The DEHEMS project officially closed on 31st July 2011.  The DEHEMS website and the full content of the site will remain available until 30th September 2013.  For any enquiries about the project, contact the project management office.

DEHEMS has published its report for “citizens”.  The report explains the work of the project over the last three years. We are excited by what we have achieved and we hope you will be as you read about it. This report offers an insight and overview. It is also available in Romanian and will be shortly published in Bulgarian.  If you want more depth or technical information, the documents published by the project are available at www.dehems.eu/reports or www.dehems.eu/scientific-papers.

The Digital Environment Home Energy Management System is about how everyone can have a positive impact in protecting the planet by monitoring their energy consumption at home in order to reduce emissions of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide.). The project is about people. We began by interviewing over 1000 people in the UK and Bulgaria about their energy consumption. Many of them then joined the project to help us design the equipment that would help meet their needs in terms of monitoring the energy they consumed. The final goal being to enable people to reduce their household energy consumption and cut the cost of running their homes.  The project has become increasingly relevant to the lives of all of us. Energy prices have increased dramatically since we started work on DEHEMS in 2008 and it seems safe to assume that that this will continue in the long term.

BECA – Balanced European Conservation Approach – is an EU funded project  which started in January 2011 and aims to help Europe meet emission targets by achieving a significant reduction of energy consumption in European social housing. Building on existing services providing feedback on energy consumption to social housing tenants, BECA will develop, provide and pilot advanced ICT-based Resource Use Awareness Services (RUAS) and Resource Management Services (RMS).

18 organisations are cooperating in the project to provide these services directly to social housing tenants.

Pilots of BECA services are located at  in 7 countries: Örebro in Sweden; Manresa in Spain; Darmstadt in Germany; Torino in Italy; Havirov in the Czech Republic; Ruse in Bulgaria; Belgrade in Serbia;

For more details visit their website.

A new book Greener Museums: sustainability, society and public engagement, explains how museums can help shape public opinion towards a more sustainable future. The book also examines the practical steps museums and cultural organisations can take to reduce their carbon footprint.  With case studies from leading institutions in the US, UK and around the world, this books also recognises that museums and cultural organisations need to work hard to find positive solutions to reduce and mitigate their environmental impact.

A European Smart Metering Forum along with a Smart Metering Update is scheduled for 21st & 22nd June 2011 in London, UK. Taking place over two days, the event will bring together senior decision makers from across the continent to discuss the smart metering future.

European Smart Metering Forum
The Third Energy Package provides for smart meters to be rolled out to 80% of consumers across the EU by 2020, and 100% by 2022. The scale of this roll-out will provide a number of key challenges and opportunities for electricity network operators, energy retailers and the metering industry. This one-day event will examine the major developments in metering across the EU.

Smart Metering Update
Last year’s event provided a forum for expert analysis of the smart metering programme thus far, with industry leaders and regulators outlining their aims for the coming year. At this year’s conference we will address the questions left unanswered by the upcoming response to the prospectus consultation alongside the ongoing discussions around the DCC, consumer engagement and implementing the roll out. 

The members of the Birmingham Living Lab have contributed to video where they talk about their experiences of DEHEMS. You can watch it here:

Water Pebble takes the effort out of saving water by automatically monitoring water flow down the plughole as you shower. When it’s time to switch off, Water Pebble lets you know via its traffic light-style indicators. Simply place it near the plughole and you’re away. Green=start, amber=halfway, red=time to stop.  As the days go by your water usage is gradually reduced. Read More→