UK re-opens upgraded Living Lab for smart home innovation trials

Source: Smart Cities World Published: Sept.11 2020

Energy Systems Catapult has relaunched an upgraded Living Lab of connected homes and is calling on energy innovators to join its test and demonstration project for digital home energy.

The aim is for Living Lab 2.0 to provide national capability to test and demonstrate energy innovations, market arrangements, policy and regulations with real consumers in a safe, affordable, shared space, where they can also be de-risked and scaled-up for market.

Digital integration platform

Living Lab 2.0 has been backed by the UK government’s Council for Science & Technology (CST) with a new digital integration platform, alongside other improvements.

Catapult said it is particularly interested in speaking to electric vehicle (EV) smart charging companies wishing to launch or scale new products, to join the likes of leading smart home firm, tado°, which has installed its zonal heating controls into a “significant number” of Living Lab homes.