Money saving energy app coming exclusively to Oxfordshire residents

Oxfordshire residents will be the first in the country to be able to take advantage of a free new mobile app, which can save energy and cut household bills. 

All of Oxfordshire’s 172,000 households who have a smart energy meter can download it for free whether they own or rent their home and regardless of which energy supplier they use. 

Oxfordshire County Council is helping to deliver the Energy Saver App, which will analyse gas and electricity consumption and suggest simple, personalised actions to reduce bills. 

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “In the middle of a cost of living crisis and a climate emergency, this exclusive offer for Oxfordshire is a fantastic way for residents to reduce their bills and cut their carbon emissions. 

“We expect everyone who signs up will be able to cut their gas and electricity consumption by at least seven per cent and save themselves money. The app is independent of the energy suppliers, so there is no catch, and we are delighted to be pioneering it here in Oxfordshire.” 

Later in the year, more than 500 householders representing a cross-section of app users, will also be invited to help trial energy smart appliances. These include solar panels, batteries and heat pumps on a cheaper monthly basis, removing the barrier of installation costs, providing clean energy, and helping transform Oxfordshire’s homes.

This trial will look at how modelled energy tariffs could affect take-up of energy smart appliances, helping to achieve a low carbon energy system.

The service, provided by independent energy infrastructure and solutions provider SMS and its cloud-based energy transition platform Metis, aims to bring affordable green technology to more households.  

Tom Woolley, SMS and Metis’s Product and Strategy Director, said: “The app, powered by Metis, connects to your smart meter to automatically gather information about your electricity and gas usage. It then analyses the data to provide simple advice on how you can reduce your bills.

“Additionally, the app uses the information to suggest future steps for saving money through solar and heat pumps, customised to your household’s specific needs. Users will be asked to input information about their smart meter.

“The app can then access current and historical electricity and gas usage data from the UK Data Hub, which it translates into clear, simple insights that make understanding – and reducing – home energy consumption quick and easy.

“The decisions on when and whether to get solar panels, battery systems, heat pumps can be a daunting task. This approach makes sense of that, removing the need for upfront investment and clear data driven, bespoke options to further reduce energy spend and reliance on the national grid.

“Helping people save money by reducing their energy consumption is good for the planet and your pocket.”   

Anyone signing up to the app here can: 

• Receive personalised, easily actionable tips to help them reduce their energy consumption.
• See how much money and CO₂ they’re saving.
• Receive insights about their home energy consumption on their phone.
• See which devices have consumed the most energy.
• Compare their energy consumption with similar homes.
• Create a weekly or monthly budget and track their spending and usage against the target.
• Compare their spending and usage with previous months to track progress.
• See how much they’re paying for each unit of energy.
• Receive notifications about abnormal consumption.
• Understand their future consumption based on usage history and other similar homes.
• Participate in energy events and prizes.
• Receive personalised recommendations for home efficiency upgrades and their likely impact. 

Users remain in control of their data and no user information will be shared with third parties without their explicit consent. 

The app has been developed through a collaboration between the council, SMS and Metis, Eliq and My Utility Genius and is supported by the government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. 

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