Amazon and John Lewis vouchers for £100 are up for grabs for thousands of UK households. The vouchers are being offered for using less energy at peak times this winter.
As threats of power cuts and rising prices continue to dominate the news, households across the country are already monitoring their energy usage. Five energy companies are already offering discounts to encourage off-peak power use as part of the National Grid ’s energy scheme this winter, but for those households unable to take up this scheme's offer, there's another way to earn rewards for reducing consumption.
Energy management firm Equiwatt is offering a helping hand to those missing out, according to the Mirror. Households can earn rewards through the free Equiwatt app, which connects to smart meters and smart plugs, alerting consumers to reduce their energy use.
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Under the National Grid energy saving scheme, called the Demand Flexibility Service (DFS), households who have either been selected by their energy supplier, or who have a smart meter and half-hourly readings, can save up to £100 over this winter. Many energy companies are limiting how many people can sign up, however, under Equiwatt scheme, the same £100 offer is being made for potential savings but there is no limit to the number of households applying.
What you need to know
The Equiwatt app will link to smart technologies in your home, like smart meters, smart plugs or smart chargers. It sends notifications for you to take part in energy saving events at peak times by turning off or avoiding the use of appliances. These events, known as ‘equivents’, last for up to one hour.
You'll be rewarded for the energy and CO2 savings you make with points that can be redeemed for vouchers on Amazon, John Lewis and other big brands. Customers can earn up to 400 points in an hour, per event, for cutting down their energy use.
One point equals 1p, so 400 points adds up to £4 per equivent. Equiwatt's scheme will give households over 300 opportunities to save peak energy all year round, not just for winter.
Johnson Fernandes, CEO of Equiwatt, said: “National Grid’s demand flexibility service is a great initiative that offers a way for consumers to access incentives for saving energy at peak times of demand, while also helping to reduce strain on the grid. But many consumers will miss out on those energy savings and the financial rewards that come with them, as they either are not invited to a supplier scheme or don’t have a smart meter.
"We’re delighted that, through our app, we can offer a greater number of households the opportunity to reduce their energy usage and be rewarded financially this winter.” One Equiwatt customer said: “Energy bills are going up and up and up, but our energy usage was reduced compared to last year and I really think that’s greatly because of using equiwatt.
“We started paying more attention to what energy we were using during equivents and beyond. We actually saved money on our energy bills even though the cost of each energy unit had gone up."
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