Guru Engage

About the project

The experience of residents is critical to heat networks’ success, yet studies have shown relatively low customer satisfaction and poor outcomes for many users. In this project, Guru Systems focused on enhancing customer engagement alongside its existing range of technology solutions for heat networks.

Project aims and approach

The Guru Engage project aimed to help heat networks to fulfil their potential in supporting decarbonisation. While the experience of residents is critical to heat networks’ success, studies have often shown relatively low customer satisfaction.

One of the key factors is often a lack of transparency and limited communication with residents – exacerbated by the fact that many do not speak English as their primary language.

The Guru Engage project aimed to eliminate several of the causes of low satisfaction among customers and to enable innovative customer-centric service models to be developed. For example, installing smart meters on all new heat networks can help consumers understand and monitor their usage and spending with an in-home display which in turn helps them budget for energy costs.

The project built on Guru Systems’ experience of using the Internet of Things and data analytics in heat networks, and uses Guru’s hardware and software platforms to improve customer engagement and put residents at the heart of local energy systems.

A brief outline of the project’s approach can be found in this 2020 webinar:

Partners

• Guru Systems
• FairHeat

Dates

June 2020 to May 2022

Next steps

The learnings from the project informed Guru Systems’ subsequent work with heat network clients. The company also went on to take part in Innovate UK’s Net Zero Heat programme, as this short film explains.