RWE SmartHome allows us to market a wide range of devices for intelligent home automation. We have been steadily increasing the range since the market launch in 2010. Electrical appli-ances can be switched on and off using the mobile phone network while customers are on the move, smart electricity meters can provide assistance in visualising electricity consumption, new applications are currently being developed for the entertainment and health sectors.
RWE Smart Home

At the beginning of 2013, RWE Effizienz launched RWE HomePower Solar. This product range is targeted at operators of photovoltaic systems and aims to enable them to make more use of the solar electricity they generate for their own consumption. Solar power storage units are available from our partner Varta in different sizes for plants ranging from 3 to 20 kWp. They supply electricity to the customer’s own household at night and during periods when the sun is not shining. We are anticipating that a contribution to grid stability will also be made by expan-sion of local storage units for solar power and an increase in the householder’s own use ratio associated with integration within an intelligent network.

RWE HomePower Solar (only in German)

We believe that it is important for our customers to be able to identify and evaluate their poten-tial for saving energy. This is why we are currently carrying out a pilot project and supporting the town of Rheinbach in its objective of raising the awareness of local residents to the issue of energy efficiency and upgrades for existing buildings. An aerial sweep of the entire town of Rheinbach was carried out from the air and this forms part of a large-scale information cam-paign. Thermographic images of the town were obtained using a thermal-imaging camera. The images taken in March 2012 show weak points in the insulation for the roof of the building. We analysed all the images taken and made them available to the owners of the buildings at the beginning of 2013 – under strict compliance with regulations on data protection. RWE Deutsch-land offers all the local authorities granting concessions aerial thermographic images.

Projects on energy contracting can also make contributions to energy efficiency and climate protection. These projects lead to additional business opportunities for RWE. One such example is provided by our subsidiary company RWE Energiedienstleistungen which implemented this kind of contracting model at the ‘maritimo’ leisure pool in Oer-Erkenschwick (Germany) at the beginning of 2010. An advanced district heating power station supplies heat and electricity with an efficiency of up to 95%. This measure saves around 480 mt CO₂ each year.

RWE Energiedienstleistungen operates a total of more than 150 customer power plants, including 46 dis-trict heating power stations with a total of 50.6 MW of electrical output. 7.2 MW of this power is generated using biomethane.

RWE Energiedienstleistungen (only in German)

Statutory legislation in the United Kingdom in force until 31 December 2012 required energy utilities to proactively advise their customers on reduction of CO₂ emissions (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target – CERT) and energy saving (Community Energy Savings Programme – CESP). Appropriate savings targets were defined on the basis of the individual customer num-bers for a company. The target for 2012 was to carry out 117,531 energy efficiency measures at customers’ homes and hence bring about a reduction of 73,500 t CO₂. Our final performance in 2012 significantly exceeded our target with installation of 466,165 energy efficiency measures and delivering annual CO₂ emissions reduction of 139,509 metric tons.

From 1 January 2013, the Energy Companies Obligation became statutory legislation. House-holds living in old housing stock with unfavourable energy situations and customers on low incomes can receive financial support to carry out energy efficiency measures. RWE npower is preparing appropriate offers. As in previous years, RWE npower is continuing to offer people whose health is impacted by their living conditions advice and support under the ‘Health through Warmth’ programme (Pricing and Marketplace).

In Hungary, we offer energy efficiency services for retail and business customers. We present individually tailored energy efficiency solutions. ELMÜ and EMASZ present individually config-ured energy efficiency solutions in our interactive exhibition room ‘Energy Point’. We assist our customers in optimising their energy consumption through our energy-saving programme enti-tled ‘Energy Piggy Bank’. We carry out detailed energy audits for our business customers and offer them solutions that take into account renewable energies. FÖGAZ also replaces local heating systems and improves efficiency for medium-sized apartment blocks and institutions, such as retirement and care homes.

In Poland, we launched the ‘Świadoma’ (Energy Awareness) campaign in 2007 and this was carried forward in 2012 with the new campaign for energy saving and conscious energy con-sumption. The current campaign ‘5 Minuten Spaß, 365 Tage sparen’ (five minutes of fun, 365 days of saving) is focused on small and medium-sized companies. The specially designed Internet portal offers an online game and an informative film about energy saving. We use this site to communicate information to customers and employees about responsible and judicious use of electrical equipment in the office. The players in the online game – individuals or companies – receive points for each energy-saving measure and are entered in a competition for the best energy-saving ideas.