KURVE, the UK’s first digital smart metering and pay-as-you-go web app for heat networks, has been chosen to provide dual-utility (heating & hot water and cooling) metering at a high-profile new business and residential development in Central London.
Located over 1.9 acres in Islington’s fintech district, 250 City Road comprises an impressive mix of monumental towers, exquisitely landscaped greenspaces and secluded courtyards. Developer Berkely North East London (BHNEL) has selected KURVE for use in 517 luxury and affordable homes making up Phases 2 and 3 of the scheme, due to complete in 2023. This makes 250 City Road the first development anywhere to use KURVE for dual-utility metering and billing.
Jointly developed by heat network metering and billing specialist Insite Energy and energy-efficient heating provider SAV Systems, KURVE is designed to make smart metering more accessible and affordable for heat network users. Customers can easily access all their energy-usage data and manage their account from any internet device. KURVE also helps to reduce capital and operational expenditure by up to 56% because there is less hardware to install and maintain. In dual-utility instances, KURVE’s smart M-bus technology provides two-way communication for all meters across heating and hot water and cooling systems.
Steven Jansen, Head of M&E at BHNEL, who has worked with Insite Energy on numerous developments, explained, “The launch of the KURVE web app and then the further addition of dual-utility functionality since the specification of Phase 1 of 250 City Road, presented a great opportunity for us to add extra value for our residents by giving them a user-friendly one-stop-shop to manage all their energy services. We have also been able to pass on significant savings because KURVE avoids the need to install wall-mounted display units in each home.”
The new three-year contract covers provision of equipment and on-site commissioning support, as well as ongoing metering and billing services. BHNEL was already working with Insite on metering and billing during Phase 1 of the development, which included the installation of Guru Hub 1 smart meters in each residence.
“KURVE is still new in the market but it’s already bringing real benefits in the housing schemes that are using it,” commented Ellie Blacklock, KURVE Project Manager at Insite Energy. “We’re delighted that 250 City Road will be the first site to run KURVE dual utility. It’s in keeping with the development’s modern, high-tech character and location that it should be breaking new ground in this way.”
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About KURVE
Launched in November 2019, KURVE is the UK’s first digital app-based metering solution for heat networks. Kurve Technologies is a collaboration between industry specialists, Insite Energy and SAV Systems. KURVE is designed to transform energy metering, billing, and payments with a system that is more affordable, flexible, functional, easy to install and cheaper to run than established pay-as-you (PAYG) alternatives.
KURVE’s streamlined package combines a Kamstrup energy meter, prepayment valve, heat interface unit (HIU) from SAV or other provider, and a Kamstrup Master Multiport. The KURVE install is pre-wired and does not require an in-home display device. KURVE’s design not only cuts time spent on installation and commissioning, it also significantly reduces service, maintenance and administration costs compared to other PAYG alternatives. KURVE is estimated to deliver a combined CapEx and OpEx saving of around 56%, relative to competitor metering solutions. Billing costs are estimated to be reduced by 17%. Coming largely as a result of the system’s smart Mbus infrastructure, a standard network set-up enhanced for two-way communication, these OpEx savings can be passed on to residential customers via their heat tariffs – an area which is increasingly under the microscope of consumer watchdogs.
For just a few pounds a year, heat network operators specifying KURVE will gain access to data diagnostics including energy consumption and VWART (Volume Weighted Average Return Temperature) from each connected meter. Analysis of this detailed data provides valuable insight into usage patterns and enables operators to optimise network performance, improve efficiencies, and reduce costs through to the end-user. This functionality has only been available previously with premium prepayment metering solutions which have proven to be out-of-reach to low-cost developments outside of the London market.