Become powerSmart with equiwatt

When an event starts, you will receive a notification:

1) Switch off as many electric appliances as it is safe to and avoid turning high-usage appliances on.

2) Check your forecast in the equiwatt app to make sure you know how much electricity we expect you to use and what you have to beat so that you are using less. 

TIP: Check your In-Home Display (IHD) unit to make sure that you are going below your forecast.

3) Once the event has ended we will send you another notification so that you know when you can start using your appliances again.

4) As soon as we have received readings from your smart meter we will automatically award your points (this is typically with 48 hours) and let you know how much electricity you have saved in the app.

Notifications for events will be sent via the app in advance of the event happening (so make sure to have notifications switched on). We will give you as much notice as we can depending on how much notice NESO gives us.

If you forget to opt-in or out of a an event then you will not be able to earn points.

We can only let you participate if you opt-in and let us know that you are going to take part. If you do nothing then we will assume that you don't wish to take part on this occasion.

You can take part in as many or as few events as you like.

If you do not wish to participate, simply opt out in the app when you receive a notification of an upcoming event.

However, if you want to earn points for reducing your electricity usage during powerDOWN events then you will need to confirm your participation in the app before each event, so we know that you want to take part.

Events could happen at any time of day.

However, the timing of the events will be based on when the grid needs help.

This is typically during the busiest or 'peak' times of day when the energy system needs to generate more power to meet everyone's needs. For example, between 4-7 pm.

The equiwatt community have been pioneering peak time energy saving for more than 3 years, running 300+ events in that time.

This means we have a lot of experience on how to make getting rewarded for using less electricity as simple, easy and rewarding as possible. 

Our app includes a number of integrations with smart technologies, including electric vehicles, smart plugs, smart thermostats and more to automate participation in events really easy.

As an independent provider, you do not need to be with a specific energy supplier to benefit from our free app. This means that no matter who provides your energy, you will always be able to take part in our events.

Unlike some other schemes, we don't rely on sending you emails to let you know about events or wait until the end of the month to send you your rewards and savings.

Our app enables you to get rewarded and see your savings and impact as soon as your smart meter readings are available (usually within 48 hours).

Our gamified approach to energy saving also means that we aim to make using less electricity fun and rewarding by enabling you to compete in monthly leaderboards and win prizes.

If you do not have an electric smart meter then unfortunately, you will not be able to take part in powerSmart events.

In order to verify delivery of energy reduction we need data in 30-minute increments, which are provided by a smart meter.

You can find out how to request a smart meter from your energy supplier here.

powerSmart events will be running throughout the year, so once your smart meter has been installed you should be eligible to take part.

As long as you have a connected electric smart meter and half-hourly readings enabled you can take part.

Please note: Your in-home display (IHD) is different to your smart meter. Your IHD is the little screen that sits on a shelf in your house and displays your energy usage info.

As long as you have a connected electric smart meter and half-hourly readings enabled you can take part.

Even if you do not have an IHD or it is broken, you can check your energy usage in the equiwatt app or if applicable in your energy suppliers app.

If an external issue means that we are unable to retrieve readings from your smart meter during an event that you have opted into, we won't know how much you have saved.

If that happens we will be unable to award you any points for that event.

If we stop getting regular readings from your smart meter, that might prevent you from taking part in any further events. 

In this instance you may need to contact your supplier to see if there is something wrong with your smart meter.

If your smart meter stops working at any point after you have joined powerSmart, please get in touch with us at hello@equiwatt.com and we will do all we can to help you resolve the issue.

In some circumstances, your smart meter may need to be fixed by your electricity provider as they are responsible for the maintenance and repair of your smart meter.

This is something that you will need to resolve directly with them.

If we are unable to get regular readings from your smart meter, that might prevent you from taking part in any further events until the issue has been resolved. 

If an external issue means that we are unable to retrieve readings from your smart meter during an event that you have opted into, we won't know how much you have saved.

If that happens we will be unable to award you any points for that event.

If we stop getting regular readings from your smart meter, that might prevent you from taking part in any further powerSmart events. 

In this instance, you may need to contact your supplier to see if there is something wrong with your smart meter.

There is no complicated conversion rate when it comes to points. Every point earned from an event is worth 1p.

Or to put it another way, 100 points are worth £1.00.

When powerDOWN events happen, you will need to use less electricity at home compared to normal. We refer to this as beating your forecast.

Your forecast is the amount of electricity that we expect you to use during the period that the event is running and is displayed in the app during an event.

If you use less electricity than compared to normal (e.g. beat your forecast) you will earn points. The more you beat your forecast by, the more points you will earn!

You can get some help working out how much electricity your appliances use by taking a look at the Centre for sustainable energy's website.

There are several ways to automate participation in equivents.

1. Connect home appliances to a compatible TP-Link Kasa smart plug (KP115 & HS110).

2. Connect a compatible electric vehicle or smart charger (Zaptec).

3. Connect smart appliances via the IFTTT integration.

4. Connect smart appliances via the equiwatt open API and webhook triggers.

5. Connect a compatible smart thermostat (Tado).

To connect your devices, open the 'Manage' tab of the equiwatt app, select 'Add other integrations' and follow the onscreen instructions to connect your devices.

Once connected you can decide which devices take part in events and for how long.