Although voltage optimisation has been used in industrial settings for many years, adapting the technology for use in the home is a significant development. By “smoothing” fluctuations and lowering output voltage moderately, the VPhase unit delivers typical cost savings of 17% on fridges and freezers, and 15% on lighting. All of this is achieved using a compact device that can be installed at minimal cost and requires no change in consumer behaviour.
“The principles of voltage optimisation have been delivering energy savings to industrial and commercial buildings for many years. VPhase brings these savings to the home,” explains Lee Juby, CEO of VPhase.
According to a recent press release, VPhase has made considerable inroads in bringing the product to market in the UK, and has teamed with British Gas and Scottish and Southern Energy to offer the technology to their customers. Moreover, VPhase has recently begun selling the VPhase unit directly to householders and the trade.
Given the success of the unit in the UK, VPhase called on business-to-business market research specialist, B2B International, to conduct a Europe-wide market assessment exercise, designed to appraise the size and nature of the opportunity for selling the product more widely.
Northern European countries especially attractive
The research found that there was significant groundswell amongst consumers for taking energy efficiency measures in their homes and that the promise of pain-free, consistent savings in both electricity use and carbon dioxide emissions was especially valuable. The research also revealed that Northern European countries, with higher relative electricity costs, greater average consumption of electricity, and supportive governmental incentives for adopting energy efficiency measures, were especially attractive for launching the product.
B2B International’s research manager Oliver Truman, who directed the project, believes that the positive reaction to VPhase is indicative of a wider shift in attitudes towards environmental products: “We found that it wasn’t just publicly-funded energy efficiency bodies that showed enthusiasm for the product. The commercial sector, particularly large utility companies, have embraced the energy efficiency agenda whole-heartedly and were keen to learn more about what the VPhase product could do”.
“I am looking forward to rolling out VPhase to many millions of customers across Europe,” concluded Juby.
VPhases has teamed up with the utilities British Gas and Scottish and Southern Energy, both of which have conducted their own energy saving trials. Although Juby says that the results of these trials have not been published, he points out that VPhase has funded its own independent testing that has been monitored by energy experts EA Technology, showing its device offers energy savings of between from 6 and 12%.
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