SHIELD

About SHIELD

Welcome to the SHIELD project homepage.

SHIELD stands for Smart Heat and Intelligent Energy in Low-income Districts.

Energy prices are rising fast.

The goal of this SHIELD is to integrate established and new energy technologies to reduce household energy costs and reduce carbon emissions. Our plan is to pilot these technologies in some Eastlight Community Homes housing.

The project has three phases:

• Phase 1: Discovery (this phase, where we are researching solutions)
• Phase 2: Detailed Design
• Phase 3: Implementation, where we will install these technologies into 300 homes in a large-scale pilot project

Our team includes technology providers (Power Circle CIC, Thermify, Kensa); Citizens Advice Essex, Essex County Council, Eastlight Community Homes, UK Power Networks and UK Community Works CIC.

Our Goals

Our goals in Phase 1 are:

1. To integrate the low carbon technologies into a single package that can be installed in a house
2. To model the reductions in energy costs and carbon emissions from installing these technologies in a home
3. To let Eastlight tenants know about the project
4. To gather the views of Eastlight tenants on the project
5. To build a list of tenants interested in exploring this in more detail in Phase 2 of the project

Timetable

Phase 1: Discovery is from now until the end of May. If Phase 2: Detailed Design is funded, it will begin in October 2023, with implementation happening some time in 2024.

We want your input and involvement

These technologies show great promise in reducing costs and emissions. We have reached a point where we would like to talk with you to get your thoughts, feedback, and ideas on these plans. 

How you can get involved 

1. Fill in this short questionnaire giving us your views on the SHIELD concept.
2. Sign up for a 1:1 session with a SHIELD team member. In this session, you will learn more about the technologies we plan to use and how they work. We will ask for your feedback on these ideas.

The session will last 30-45 minutes.  We will give you a £10 Tesco Voucher to thank you for your time.

If you have any questions about involvement, you are welcome to contact:

•  Alex Templeton
•  Ryan Doggett

Details on the individual technologies

SHIELD combines established energy equipment such as solar PV and heat pumps with newer technologies like intelligent batteries, distributed data centres and ridgetop wind turbines. The project is also looking at integrating these systems with electric vehicle charging.

These newer technologies include:

Thermify distributed cloud computers

This is part of a distributed data centre that sits in your house. The waste heat from its operation can provide all the heat and hot water a house needs for £300 per year.

Battery storage

These intelligent batteries can sell electricity and together with other batteries in the area provide frequency response services to the grid, making money to reduce your overall bill. They can, in certain circumstances buy cheap electricity for you to use when it is more expensive.

Heat Battery

This is like an electrical battery, but one that stores heat for use when it is needed.

Ridgetop wind turbines

This is a new kind of wind turbine that sits on the ridge of the roof, generating energy from the flow of wind over the roof.