A single national data service will pool live information from millions of smart meters, electric vehicle chargers, and home heating systems across the UK. The problem is that energy data today sits in silos—held by different companies, local authorities, and research groups—making it nearly impossible to see the full picture of how the country uses power. Without that joined-up view, policymakers cannot design effective Net Zero policies, grid operators cannot balance supply and demand in real time, and vulnerable households risk being left cold and ill. If SENSE succeeds, researchers and government analysts will access a unified stream of consumption, network, and behavioural data. This could allow targeted support for people who cannot afford to heat their homes, reducing hospital visits and saving the NHS money. It could also help National Grid optimise the interface between buildings and energy supplies, cutting waste and speeding the transition to clean power. The service is designed as infrastructure—quietly underpinning better decisions on sustainability, health, and energy security without most people ever noticing it exists.
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Mission: Smart ENergy data ServicE (SENSE) will be the national service for smart energy systems data. It will unlock and demonstrate the value of smart data (e.g., consumption, networks, consumer behaviour, electric vehicles) to enable high-impact cutting-edge transdisciplinary research, innovation and joined-up policy solutions to the biggest sustainability, health and wellbeing and Net Zero policy challenges. SENSE is led by Energy Systems Catapult, which, as a key independent convenor of UK energy systems stakeholders across industry, academia, government, the third sector and the public, is uniquely placed to serve the whole UK community. Context/Challenge: SENSE addresses key challenges around core themes: Achieving Net-Zero: through smart live energy data to inform policies, infrastructure, technologies, adaptations, and behaviours. Whole Systems Approaches: combining diverse and varied data to optimise interfaces between buildings and energy supplies. Ensuring Health Co-Benefits: using contextual population health data to target support to vulnerable people who cannot afford to stay warm and well at home, improving health, reducing use of health services, and saving the NHS money and resources. SENSE will be strongly positioned to support sustainability and Net-Zero objectives of the Net-Zero Strategy, British Energy Security Strategy, Ten-Point Plan, and Powering up Britain; to ensure the health co-benefits of these are experienced by all; and to meet key sector priorities (National Grid ESO, UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure Strategy) for data sharing infrastructure, connectivity, resilience, and engagement.
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