Have a heat pump? You could be eligible for the opportunity to earn money by turning down your heat pump on request, as part of a project to help plan the energy network of the future!
WMCA is working with National Grid and other partners to look at how we can make green heating cheaper and greener still. During the 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.
What will I get for taking part?
By taking part in the next trial of the project, you will receive payment for turning down your heat pump for short periods of time, and for taking part in surveys and interviews. Payments will either be as credit on your energy bill , or through rewards based on your energy supplier.
Payment amounts will vary based on your level of participation. In previous trials, participants were paid up to £25 for taking part in short interviews about their experience of the trial.
You may have the opportunity to learn more about how your heat pump works, or how to make best use of your heat pump by taking part. You will also have access to information on the results of the trials and will be helping WMCA and its partners accelerate the transition to a zero-emissions energy system.
If you express an interest in taking part, you may be contacted again closer to the time to get started on the trial.
I am interested in taking part! What should I do?
That’s great! Fill out an expression of interest below by 30 June 2024.
If you are eligible, WMCA or our study partners will contact you again in early September to get you started.
To be eligible, you must:
- Have a heat pump
- Be supplied by an energy supplier taking part in the EQUINOX study*
*We are interested in whether you would wish you take part regardless of your supplier and will follow up with further information on your eligibility closer to the start of the trial" not "In trials 1 and 2 this has been Octopus Energy, Scottish Power and Sero.
By completing this form confirm your consent for WMCA and/or the study partners to invite you to take part in the study or to follow-up on any questions you have raised above.
For information on how we will use and protect your personal data, please visit our main Privacy Policy.
Thanks for your interest in participating in this trial! If you have completed the form above and give your consent for us to get back in touch with you, we or one of the partners will be in touch in early Autumn with more information on eligibility and sign-up.
If you sign-up, you will be sent a survey in late September/early October 2024 to ask you about your household, your heat pump and your experience with using it. You will be able to opt out of some of the questions and will be compensated for completing the survey.
Once the trial has started, you will receive requests from your energy supplier to turn down your heat pump and by responding to these, you will relieve compensation for the amount of energy you save via your heat pump compared to your usual energy usage.
You may also be invited to take part in additional focus groups and interviews, for which you will receive payment. In addition, you will have the opportunity to hear from the EQUINOX project leads about the results and insights from the study via webinars and access to the reports.
WMCA or its partners in the project may also offer some targeted support to households taking part in the trial to make better use of their heat pump and/or to understand the trial.
The WMCA 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. A third trial under the EQUINOX project is planned for Winter 2024/25 and we are looking to support recruitment from the West Midlands region. It will run from October 2024 to March 2025.
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 trial 2, 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.
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.