Evaluation Support Services

Evaluation Support Service. The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) launched the Smart Systems and Heat (SSH) Programme to help tackle this problem. Phase 1 of the Programme (SSH1) was delivered by the Energy Systems Catapult and partners. Consumer research showed that customers are more concerned about the quality of energy services (e.g. comfort), than what sort of heating technology delivers them. Technical research showed that it is possible to design a 'Home Energy Services Gateway' that would allow a service driven, rather than energy driven, business model. Business research developed a set of different consumer/supplier relationships (or business models) that would support the roll-out of low-carbon technologies. The Development stage of Smart Systems and Heat Phase 2 (SSH2) is intended to build on the concepts developed in SSH1, to discover the potential for service providers to offer - and customers to accept - the concept of heat as a service, and in so doing, open a market where demand flexibility can be traded. This would enable a range of potential new service offerings and propositions to be developed that could support the take up of low carbon heating and ancillary services. This programme - the Development stage of SSH Phase 2 (SSH2) - builds on (SSH1), and looks to prepare to utilise the learnings in further demonstration projects/programmes that would follow this stage. A requirement of SSH2 is to carry out an evaluation to assess whether it is delivering successfully. Evaluation will be an ongoing process throughout the life of SSH2, with results and insights to be fed back into the programme so that activities can be adapted as necessary to ensure that the direction of travel is still towards the overall benefits of the SSH concept. The evaluation process will also provide assurance to the customer, BEIS, that SSH2 is delivering as expected. This contract is to support Energy Systems Catapult to undertake the evaluation of SSH2.