The roll out of a revolutionary new ‘smart grid’ energy reduction and management project in the UK has been announced. Scottish and Southern Energy and Honeywell are to deliver a new system that will connect up to 30 commercial and industrial buildings in the Thames Valley area near London.

The project, which is part of the new £30m New Thames Valley Vision programme which was recently awarded to Scottish and Southern Energy by Ofgem, the UK energy regulator, will see Honeywell install its ‘Automated Demand Response’ technology. This will allow customers to reduce their electricity demand at peak times, which will reduce their costs and reduce strain on the local networks that are reaching capacity. Honeywell expects the project will enable Scottish and Southern to shave around 10 MW of energy use when necessary.

The full roll out of the project follows the successful completion of a pilot scheme in Bracknell, UK, last year, which showed that a commercial building could cut shed as much as 45 % of its electrical load during the costly peak hours.