Name of the project: Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETER) Innovation Competition

BEIS is providing notice of an innovation competition aimed at developing, testing and demonstrating products that can measure the thermal performance (i.e. calculate the whole house heat transfer coefficient (HTC)) of individual homes. These tools may consist of a mix of hardware and software and should include the use of Smart Meter data. We have called these 'Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Rating' or 'SMETER' tools. Each individual proposal can apply for up to £1m of the total £4.1m available funding.

This Call for Proposals and Competition Application Guidance Notes set out the context, scope, application process and assessment criteria for the Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Ratings (SMETER) Innovation Competition.

This Competition focuses on the development of new tools to measure the thermal efficiency of homes. Its aim is to help consumers, energy suppliers, providers of energy efficiency products and services, and policy-makers to save energy, reducing bills and carbon emissions, by providing a better understanding of the energy efficiency of homes. The competition will fund the development, testing and demonstration of tools that can measure the heat transfer coefficient of a home using its energy consumption data, primarily through smart meters, plus other data.

The total potential value of the Competition is up to £4.1m although BEIS may allocate less than this depending on the quality of the applications. Any individual proposal may apply for up to £1m funding.

The Competition will be delivered in two main phases: Phase 1 - Feasibility studies consisting of software and hardware development (if relevant), pilot deployment, and initial testing of algorithms.

Phase 2 - Field trials and final testing of SMETER products, supported by the Technical Assessment Contractor.

A Technical Assessment Contractor will be procured by BEIS to oversee the testing of SMETERs throughout the competition, working hand-in-hand with Competition Participants.

Please note there is a questions and answer deadline of Friday 19th October at 12:00 noon. Please submit your questions to; [email protected]

Final questions and answers will be published on Monday 22nd October

Additional information: If you wish to take part in this procurement please see the attached Tender documents attached to this Notice and send your completed Proposal to The Built Environment Technology and Systems Team at [email protected] by 12 noon 26th October 2018.

Any late submissions will not be considered. BEIS reserves the right to halt the procurement process and to not award a contract. BEIS will not be held liable for recovery of costs from unsuccessful bids if a contract is not awarded. All costs will be borne by the bidding organisations. If a contract is created it will be upon the Terms and Conditions attached to the Competition Application Guidance Notes. After reviewing and evaluating the written proposals, BEIS may decide to hold bid clarification meetings with suppliers. If successful and upon contract signature, the supplier is expected to attend a kick-off meeting taking place at the beginning of January. Project completion is required by 31st January 2021.