Our proposal revolves around the idea of creating a better situation for the energy aspect of both the producer and the user. We plan to reduce the overall energy usage by the customers, therefore also reducing energy usage and peak loads on the utility companies’ generators.
The first step is creating a contract with energy supplier (preferably a NPO), we would gather funding from them in exchange we would work on reducing the load on their system over a set time frame.
The resulting effort would mean the energy supplier would not have to push as much money into buying generators and upkeep, they could instead invest the extra money back into renewables. This is an essential part of the contract, as we could tailor it in such a way that, after they have generated savings equal to the grant, they initially gave us, they can start funding their renewables projects better.
The business could also be expanded to include extra items such as solar panels, energy efficient lightbulbs and dishwashers. The solar panels could allow students to have no electricity bill. The excess electricity could be sold back to the grid and profits returned to our company which could assist with expansion. Dishwashers use an average of 1/9th of the water compared to washing up by hand under running water.
A financial example:
We spend £1000 on the insulation of a house.
If we assume for a household to save £100 a month on heating cost due to the new insulation, we would expect to get a lower fee of e.g. £60 a month back from it until the cost of insulation has been fully covered. This would save the household £40 a month until the cost of insulation has been paid off and the full £100 a month afterwards.
There are 2 options to choose from:
· We receive the payment directly from the tenants. In this case there will be a cap on rent increase (e.g. £10 a month increase) until the insulation has been paid off ensuring that the tenant still saves money overall (e.g. £30 a month).
· We receive the payment from the landlord and there is no cap on rent increase.
In conclusion we appeal to the acknowledgement of the bigger picture regarding the climatic crisis and our responsibility to reduce climate change. More importantly we encourage public to consider the positive impact on the environment in reducing CO2 emissions and at the same time tenants, landlords and energy industry benefit for our idea.
Hi team, so sorry for the delay in my response, a covid related travel nightmare meant that I haven't been able to have access to a reliable internet connection until now, so huge apologies for that. I hope that my feedback can still be of use to you all. My name is Kate and I study Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
I think that you've come up with a really interesting idea! I especially like that your suggested source of funding is from the energy supplier - often energy-saving measures have to be accompanied by a financial incentive from the government. I really like the way that you are looking for methods to combat flaws in our current energy industry, providing a missing link type of solution. Now more than ever it is vital that we as a society look to reduce our energy consumption and evaluate how we can reduce our environmental impact, this is a great idea to do so, while simultaneously reducing the proportion of consumers' income spent on energy.
My biggest question to you would be, assuming that the energy supplier profits from higher energy consumption, charging by the kWh, how can you make the changes financially beneficial to the supplier providing funding? I agree with Emily when she says that you need to convince the supplier that your solution is the right investment to make for them as a company, as well as for the environment. I also really like the idea of a video to communicate your idea, this could be very visual making the context of the problem clearer throughout.
Your 2 pronged approach to the problem is fantastic! Firstly reducing the energy consumption required, and then considering how to make the energy still needed greener - no energy is even better than the most environmentally friendly power source! Which one of these would you like to be your biggest focus? I really like the idea of putting responsibility into the hands of the renters, it would be good to make a stronger point about this as it makes our idea really unique.
I think that Emily has already covered everything else that I'd like to say. Please get in touch for any more feedback/if I can help in any way. I will see your posts now and so will reply as quickly as I can. Keep up the great work!
Kate
Hi team, to introduce myself my name is Emily and I am a Flood Risk/Civil Engineer and I am your mentor for this challenge :) I only just was allocated to you this afternoon so I am sorry this is coming later than you were probably expecting but hopefully I can be of some help in fine tuning your idea.
Firstly, I do just want to say this idea is quite a unique and fantastic one! I genuinely believe that ideas like this, which thinks about the interconnected relationships between (in the energy sector case) the user and supplier are innovative and really highlight shortfalls in current systems. And the way you position yourselves as a linking entity really shows that you are thinking in terms of gaps and what is missing from the way we do things now and could be improved.
I think key suggestions here would be to think about how you are selling this wonderful idea. It would be helpful when you create your video to think of this as a storytelling process.
Most importantly, what is the problem you are trying to solve? You describe the overall context/background a little towards the end but this should be considered first. Think of how an engineer critically designs, we have to really understand (and communicate!) the problem to sell our business case first. Then what the solution is and how you think your design/idea would work.
So what is the exact issue you are trying to tackle? Perhaps you could do some research on what percentage of GHG emissions can be attributed to energy usage or wastage in the home? What is the link between household energy usage and maybe a lack of drive for energy suppliers to be more sustainable and the overall issue of the energy sector's contribution to climate change? You do this at the end of this spiel for water usage being reduced by using a dishwasher, what is the equivalent for your case?
Also on this it is a little unclear at times how exactly the key players are benefitting and who they are? At one point you mention students? Could this idea apply to all renters?
I like how you are presenting a saving to energy providers and household members via contractual obligations. This is concrete and in a way, addresses some of our issues regarding vague targets for reducing GHG emissions with little accountability which we have as a society as a whole at the moment. But I think it needs to be explained a little better what the exact incentive for the energy supplier is. Could the saving from upkeep etc be quantified in a even rough current statistics method? If they provide you with the money upfront you really need to be able to sell the incentive for them to "invest". You are almost providing an investment opportunity in themselves and a greener future. How can you convince them and us of this?
On the topic of key players I think you should focus on the fact that your idea gives renters power they otherwise do not have towards contributing to sustainable design. Perhaps there is research out-there already about renters wanting to have more sustainable living options? Give this a read: https://hamiltonfraser.co.uk/knowledge/how-to-be-an-eco-friendly-landlord/
I get that there is alot here but I think you really have a fantastic idea which is complex enough it needs to be sold well and I think you are so almost there! Just think about motivations and context as by the end I was sold! But people want to be taken on a journey where they understand the process, which helps get the solution across :)
Happy to provide more help at any point if you need more, I will see any posts but keep this excellent work up!