adapter which fits between the device and the power point, enabling you to switch the device on and off remotely). One Comfort PlugTM is included in the package as standard. Additional Comfort PlugsTM can be purchased from the e-shop. These Comfort PlugsTM are only required if you wish to turn individual devices on and off from a remote location. Smappee monitors and records your energy consumption via a single central monitor which does not require any extra plugs.
5. Easy installation.
Install Smappee safely and simply. The monitor works via a single measuring point - close to the meter box, which makes installation child's play.
6. Solar panels, too.
The Smappee monitor doesn't only measure the electricity produced by your solar panels, but also shows you how much more or less energy you produce than you consume.
7. Affordable.
By intervening in the case of energy-hungry devices at home, you can save on average about 12% on your energy bill. If you do the math, you'll soon discover that a Smappee device will pay itself back in less than 2 years. Smappee works without a monthly subscription, which means there are no extra or on-going costs besides the one-off purchase price of the set itself.
8. Privacy policy.
All data about your energy consumption is anonymous and secure. Your privacy is guaranteed.
9. Objective information.
Smappee works independently of your choice of energy provider and gives you objective measurements with which to understand your energy consumption and - where necessary - reduce it.
10. A winning solution.
Change your behaviour patterns. The benefits of Smappee are twofold: your wallet and the environment
About Smappee
More than just the name of a company, product or app, Smappee refers to a close-knit team. We are hands-on professionals who share a common ambition to develop innovative solutions that foster sustainable energy consumption. In so doing, we offer people user-friendly, affordable and efficient ways to minimise their ecological footprint.
Smappee was founded by Stefan Grosjean, an expert in the field of energy management. Stefan is also the founder of Energy ICT, a start-up he subsequently built up into a world leader in the field of energy management solutions for industrial and commercial companies, government authorities and energy providers. Smappee represents his desire to apply his experience to the benefit consumers as well.
Smappee is based in Kortrijk, Belgium and its products are available via the e-shop: www.smappee.com.
