SHIELD
Smart Heat & Intelligent Energy in Low-Income Districts
Project Summary
Making low-carbon heat and energy more affordable and accessible
SHIELD is exploring a different way to decarbonise homes. It brings together low-carbon technologies, smart energy management and a new community-focused energy services model, with the aim of reducing household energy costs without requiring residents to fund expensive equipment upfront.
Following the successful Discovery and Alpha stages, SHIELD has progressed into Beta, where the approach is being developed and tested at a much larger scale.
Project status: Beta phase underway
Early modelling indicates*:
20–40% potential reduction in household energy costs
90%+ potential reduction in household carbon emissions
Up to 300 homes included in the phased Beta trial
*Figures are based on household energy performance and modelling undertaken through the earlier project phases.
The challenge for low-carbon homes
Moving homes away from fossil-fuel heating is a major part of the transition to Net Zero. But many of the usual solutions involve significant upfront investment and, in some cases, higher running costs.
For households already struggling with energy bills, simply asking people to buy new heating systems, solar panels or batteries is unlikely to provide an inclusive route to decarbonisation.
SHIELD was created to explore another approach: can low-carbon technologies, local energy generation and new commercial models work together to reduce both carbon emissions and household energy costs?
SHIELD in real homes
SHIELD is now moving beyond modelling and technical development into real homes.
Read the BBC News feature:
‘I heat my Essex home with a data centre in the shed’ – BBC News
More than a technology project
SHIELD’s innovation comes from combining the technical solution with a different way of funding and operating it.
The Technology
The core SHIELD proposition combines solar PV, battery and heat storage, smart energy management and Thermify’s HeatHub, which recovers heat from distributed cloud computing and uses it to heat homes.
The project is also exploring peer-to-peer energy trading, grid flexibility and how other low-carbon technologies could form part of the system.
The Business Model
SHIELD is developing a Social Energy Services Company – or Social ESCo – to manage the system and enable external funding of the technologies.
Rather than expecting individual households to pay for solar panels, batteries and other equipment themselves, the model is designed so that assets can be funded and managed collectively. Revenues available from electricity export and services provided to the electricity network can then form part of the wider financial model.
Project development
Alpha stage — completed ✓
The Alpha phase moved SHIELD from concept towards a tested proposition.
Two homes were used to pilot the SHIELD approach, bringing together the HeatHub, solar PV, batteries and heat storage. The project also carried out technology and financial modelling, site and network assessments, developed the proposed commercial and funding arrangements for Beta and continued engagement with households taking part.
The work provided the evidence and practical learning needed to progress to a larger-scale demonstration.
Beta stage — underway
Beta takes SHIELD from a small demonstration towards a solution that can be tested at meaningful scale.
The project is undertaking a phased trial across up to 300 households in Essex, testing the technologies, customer proposition, Social ESCo, energy trading and grid services together.
The aim is not simply to demonstrate that individual pieces of technology work. Beta will test whether the whole system can work technically, commercially and for the people living in the homes, while building the evidence needed to understand how the approach could be replicated elsewhere.
What have we learned so far?
The earlier phases of SHIELD have already provided useful lessons about the practical challenges of delivering low-carbon energy in people’s homes.
Tenant engagement during Discovery showed that energy costs were a major concern and that there was strong interest in technologies that could reduce both bills and carbon emissions. Alpha modelling subsequently indicated potential household energy-cost reductions of around 20% for a typical household and around 40% for a fuel-poor household, alongside carbon-emission reductions of more than 90%.
The project has also reinforced an important point: the technology cannot be considered separately from affordability, funding, regulation, household engagement and the electricity network. Making the proposition simple for residents while managing that complexity behind the scenes is a central part of SHIELD.
Designed to be replicated
SHIELD is being demonstrated in Essex and Kent, but the project has been designed with wider application in mind.
From the Discovery stage, the project identified the potential for the approach to be replicated across residential homes, housing associations, social landlords and local authorities. Beta is now intended to provide a stronger evidence base for that wider rollout, including testing how the commercial model and network arrangements operate at greater scale.
That makes SHIELD useful not only as a demonstration of individual low-carbon technologies, but as a test of how technology, finance, energy markets, housing and community needs can be brought together into one deliverable model.
Working in partnership
SHIELD brings together organisations with expertise spanning electricity networks, housing, local government, community engagement, energy supply, technology and project delivery.
Find out more about SHIELD
Read more more about SHIELD
UKPN – Strategic Innovation fund – SHIELD
SHIELD was created by Power Circle which continues to provide business model and technical leadership. SHIELD Beta Phase is funded through Ofgem’s Strategic Innovation Fund and is led by UK Power Networks working with project partners. The project is currently continuing in Beta phase and this page will be updated as new results and learning become available.