Onzo

Onzo, the leading designer of global home energy management systems, has welcomed the intention of the government, announced by Digital Inclusion Minister Paul Murphy, to appoint a Digital Champion to promote the government’s agenda in this area, and the action plan for digital inclusion that has been published for consultation.

Onzo argues that the internet should no longer be seen as a technology that simply enables entertainment but as a data and communications technology everyone could benefit from, as they do with fixed line telephony. Commenting on this, Onzo’s Chief Executive Joel Hagan said: “The internet now requires a universal service obligation in the same way as water, electricity and fixed-line telecoms. A wide range of valuable services would be enabled by broadband to every home. Home healthcare, home security, and home energy and water management are among these. They all underpin quality of life and we don’t want to see the digital divide increasing between the haves and the have-nots. The UK could lead the world in this area if the government acts boldly and with foresight.”

Onzo will be developing its arguments further in response to the consultation the Department for Communities and Local Government has initiated, as part of the company’s drive to contribute to the formulation of public policy in this area.

Notes for editors:

Department for Communities and Local Government: Delivering Digital Inclusion: An Action Plan for Consultation is available at http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/deliveringdigitalinclusion.

Onzo, the leading global designer of home energy management systems, has marked the Energy Saving Trust’s 12th Energy Saving Week by producing a comprehensive set of proposals for improving the energy efficiency of the country’s housing stock. This constitutes a major challenge: domestic energy use continues to grow and more than 30 per cent of carbon gas emissions come from the home. British houses are poorly insulated, energy efficiency improvements are costly and their payback period is long. Moreover, although research consistently shows a majority of the population are keen to do their bit to combat climate change, consumers still lack the information on which to make informed decisions on energy efficiency.

Onzo’s manifesto calls for:
• Energy efficiency improvement loans, attaching to the house not the individual, to be repaid through the council tax or the mortgage;

• The inclusion of a green element in the council tax to pay for improved insulation;

• A requirement under planning law for the insulation of the whole house to be improved when it is extended;

• Zero VAT on domestic energy efficiency expenditure; and

• Energy consumption data to be clearly displayed on all electrical appliances.

Onzo’s Chief Executive, Joel Hagan, commented: “We believe Energy Saving Week is the ideal opportunity for serious thinking on fundamental measures to reduce carbon emissions. The home is one of the most important battlegrounds, and the blueprint we are publishing today proposes important weapons for the fight”.

Onzo’s Blueprint for Green Homes also inaugurates the company’s new blog, Onzo Labs, which has been launched today to provide high-level commentary and stimulate debate on public policy, design, and developments in information and communications technology. It will also provide an insight into Onzo’s approach to its business and the environment in which it operates. The full manifesto can be read on Onzo Labs, which is accessed through Onzo’s web site:

Ends.

Notes to editors:

This year’s Energy Saving Week takes place from 20th to 26th October. 2008 is the event’s twelfth year. Energy Saving Week is designed to promote energy saving action among householders through a concentrated programme of events across the UK, via a range of the Energy Saving Trust’s partner organisations and its network of regional advice centres.

Onzo, the leading designer of home energy management systems, has commented on the battle to combat fuel poverty following last week’s publication of the government’s annual report on the subject and estimates that the number of people affected may double, to seven million, by the end of 2008. Onzo argues that the sudden and steep rise in fuel prices should not be allowed to distract us from the underlying issues that drive fuel poverty. These remain the same – poor energy efficiency and inadequate incomes. They affect us all to varying degrees; and the government has failed to tackle them adequately.

According to Joel Hagan, Chief Executive of Onzo, a windfall tax is not the answer. “Windfall taxes alienate business, which likes certainty in earnings and does not want profits periodically diverted to the Treasury when it is short of cash. We need energy companies to invest in generation, distribution and metering; any diversion of funds will impact capital expenditure plans”. Hagan went on to welcome the commitment from the energy companies to spend £910m over three years on energy efficiency but pointed out that this sum will not go far. It will probably improve the insulation of somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 homes in each of the three years – a drop in the ocean when there are around 22.5 million homes in the UK.

The causes of fuel poverty are a mixture of high energy prices; low household incomes; poor energy efficiency; and individual vulnerability. Money to tackle the problem should be directed at those with the lowest income, the least energy efficient dwellings, dwellings with outdated heating technology, and those that are most vulnerable to low temperatures – the youngest, the eldest, those with impaired mobility, and those with conditions that affect breathing. That means handouts until the infrastructural improvements can be made, and a much more vigorous programme undertaken to improve the energy efficiency of the UK housing stock.

High above all the other issues stands individual behaviour, however. As Hagan says, “We need to know how much energy appliances use. We need to know what we could save by taking certain actions. We need prompts for when to use and when not to use. We need to know how much we use compared with other people. We need to know how we are performing against a target. At the beginning of the road to changing behaviour is accurate, timely and actionable information, from energy efficiency labelling on appliances, energy displays, printed information and websites”.

Fuel poverty is an archetypal challenge to joined-up government. Onzo welcomes the creation last week of a new Department for Energy and Climate Change which should some way to ensure the co-ordination of policy, although the important potential of the internet as a channel of information on energy usage seems lost in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport because it is assumed to be primarily a channel for entertainment. In fact it is fast becoming an essential utility.

It is to be feared that when winter energy bills arrive on the doormat in the spring the true extent of the problem will be felt. There is need for immediate action to put a sticking plaster over the wound, but this should not disguise the vital necessity to address the issue once and for all. Without imaginative thinking fuel poverty will remain a disgraceful blemish on our modern society. The time for developing long-term solutions is now.

Ends