09 September 2024 – Switchee, a British tech scale-up aiming to improve the lives of those in social housing, has today taken positive action to eradicate fuel poverty by announcing its industry-first free Energy Voucher service. The service uses real-time data to identify households living in fuel poverty, delivering energy voucher links directly to the resident.
This follows Switchee securing a £5 million joint investment from Octopus Ventures and AXA IM Alts, enabling Switchee to remain on the trajectory for its devices to be installed in one million UK social homes.
Switchee’s industry-first, end-to-end service uses real-time data to detect households in fuel poverty, sending residents a link to a £49 energy voucher on their device within 48 hours of confirmation.
A 300-home pilot scheme has been underway in East Anglia in partnership with Flagship Group, the largest provider of social housing in the east of England. In the pilot, a staggering 72% of households expressed the immediate need for financial support by requesting an energy voucher, which was funded by Flagship and swiftly delivered by Switchee.
New figures from Ofgem highlight that energy debt has reached record levels of £3.3 billion, with the NEA predicting that 6 million people will be in fuel poverty this winter. Fuel poverty is a catalyst for wider health issues impacting vulnerable households, as well as exacerbating issues such as damp and mould.
Now, with the Government announcing the extension of the Household Support Fund, Switchee stands ready to support the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and housing associations to deliver direct support to ensure everyone has a warm and safe home this winter.
Housing providers face limited funds, administrative challenges, and a lack of data to identify those most in need. Switchee's Energy Voucher service streamlines this process, enabling faster, more targeted assistance, and ensuring available funds are efficiently deployed.
Tom Robins, Chief Executive of Switchee, said:
“At Switchee, we believe in the power of technology to change the way we solve big problems for real people. Addressing issues like fuel poverty requires a data led approach, ensuring immediate support reaches those who need it most.
Today, I am thrilled to introduce Switchee's free Energy Voucher Service, a proactive initiative in collaboration with UK Housing Providers. Within hours, we can help a person or family, afford to turn their heating back on - and feel the comfort and warmth that everyone deserves.
I remain committed to addressing poverty, and am proud to stand alongside housing associations in our shared mission to find practical solutions. The Energy Voucher Service is a crucial step towards alleviating fuel poverty and making a meaningful impact.”
David Armstrong, Chief Operating Officer of Flagship Group, said:
“At Flagship, we’re constantly looking for ways to support our tenants, and working with Switchee has allowed us to do that in a truly innovative way. The energy voucher service has been a game-changer, getting help to where needed most, quickly and efficiently.”
About Switchee
Switchee is an analytics and insights company that believes in the power of data to do good. Designed and created specifically for social housing, Switchee harnesses the power of Internet of Things (IoT) technology to deliver real-time, actionable insights. By collecting over 16 billion data points annually, Switchee empowers housing providers to make informed decisions, optimise property performance, and transform the management and delivery of housing services. These actionable insights enable its customers to optimise energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve resident satisfaction, improving the quality of life for people living in rented homes.
Switchee is a fully vertically integrated business, creating its own bespoke devices to work in tandem with the Switchee cloud service dashboard that landlords have access to. Neatly and discreetly built within the Switchee device are light, humidity, temperature, and pressure sensors that feed real-time property data into our secure cloud. Aggregated and displayed in the dashboard, social landlords receive actionable insights to support residents and better manage their property portfolio. With data privacy and transparency at the heart of Switchee’s approach, residents are made clear on what information is collected and processed on behalf of landlords and why, with consent obtained before devices are installed.
How the Energy Voucher service works
Switchee's Energy Voucher service offers an industry-first approach to alleviating fuel poverty and preventing mould caused by cold homes. The full end-to-end service uses Switchee real-time data to identify households living in fuel poverty. This is followed by outreach to the most at-risk homes, direct delivery of energy voucher links to the Switchee device, resident redemption measurement and reporting, resident support as well as impact assessment on both fuel poverty and mould in a report.
Qualifying residents receive voucher links for £49 energy credits via smartphone, tablet, or computer, with options available for those without internet access.
The service addresses underheating by identifying residents whose homes have not reached 16 degrees in any of the last 30 occupied days. It provides a systemic solution for mould caused by inadequate heating.
The service reaps several key benefits, including:
To learn more about how Switchee is helping housing associations and local authorities to support their residents and remotely protect their assets, contact our team today.
