SMART-UP, Smart Meters to fight against energy poverty

admin on 8 March 2021

Technicians advising a neighbour on the use of the Smart Meters

Smart monitors that let you know the energy that is being spent in a household at each time and thus be able to change consumption practices to reduce the energy bill. The Smart Meters incorporate small home screens (In-House) in which each household can visualize its consumption in real time.

This system has been developed as part of a European project between 2015 and 2018, with 5 participating countries. The project also included the training of the various agents who are in relation with vulnerable users: social workers, installers, etc. Training guides can be found for free on the project’s website and are adapted to the context and language of each participating country. This training allowed for gaining the knowledge needed to accompany users in the use of Smart Meters, interpreting consumer data, and knowing the possible measures to be taken to reduce the amount of energy bills.

Characteristics of innovation

Bank of innovations, Information and planning, Lab, New technological tool, Pilot project, Poverty and exclusion, Prediction and prevention, Proximity care, Self-management and participation, User empowerment

Location

Spain, France, Italy, Malta, United Kindom

Partners/Funders

European Comission (Horizon 2020)

Genesis

The project started in 2015 with the aim of reducing the electrical consumption of vulnerable households suffering from energy poverty. Before the implementation of this project, users didn’t find a relationship between energy consumption and the bill at the end of the month. The project was born to show that both variables are related and that more efficient consumption can result in significant savings in the bill.

Level of implementation

Ecoserveis has coordinated the Smart-Up project on Spanish territory, managing a pilot test with the participation of 1870 households, about 60 of which installed an intelligent monitor. In 2018 the project as a whole reached 23 participating organizations, 530 people formed to provide consultancy, and 4,463 attended households. In the final evaluations, it was noted that 80% of households had applied one or more measures to reduce the consumption of energy and that 65% had increased the use of Smart Meters installed under the project.

Further information

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Nextdoor, global platform against neighbourhood isolation and unwanted loneliness

admin on 23 February 2021

Neighbours accompanying each other through Nextdoor

Virtual platform connecting neighbours and fighting against unwanted loneliness. Today it is used by neighbours of 265, 000 neighbourhoods in 11 countries, and during the Covid-19 pandemic it has been of great service to millions of people. It also has versions in Catalan and Spanish.

Nextdoor starts from the observation that today most citizens of large urban areas do not know their neighbours beyond casual encounters on the staircase or the street. Nextdoor is an online platform that wants to change this by creating more united and communitarian neighbourhoods using technology to eliminate possible barriers. It consists of a virtual forum where neighbours can post consultations, recommendations for local services, requests for help or interest information about the neighbourhood. All users must verify their belonging to a particular neighbourhood, so that communications are within the framework of this neighbourhood and are secure.

Nextdoor has been of great service during the Covid-19 pandemic thanks to initiatives such as #CuentaConmigo, which fights unwanted loneliness through video calls between neighbours, so that they can meet each other and share a time of their day-to-day lives. In addition, during the pandemic, they also launched a solidarity map so that neighbours could share their needs and help each other. It is a way to connect with other people and create a more united community; a unity that can then move to life outside the screen.