Connected Response has won a grant from Innovate UK to extend the accessibility of its retrofit storage heating control technology. Westminster CC, Glasgow Housing Association and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea tower block projects have embraced the technology, and the grant will enable owner occupiers and private renters across the UK to enjoy the same comfort and health benefits.

Connected Response uses a retrofitted low-cost controller to manage storage heaters and water heaters. The controller works in partnership with a room temperature sensor linked to a cloud-based server that tracks local weather forecasts. The ‘brains’ of the technology is an algorithm that decides when to charge the storage heaters so they deliver heat and hot water in line with the occupants’ needs.

The Innovate UK grant will support the addition of low-power wide-area network communications capabilities including LoRa and GSM. This will enable geographically-dispersed properties, often in rural communities away from the gas network, to retrofit Connected Response controllers. The result is more effective heating, better health outcomes and, more often than not, a significant reduction in fuel-poverty through lower energy bills.

The Connected Response bid had to demonstrate significant benefits for communities severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Innovate UK Covid funding scheme was created to support business-led innovation in response to the pandemic.