An E-NERGY webinar has focussed on enhancing the update of digital services for consumers in the energy market and supporting them to become prosumers.
The five E-NERGY cluster projects – DECODIT, ENERGENIUS, DIGITIZE, EU-DREAM and CELINE – participated in the webinar, with short presentations on each.
Kicking off the discussion, Stratis Kanarachos, project lead for DECODIT highlighted how the project is addressing the problem of data siloes in building domains such as energy management, renovation and financing.
“What we have found is that the fusion of data from these different domains leads to better services that are cost optimised for both the consumers and service providers,” he said.
Costas Arvanitis, communication director for ENERGENIUS, focussed on the game that has been developed to simulate everyday use of energy in the home.
“Our tools are how we are going to convince every consumer to be part of the energy transition.”
Eleni Tsironi, coordinator of DIGITSE, reviewed the project’s role in empowering consumers to not only understand but also act on energy data
“By the end of the year we should have created a strong community of stakeholders, innovators and citizens all contributing to a fair and inclusive energy future.”
Annika Wolff representing CELINE highlighted the project’s focus on social innovation and community engagement aspects.
“We want to be sure the tools we develop are those that are needed,” she said, noting that CELINE is still in its early stages.
Rounding of the projects, Valeria Palladino representing EU-DREAM said the project’s aim is to make energy information understandable, actionable and accessible for all users.
“We are adding intelligence and interaction to the traditional energy system … technology alone doesn’t build trust, people do.”
A point raised in the discussion was why digital energy services haven’t already taken off with a mix of barriers being mentioned, including social, behavioural and regulatory.
Another was about ensuring inclusivity, while user engagement was also raised in several questions.
In closing Kanarachos highlighted that the consumer engagement of these projects is a new landscape.
“The projects are learning how to engage consumers and design services that meet their needs and so we have to join our forces.”
For more on the projects, view the webinar on demand.
The E-NERGY cluster also is present at Enlit Europe at stand 5.F30-S04.