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How aug·e is helping Jabba become ‘the smartest energy platform’

The project in figures

We are at a crossroads in the energy transition. While energy production and the energy consumption of the average Fleming used to be fairly stable, this is no longer the case today. On the one hand, we are using more and more electricity, for our electric cars, for example. On the other hand, the supply is also less stable: after all, wind and solar energy are not as predictable as nuclear energy.

This makes it all the more important to match supply and demand properly. In order to steer consumer behaviour and avoid peaks on the grid, the Flemish Energy Regulator, VREG, introduced the peak load. Energy suppliers also introduced the system of dynamic energy pricing: electricity is expensive at peak times and cheap during off-peak times.

Smart home battery

It is in that spirit that Vincent Beckers and Jef Noelmans, managers of iinno Benelux and distributors of AlphaESS home batteries, came up with the idea of Jabba, a smart energy management system for individuals. ‘Today’s energy system is in need of balance and control. And the average Fleming of an affordable energy bill,’ says Jef Noelmans. ‘There are currently 350,000 people in this country who generate electricity via solar panels. They all benefit from a smart home battery. After all, it does more than just store energy. It can also be a guiding factor. That’s why we decided to develop Jabba, the smartest energy platform based on artificial intelligence that predicts energy prices – using market data and weather forecasts – and determines when a home battery buys or sells power.’

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In their search for the right technology partner for their ideas, Jabba’s founders soon arrived at aug·e. ‘We were looking for a partner who had the expertise to add value to our home batteries – peak shaving, simulations, smarter control, sales strategies – and who could at the same time advise us in our journey,’ says Vincent Beckers. ‘We were soon convinced that aug·e was the partner we were looking for.’

Aug·e community platform replaces AlphaESS dashboard

‘They were looking for a partner to help them expand their existing range of services, and that’s how they came to us,’ explains Mihail Mihaylov of aug·e. ‘During a handful of introductory sessions, we identified Jabba’s needs and expectations and were able to list all the requirements. Once everything was clear and the details had been ironed out, we got to work.’

‘We’ve replaced the existing dashboard with aug·e’s more comprehensive Community Platform. This made it possible for Jabba to gather all of its Belgian customers into one virtual community, and it also meant that the company could offer its customers many more services.’

More about renewable energy communities

More about smart batteries

‘In Jabba’s community platform, customers have access to clear dashboards with all the relevant parameters. Every month, they receive a simulation report that shows them the ways in which peak shaving and smart control of their home battery can save them money.’

Mihail Mihaylov of aug·e

‘After a successful pilot project with five houses in a virtual community, we rolled out our user-friendly platform in the Jabba look and feel. If I may say so myself, the platform not only looks better than the previous system, it also works much better. In the space of a few months, 22 buildings have been added to the virtual community and users log on to the platform on average once or twice a month. There, they have access to clear dashboards with all the relevant parameters, and every month they receive a simulation report that shows them the ways in which peak shaving and smart control of their home battery can save them money.’

Curious how the community platform works?

Click here for a free demo

(In the last few months, several hundred interested parties have already taken a look.)

Smart control of home batteries

The great strength of aug·e’s community platform is the smart algorithms based on artificial intelligence and machine learning behind it. By controlling their home batteries in a smart way, end users can automatically optimise their energy consumption in the future and respond creatively to variable prices on the energy market. In the future, because currently only the community platform and the peak shaving reports are operational. The algorithms for smart steering, peak shaving and trading are still being fine-tuned.

Jabba is currently working on a handful of savings formulas, which will be rolled out among customers shortly. Depending on their needs and wishes, they can choose between: start smart, basic, standard and full.

Work in progress

The collaboration between aug·e and Jabba is therefore still in its infancy, but is promising, to say the least. The roll-out of the community platform was a first successful step, and several additional services such as smart peak shaving and trading are being developed. These should ensure that the added value of Jabba for end users will grow even further in the future, and that more and more people will choose one of Jabba’s savings formulas. No doubt more on that later…

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