EQUINOX is a Strategic Innovation Fund-supported project led by National Grid Electricity Distribution investigating the potential for heat pumps to support electricity grid flexibility.
Energy Capital has partnered with this project to help us learn more about how flexibility from heat pumps can be made accessible and beneficial to all West Midlands residents, and to better understand how heat pump flexibility can help us plan energy infrastructure more strategically, saving money and avoiding harmful emissions.
The EQUINOX partners are hoping the results will help us understand how we can make green heating cheaper and greener still. During the three-year project, heat pump users are asked to turn down their heat pumps during peak energy demand periods, to help save energy and support the electricity grid.
How does it work?
Between 500 and 1000 heat pump owning households have taken part in the project. They receive payments for turning down their heat pumps for short periods of time, and for taking part in surveys and interviews. Payments are either as credit on their energy bills, or through other rewards from their energy supplier.
The EQUINOX partners have been looking at different aspects of this consumer-side heat pump flexibility over the course of three winter trials, of which the final trial for 2024-2025 is currently ongoing.
We are particularly interested in understanding how people in more vulnerable situations can engage with heat pump flexibility and receive fair benefits from doing so. We are also keen to understand how much flexibility can be unlocked though well-designed heat pump flexibility offerings, and hope to embed this in our future Local Area Energy Planning processes.
The opportunity to get involved in EQUINOX has now ended. If you previously expressed interest, and are eligible to take part, you should have received contact from Energy capital or your supplier.
Those who signed-up will have been sent a survey in Autumn 2024 asking about their household, heat pump and experience with using it.
Once the trial has started, participants receive requests from their energy supplier to turn down their heat pump at specific times. By responding to these, participants will receive compensation for the amount of energy saved via their heat pump compared to the usual energy usage.
Some participants are also be invited to take part in additional focus groups and interviews.
Energy Capital is keen to support the project as part of its aim to reach net zero emissions by 2041. We are also hoping to understand better how heat pump flexibility might affect infrastructure needs across the region, helping us to better plan our energy infrastructure going forwards.
Two trials have already been run under the EQUINOX project, demonstrating that heat pump flexibility can help manage the demand on the electricity grid while simultaneously saving customers money on their energy bills. We are currently analysing the results of Trials 2 and 3, but Trial 1 also showed that these kinds of flexibility measures do not compromise the comfort of households and that the customer experience was positive.
Final results will be published throughout the second half of 2025 and into early 2026.
If you’re interested in reading more about the project, you can access all publicly-available information about the study from the project webpage here.
EQUINOX is an innovation project supported by Ofgem and funded through the regulator’s Network Innovation Competition. The project will test new commercial arrangements to reward households for temporarily altering their heating choices without compromising on comfort. EQUINOX will save consumers money by lowering energy bills and mitigating costly system upgrades, while contributing to a more resilient and equitable low-carbon energy system. EQUINOX is led by National Grid (Electricity Distribution), in collaboration with Octopus Energy, ScottishPower, Sero, Passiv UK, SP Energy Networks, Welsh Government, West Midlands Combined Authority, National Energy Action, and Guidehouse.