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What’s it like taking part in a trial?

​Tara Dunning

Operations Manager: Living Lab

After joining the Living Lab and connecting your smart meter, there’s one more step you can take to make an even bigger contribution (and get even more benefits). That’s taking part in a trial.

We’ve explained before why connecting your smart meter matters – because it helps us to build an accurate picture of how real people use energy in real homes.

One of the reasons we’re here is to help companies in the energy sector try out new ideas for products and services, with some of those real people and homes. That’s you! Another way that Living Lab members can make a difference is by taking part in one of these trials.

a man and a woman seating on the couch and talking to each other

It’s important that we have a really broad variety of homes and households to choose from, so that the trial results accurately capture experiences of people from all different walks of life.

What to expect

The trials come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Sometimes a trial is just filling out a short survey form, or taking part in an interview. Other times, it might mean installing new energy equipment, like smart thermostats or a heat pump. Or it could be trialing a new way to assess the energy efficiency of your home.

Each trial is different, but they all share a wider common goal: testing out new ideas before they get rolled out to the general public.

It’s important that we have a really broad variety of homes and households to choose from, so that the trial results accurately capture experiences of people from all different walks of life.

We asked three Labbers who have taken part in trials to talk to us about their experiences.

Jeremy

Jeremy is a retired financier and university lecturer based in Scotland. He and his wife have joined several trials. They have a heat pump and home battery installed, and an electric vehicle (EV) parked outside.

“We’re actively trying to decarbonise our lives,” says Jeremy. “We didn't electrify everything all in one go. It's been a journey that we've been going on for several years.”

So far, Jeremy has taken part in trials of smart plugs, heat pump controllers and an in- home smart display. There have been one or two hiccups - one device didn’t work well, despite three attempts to get installed and working.

But the smart display has been a great success: “I find it really useful, because it alerts me when a device in the house is drawing energy from the grid, rather than from the battery. I like to know, then I can investigate. It gives me more control.”

Being a Labber and taking part in trials has been a positive experience all round, he says.

“I would recommend it. It's an opportunity to test products in the real world and make a difference for the planet. It doesn’t feel arduous. A lot of these tasks are things that I probably would've done anyway. But it's nice to get the occasional voucher as a thank you.”

Did we mention the vouchers? We often send small tokens of thanks to Labbers and trial participants.

Emma

Emma lives in the south-west with her husband and two children in “a large Victorian house that uses a lot of energy if we’re not too careful”.

She works as a consultant in the energy sector so she knows what she’s talking about. The family have taken part in quite a few trials, and are keen to do more.

“You’ve got nothing to lose by taking part,” says Emma. “You save a bit of energy, save a bit of money, and contribute to making a massive difference to the energy sector in the UK.”

As you’d expect with any trial, sometimes things don’t go to plan. That’s one reason why we do trials in the first place - it’s important to check that new ideas work with a small group of people, before rolling them out more widely. Emma was sent some smart plugs to try, but they were faulty and got returned. She’s also had to learn how to use several new apps on her phone.

“The thing is, there’s support there when you need it,” she says. “I understand it’s all about prototypes and I’m good with that.”

Wayne

Wayne is a carer, and lives in the North-East of England in a semi detached house with his partner, who is a teacher. Both of them are tech-mad.

“We love gadgets!” he grins.

The first Lab trial they took part in was to test out some smart thermostats for radiators. As a gadget-fanatic, Wayne was hooked right away. The house is full of smart devices, smart light bulbs, you name it. “People make jokes about us talking to Alexa all the time,” says Wayne.

He’s participated in several other trials, including one that asked him to set energy-thirsty devices like the dishwasher to come on at night. “I’ve kept that routine ever since,” says Wayne. “We do a lot of things at night now.”

Another trial saw Wayne using a simple timer to track how long he spent in the shower every day.

“For us it's all about reducing the cost, and about enjoying the technology,” he says. “We love it now that our heating is controlled by apps, we can control our heating when we are away on holiday for example. It's great.”

Wayne thinks there’s something in it for everyone, whatever sort of home or household they live in. Even people who aren’t that bothered about gadgets.

“I think the benefits outweigh everything else. It's understandable that people don't want to change what works - I used to be like that too. But this is all about saving money and saving the planet. We do feel like we are making a helpful contribution to something.”

One of the trial devices Wayne was testing didn’t work. An engineer arrived to fix it, followed by a bottle of wine. “That was a nice way to apologise. We feel like we’ve been looked after.”

How you can join a trial?

Signing up to the Lab is the first step.

To maximise your chances of being invited to trials, you should:

  1. Connect your smart meter – this isn’t essential, but most of our trials need a linked smart meter.
  2. Fill out your profile, and keep it up to date.
  3. Then, look out for offers in your email inbox. We'll send you an email once we have a trial we think will fit you.
  4. Apply for any trials that interest you. This usually means filling out a form and agreeing to some terms and conditions.
  5. We’ll let you know if your application was successful (there are limited slots available on every trial, so not every applicant gets a place, every time)

More questions

Help & support