Verv

Peter Davies, founder of Verv, talks about his exciting new product, and how Better Futures helped move his business forward.

As an AI company looking to revolutionise the energy industry with our tech, Better Futures seemed like a perfect fit. Our goal is to pioneer a movement towards a low-carbon economy and, by launching the first peer-to-peer energy trading community on social housing in the UK, we are well on our way.

Our company

Verv is an AI-based smart home product that sits next to your electricity or smart meter, and analyses your home energy data at its source.

The Verv hub is able to sample home energy data at up to a million times per second (compared to a smart meter sampling data every 15 seconds). This allows it to provide users with advanced insights into their homes via the Verv app which were not previously possible. This includes real-time updates on spend per individual appliance, analysis of energy efficiency of appliances and, as Verv learns your home, notifications if appliances have been left on too long and alerts about appliance deterioration before they actually break.

This is made possible thanks to Verv’s AI and machine learning technology which can analyse the energy signatures of individual appliances.

With increased knowledge around energy usage and tips to help users reduce their carbon footprint, Verv makes homes smarter and more efficient.

We have also developed a blockchain based peer-to-peer energy trading solution for our Verv hub that can be integrated into the product via a simple software update.

This is being field-trialled on social housing in Hackney. It will allow those with renewable technology (eg solar panels) and battery storage to share any excess energy they create directly with their neighbours who don’t have this tech. Critically, this will improve access to affordable, low-carbon energy for many people.

What challenges have we faced?

Owing to the advanced technology behind our smart home product and our peer-to-peer energy trading solution, recruiting people with the right machine learning, specialist programming and blockchain skills can be challenging. In addition, UK regulation around peer-to-peer energy trading is still being worked out. We are working to inform and advise OfGem regulation around peer-to-peer energy trading using the results from our government backed trials and look forward to seeing certain barriers being softened in order to pave the way for this innovative technology to be implemented.

How did we work with Better Futures?

Better Futures provided a valuable support network and expertise in the space that helped push us forward.

In November 2016, we ran an equity crowdfunding campaign with a view to raising £500k to support Verv’s rapid growth. Better Futures provided strategic support from early on within the process, advising us on both the financials and the marketing. Having raised £1.2m, and significantly exceeding our £500k target, we were very pleased with the results.

Better Futures gave us access to a number of networking events and introductions to key industry players. In addition, we were given the opportunity to both present our plans and demo our tech to industry leaders at these events, and increase visibility around our brand.

I would absolutely recommend the project! Better Futures provides an invaluable support network on all aspects of the business, numerous opportunities to attend key networking events and the chance to demo your tech to industry leaders, as well as help to increase visibility for your brand.

What’s next for Verv?

We are in the middle of our Series A EIS investment round to accelerate the deployment of Verv. Having exceeded our £500k target on Crowdcube and raised £1.2m, we are focusing on rolling Verv out to the UK market and deliver on our 12,000 unit sales pipeline, grow our team, design our final enclosures and continue to invest in our IP roadmap (six patents to date).

Having received the support from multiple government grants, we are also pushing forward development of our peer-to-peer energy trading solution which will improve access to low-carbon, affordable energy.

We launched the first peer-to-peer energy trading community on social housing in Hackney in January, aiming to empower the community to become completely energy self-sufficient using solar panels and our technology. We look forward to using the results of this trial to inform Ofgem regulation around peer-to-peer energy trading.

About the Founder: After university I founded a specialist software consultancy called Austin Consultants which uses a graphical programming language called LabVIEW to automate and test large systems, primarily in the engineering and automotive industries.

During this time, I worked on multiple projects, acquiring data at extremely high frequencies and disaggregating this data. When I took on an energy consultancy project using this high-speed data technology, I realised the extent of what was possible. At this time, one sample of energy data every 30 minutes was considered cutting-edge and what we were doing far exceeded this. This led us to sell our commercial monitoring solutions to Crowne Plaza Group, Dubai Ports and AT&T.

As the technology advanced, it became clear that there was an opportunity to tackle energy by targeting individual homes and helping to educate them about their usage, bring down their bills, reduce their carbon footprint and protect their homes.

At the time, smart meters were being rolled out across the domestic market but the information they provided was not detailed enough to encourage the long-term behavioural change in the home that would ultimately lead to lower energy bills and increased efficiency. Hence Verv was born.