There are two ways to get rewarded for saving energy with equiwatt: Manual and automatic (or smart) participation
You can participate in equiwatt's peak time energy events (we call them equivents) in two different ways: Manually via a smart meter or automatically with a connected smart device.
Manual participation via a smart meter
To participate in equivents with your smart meter, you need to connect it to your equiwatt account in the app. Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to do that.
How do I participate?
When an equivent starts, you will receive a notification:
- Switch off running electric appliances and avoid turning appliances on.
- Check your forecast to make sure you’re going below it. Tip: Check your In-home Display unit to make sure you are going below your forecast.
TIP: Don't forget to log your manual participation in the app to enter yourself into the monthly prize draw to win £20! To do this simply press the blue 'I'm participating manually' button and select which devices you have switched off!
Please note: Entries are per equivent and not per appliance.
Click here to learn how to log your appliance(s) participation in an equivent.
When an equivent ends, you will receive a notification:
- Switch the appliances/devices you need back on.
- Your points for participating in the event will appear within 24-48 hours and can be found via the 'events participated' widget on the home screen of the app.
Automated 'Smart' participation
There are currently four ways to automate participation in equivents.
- Connect home appliances to a compatible Kasa smart plug.
- Connect a compatible electric vehicle or smart charger.
- Connect smart appliances via the IFTTT integration.
- Connect smart appliances via the equiwatt API integrations.
PLEASE NOTE: All equivent points are awarded via your smart meter. If you do not have a smart meter connected to your account then you will not be able to earn any points from your automated devices.
1. Kasa Smart Plugs:
Participating in equivents with a Kasa smart plug is an easy way to save energy when demand on the grid is high as your smart plugs will do the work for you. It also gives you more opportunities to earn bonus points too!
To participate in equivents with a smart plug, you simply need to connect your chosen appliance to a compatible Kasa TP-Link Smart Plug via the equiwatt app.
TIP: You can find help setting up your Kasa Smart Plug for the first time here.
How it works:
When an equivent starts, your appliance will automatically turn itself off at the start of the equivent and switch itself back on at the end of the equivent.
With Kasa Smart plugs you can:
- Adjust the length of time that your appliance takes part in an equivent in settings
- Opt-out from equivents if you would prefer your appliance not to take part
- Automatically earn points according to how long your appliance participated in the event and the amount of energy and CO2 it saves.
- View the Command History of your devices to see when they have been switched on and off by equiwatt.
2. Electric Vehicles (EVs) & chargers
Participating in equivents with your electric vehicle (EV) or charger is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to lower your peak time energy usage and reduce your carbon footprint.
To participate in equivents with your EV, you simply need to connect your compatible EV or charger to the equiwatt app and opt-in to equivents.
When an equivent starts, your EV's charging will automatically be paused at the start of the event and resume at the end of the event.
PLEASE NOTE: Your EV will not participate in an equivent if any of the following criteria are met:
- You have disabled smart charging. To enable smart charging, please ensure that the Smart Charging and the equivents toggles are set to ON within your settings.
- Your EV is unplugged or not charging due to a localised fault.
- Your EV has been detected as not charging at the ‘home’ location selected in the app. We cannot manage your EV's charging at public charge points.
When your EV is connected to equiwatt you can:
- Adjust the length of time that your EV takes part in an equivent (choose between 30-60 mins) in the 'equivent Preferences' settings.
- Opt-out from equivents if you would prefer your EV not to take part.
- Earn points from every equivent that your EV participates in.
- Earn points 5 every day that your EV is plugged in and ready to participate in an equivent. (Note: Daily points are awarded on a per-day basis whenever you connect the EV).
- Compete with other users by participating in our monthly leaderboard for the chance to win bonus points for finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. Find out more here.
3. IFTTT Integration
As well as using direct integrations such as Kasa smart plugs and electric vehicles, you can also set up your smart appliances to take part in equivents via our IFTTT integration.
To participate your smart devices in equivents using the IFTTT integration, you simply need to choose or create the relevant applet on the equiwatt IFTTT page and follow the onscreen instructions. You can learn more about IFTTT here.
4. API Integrations
In addition to setting up your smart appliances to take part in equivents via our IFTTT integration, you can also use our Open API and Webhook triggers to automate your device's participation in equivents.
To use the equiwatt Open API or Webhook triggers to programmatically control the turning on and off of your devices during equivents. You can learn more about our Open API & Webook Triggers here.