Smart energy GB made energy visible at the national Eistedfodd for Wales
Today, (Tuesday 2 August) Clog dancer Tudur Phillips lit up the National Eisteddfod for Wales.
Tudur Phillips, award-winning Welsh clog dancer and S4C presenter, recruited visitors entering the National Eisteddfod for Wales to see how much energy they’re generating with their feet.
Phillips was at the Eisteddfod with Smart Energy GB, the voice of the smart meter rollout, making energy visible using a smart technology footpath using kinetic tiles, created by clean-tech company Pavegen.
By enabling visitors to generate power and see how many minutes of energy use their footsteps can ‘power’, Smart Energy GB aimed to demonstrate in an illustrative way the visibility and control smart meters will bring to the way we use energy in our homes.
Tudur and his volunteer dancers generated energy by stomping on the bridge. This was shown on a large screen behind them; illustrating how much energy to power a lightbulb and a laptop or to charge a mobile phone.
Smart meters will be offered to every household, at no additional cost, by 2020, as part of a national transformation of the way we buy and use our gas and electricity. This new technology will bring an end to estimated bills and show us, via a simple in-home display, what we’re spending in pounds and pence, in near real-time.
Fflur Lawton, Head of Policy and Communications Wales for Smart Energy GB, said: “We were showing visitors to the Eisteddfod that smart technology can make energy visible – and help us get it under control. Smart meters are coming to every home, giving accurate information and visibility of what we’re spending, which is transforming the way we use gas and electricity in our homes.”
Tudur Phillips said: “It’s great to be part of such an exciting campaign making it easier for people to see and understand their energy use. Clog dancing is a high energy activity and you can see how much energy we generate by dancing on the tiles.”
Pavegen CEO and Founder Laurence Kemball-Cook, inventor of the energy slabs, said: “This is the first time we’ve demonstrated Pavegen’s technology in Wales and we’re thrilled to be at the National Eisteddfod in Abergavenny. Data from our tiles allows visitors to see how much energy they can generate with their footsteps.”
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Notes to editors
About Smart Energy GB
Smart Energy GB is the voice of the smart meter rollout. It’s our task to help everyone in Great Britain understand smart meters, the national rollout and how to use their new meters to get their gas and electricity under control. Our national campaign has already begun and will reach all households and microbusinesses in England, Scotland and Wales.
About smart meters and the rollout
Smart meters will replace the traditional meters we currently have in our homes. They will provide consumers with accurate bills, near real time information on energy usage in pounds and pence, and greater control over their gas and electricity. The smart meter rollout is an essential technology upgrade, unprecedented in its scale, to improve Great Britain’s energy infrastructure. Between now and 2020, everyone across England, Scotland and Wales will be offered a smart meter by their energy supplier at no extra cost. More than 3.5 million smart meters have already been installed. To find out how you can get a smart meter from your energy supplier, pick up a leaflet from your local Post Office branch or here.
About Pavegen
Pavegen is the invention of Laurence Kemball-Cook, 30, an industrial design engineer and graduate of Loughborough University. The CEO and founder of Pavegen developed the concept in 2009, whilst researching kinetic off-grid energy solutions in environments where low-carbon technologies like solar and wind are not practical. They’ve since worked with world's biggest brands, including Shell, Coca-Cola, Samsung, Lexus, Harrods and Heathrow. Pavegen tiles can be used in both indoor and outdoor locations and work best where there is high footfall such as retail and transport hubs. The technology is integrated, discreetly, into the existing environment, underfoot. Pavegen units are also available in modular form for use at events, such as exhibitions and marketing campaigns, to demonstrate their commitment to innovation, sustainability and CSR initiatives. Pavegen technology is focusing on Floor, Energy and Data, shifting its focus from kinetic-only vision into smart floors and the business of data.
Smart Energy GB media contacts
For more information including interview requests, please contact the Smart Energy GB team:
Alex Gravell, Cowshed: [email protected]; 02920 789321 / 07515 857535
Lowri Kenny: [email protected]; 07739 644271