HEAT PUMPS SMART HOMES, ZERO BILLS Octopus Energy is offering a partnership with housebuilders that guarantees zero energy bills for occupiers using its Kraken technology platform. Andy Pearson speaks to Nigel Banks about the companys first pilot and a 200-home scheme planned with Bellway Homes R eports that energy bills in Britain are predicted to rise by 5% next year will have come as worrying news to many households but not all. Zero Bills is an initiative by Octopus Energy. It is marketed as a worldfirst smart proposition that allows customers to move into homes that have no energy bills for at least five years, guaranteed. The claim is that Zero Bills households will save around 1,800 on energy bills compared with those on a standard variable tariff, based on current energy rates. To date, close to 1,000 homes across the UK have been accredited under the initiative by Octopus Energy, through contracts with developers and housing providers. That number is set to escalate with news that Bellway Homes, one of the UKs major housebuilders, has agreed a long-term partnership with the energy provider to deliver Zero Bills homes at scale (see panel, A bellwether for zero energy bills homes?). To sign up for the scheme, a house must be off the gas grid, be heated by an electric source such as a heat pump be kitted out with solar PV and a battery, and have a | ZERO BILLS HOMES Octopus Energy will guarantee zero energy bills for five years in Bellway Homes scheme broadband connection. These technologies are then optimised by Kraken, Octopus Energys technology platform, to put power on to the Grid, as well as pull it from the Grid. Effectively, were looking to generate more energy than the house is expected to typically use, through smart control of the equipment, so homes will be operationally zero carbon on an annual basis, says Nigel Banks, technical director Zero Bills and low carbon homes at Octopus Energy. This will involve charging the battery at night, when energy is cheap, or using free electricity generated by the solar panels during the day. Well have the ability to export solar from the roof and from the battery, so we can generate revenue from exporting that free energy, which is how we can make Zero Bills commercially viable, Banks explains. To be accredited as suitable for the scheme, a housebuilder must confirm a homes expected heating and hot water consumption, along with its expected solar-generated power. According to Banks, Octopus Energy will use its data on the amount of energy used for unregulated www.cibsejournal.com December 2023 49 CIBSE Dec 23 pp49-50, 52 Octopus heat pumps.indd 49 24/11/2023 14:50