Unite Set For 10%
Energy Reduction
Thanks To Eseye’s
Award-Winning Shoebill
Eseye’s energy monitor, winner of Best
Home Energy Monitor at the European
Smart Metering Awards 2013, is helping
one of the UK’s leading student
accommodation providers cut energy
consumption.
Situation
Unite is the UK’s leading student
accommodation provider. A FTSE 250
company and listed on the London
Stock Exchange, it manages over 130
properties and houses 42,000 students
across 24 major cities nationwide. The
company has seen continued
expansion since it was founded in 1991
and now has nearly 1000 employees.
At the end of 2012 Unite began work
on a new development in Camden
which will provide quality
accommodation for 563 students, with
a view to adding a further 4000 beds
across London sites by 2014. Unite
provides an ideal setting for young
people living away from home for the
first time, with a simple rent structure
that includes heating and electricity
bills.
Although including energy bills in the
rent can make life easier for tenants, it
can encourage excessive energy
consumption from some students. With
electricity the second largest bill for
Unite it needed to take measures to
ensure it was being both greener and
XXXX r.X
more cost-effective. Not only did Unite
have to deal with ever-rising tariffs, but
it had to battle with the increased
energy consumption of students
coming to the UK from warmer
countries. It wanted to capitalise on
an increasingly environmentally aware
student body and foster a greater
sense of responsibility over energy bills
amongst its residents. By finding out
where and when the most energy was
being expended, they could better
devise strategies to reduce energy
consumption. Key to this plan was a
monitor that wasn’t intrusive to the
business or the residents and that
didn’t require releasing staff to take
meter readings.
Solution
After other suppliers failed to provide
satisfactory solutions that could offer
the efficiency and data levels
required, Unite’s Operations Manager
Neil Hinwood was put in touch with
Eseye’s Channel Development
Manager Malcolm Barnes.
It was clear that Shoebill, winner in the
Home Energy category at the 2013
European Smart Metering Awards, was
the perfect fit for Unite. Not only would
it collect data more frequently than
similar products on the market – every
half an hour instead of once or twice a
day – but unlike other monitors, it
could measure consumption from two
units through its twin current clamp
sensors.
This would effectively halve the cost
and installation time for Unite. Not only
is the product itself is cost-efficient, but
the data transfer is also extremely costPage 1
effective, sending only lightweight UDP
(user datagram protocol) packets to
its server to turn into http posts. Of
course, on top of its competitive costsaving solutions, it would ultimately
save Unite the most money by
allowing them to work out how best to
manage their energy.
“It’s a brilliant tool that really pays for
itself because it educates people on
energy efficiency. What’s so often
missing from other energy monitoring
services is context. Users might have
information on their electricity usage,
but they don’t necessarily know how
efficient they actually are because
other devices only collect and report
data, rather than analyse it. Shoebill
sends your data to a server, which
then allows you to compare your
usage with other people.”
- Paul Marshall, Chief Operating
Officer.
Benefits
Shoebill is currently being trialled
across five locations with plans to roll it
out nationwide. Unite commended
Eseye on its approach to problem
solving and more importantly on
finding solutions to potential issues
before they arise.
“After a long search for the right
solution to help our tenants become
more aware of their energy use, we
came across Eseye and soon
established that they were able to
develop and deliver a product that
would provide exactly what we were
looking for. Eseye’s focus and
creativity around cost reduction has
XXXX r.X
been great and we are pleased with
the units now in operation.”
- Neil Hinwood, Head of Commercial
Services.
The Shoebill trial has already helped
Unite target individual buildings and
tenants to see where the most energy
is being used, allowing them to direct
marketing campaigns where they’re
most needed. By engaging with
tenants over energy consumption and
highlighting ways of reducing usage,
they will not only foster a greener
culture within student communities,
but will be on track to beat their target
of 10% reduction in electricity bills. With
a nationwide roll-out, this will have a
significant impact across the company
and will enable Unite to identify areas
that could contribute to energy waste
– for example using light sensors in halls
and stairwells. The data provided by
Shoebill is absolutely vital in cultivating
a more efficient operation, where
there are vast opportunities for savings
in cost and energy.
More information
Eseye case studies are written in
conjunction with customers and
partners to provide interesting
illustrations of how the Internet of
Things is evolving and how Eseye, its
customers and its partners are using
innovation to deliver value adding
services to homes, enterprises and
cities.
For more information about this case
study or to discuss any aspect of it,
please contact the Eseye Marketing
Page 2
Department on
[email protected]
Eseye Website
www.eseye.com
or alternatively on
+44 (0)1483685200.
Follow Eseye
www.twitter.com/EseyeM2M
www.linkedin.com/company/591295
www.facebook.com/EseyeM2M
Unite website
http://www.unite-students.com
XXXX r.X
Page 3