‘Zero Bills’ for Homeowners Under World-First Proposition
The world’s first fully ‘Zero Bills’ proposition will be made available to housing developers following a partnership between Octopus Energy and Verto.
This partnership is the first step towards the sustainable energy company’s target of delivering 10,000 ‘Zero Bills’ homes by 2025, with the aim to roll out the initiative across the UK and Europe.
Through their collaboration with Verto, the UK’s first housebuilder to specialise in the design, build and sale of smart zero-carbon homes, 70 homes will be delivered across two sites in Cornwall and Exeter.
Included within this number will be multiple open market and affordable homes, as well as the first ‘Zero Bills’ retrofit properties, proving the capacity to outfit existing homes without energy bills.
Octopus’s revolutionary energy tech platform will enable the prospect of ‘Zero Bills’
The proposition will see customers move into homes that have been fully kitted out with green energy technology, and subsequently pay no energy bills for at least five years, guaranteed.
Among the innovations included in these homes are solar panels, home batteries, and heat pumps, which will be connected to Octopus’ proprietary technology platform, Kraken.
The platform, which is based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, makes the prospect possible by optimising the devices’ energy usage to deliver a zero bill.
Octopus, who power more than five million UK homes and businesses with 100% green electricity, already has a successful ‘Zero Bills’ pilot with ilke Homes in Essex, which was delivered in 2022.
Speaking on the pilot, Greg Jackson, founder of Octopus Energy, said: “This breakthrough partnership debunks a long-standing myth – that cleaner energy will mean higher bills for consumers. Instead, people living in these homes won’t be paying for energy at all.
“This is yet another demonstration that clean energy is cheap energy, and the best answer to the fossil fuel crisis is accelerating the transition to renewables.”
This latest proposal will deliver the UK’s first fully ‘Zero Bills’ developments
Today, Octopus has accredited almost 600 homes through contracts with other prominent developers. Accredited plots span affordable, shared ownership, private, and rented housing.
Moreover, a further 80 developers have initiated the accreditation process with Octopus, including several volume housebuilders, and over 1200 homes have been submitted for assessment.
Tom Carr, Co-Founder at Verto, commented: ”We’re thrilled to be partnering with Octopus to launch the UK’s first fully Zero Bills developments. Verto has been delivering its Zero Carbon Smart Home™ product for over a decade: combined with Zero Bills, it represents a sea-change in sustainable housing.
“But this is just the beginning – we have several other exciting projects in the pipeline with Octopus, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this movement.”
Now, Octopus is calling on all housing developers to join them in striving for a ‘Zero Bills’ future.
Through its proprietary assessment model, the energy company will assess developers’ eligibility for the ‘Zero Bills’ accreditation.
Eligibility will be dependant on the developments having solar panels, home batteries, and heat pumps, though other forms of electrified heating will be acceptable.
With many newbuild homes already being fitted with these clean energy technology solutions as standard, the company hope that one day, every new home in the UK will be built to a zero carbon, zero bills spec.
