Although the UK is shifting towards renewable clean energy, we still rely on carbon-emitting energy sources to meet demand. equiwatt helps reduce the need for this by providing flexibility to the grid.
In recent years, the majority of the UK's energy mix has been provided by renewable, clean energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric and solar.
Unlike more traditional, carbon-emitting sources of energy like gas and coal, renewables are variable sources of energy. This means they need certain conditions in order to generate electricity. For example, when it's a cloudy day or the wind stops blowing, these sources of energy produce less energy than normal.
To mitigate this, the grid uses carbon-emitting sources to meet the demand when the conditions are not optimal for renewables. This is particularly the case during peak times (e.g. when we all want to use electricity at the same time).
equiwatt helps to reduce the need for relying on these carbon-emitting energy sources by encouraging our community of users to adjust their energy usage during peak times. By switching off as part of a collective effort, the grid operators can reduce the amount of carbon-emitting energy that gets produced, helping the environment at the same time!