Open Web Systems launches open-source collaboration tools to help businesses avoid online surveillance

The London based startup, Open Web Systems, which provides surveillance-free email and collaboration tools, has launched a new service for businesses and groups. The new tools include surveillance-free email, an all-in-one collaborative office suite to rival Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, and an instant messaging platform which provides an open-source alternative to Slack, Telegram or WhatsApp. Hosted in Europe, the new services are powered entirely by renewable energy, offering groups an easy way to reduce the environmental impact of their online operations. The new group tools are powered by Nextcloud, which features military-grade encryption and a large number of advanced security protections, including SSL/TLS encryption for data in transfer. Additionally, data in storage can be encrypted using AES-256 encryption with server-based or custom key management. Open Web Systems was established to offer a cooperative alternative to the surveillance-capitalism model favoured by the big corporate players, which lure users with the offer of ‘free’ services but exploit their data. Oliver Sylvester-Bradley, Founder of Open Web Systems explains: “Big corporate players have turned the internet against us, by gathering our data and selling access to it for financial gain. If you’re not paying for your online communication tools your data is inevitably being exploited. Open Web Systems provides an alternative for people that care about data privacy and the environment. The launch of our new group tools provides a practical alternative for startups and small teams to avoid their private data being monetised or shared.” Open Web systems’ group tools leverage the collective knowledge of a huge community of security experts. Nextcloud, the package which powers the Open Web System office suite, protects its users' security with a powerful Security Bug Bounty program. Anyone reporting a security vulnerability in Nextcloud can earn up to $10,000, making it one of the highest security bug bounties in the open source industry.

WAGO and EIC collaborate on charity work with the help of City Electrical Factors

WAGO is proud to announce that it is now in partnership with the Electrical Industries Charity (EIC), where it will be donating money for every box of selected 221 series connectors purchased through its key partners, City Electrical Factors (CEF), in 2022. The EIC is an amazing charity that offer a wide range of support services to those who serve and have served within the electrical and energy sector and their immediate family members. Richard Beighton, Managing Director of WAGO UK & Ireland announced this great initiative. He comments: “The Electrical Industries Charity has always been close to my heart since meeting Tessa Ogle (Managing Director of the EIC) and seeing their passion and great work they have achieved for our industry. Therefore, we have made it our mission to create a dynamic, creative funding team to not only drive funding but also awareness for the EIC. To support this, we have teamed up with CEF to donate 1p for selected 221 series' including the new 221-2411 Inline connectors.”

Consumers need not worry about smart charging

By Jordan Brompton, Co-Founder and CMO of myenergi Electric vehicle sales in the UK continue to exceed expectations, with the latest figures from the Climate Change Committee showing them to be tracking above both government and the CCC’s own forecasts. More than 400,000 new EVs will have found a home in the UK by the end of 2022, with the country’s one millionth electric car set to be registered by this autumn. While an estimated 40% of drivers lack dedicated off-street parking, the majority of new EV owners will be able to charge them at home, and for anyone getting, or thinking of getting a home charge point installed, it’s worth knowing that from 30th June, every new device sold or supplied must comply with new smart charge point regulations that will deliver significant benefits for consumers. While some suppliers are set to be granted temporary extensions to sell charge points that do not meet these regulations for a short period, consumers will want to check that they are buying a unit that does comply, to ensure they can benefit from the new mandatory functionality. One of the most important requirements is that the charge points must be able to charge the vehicle at specific times, for example to tie in with cheaper off-peak electricity tariffs. Government figures show that the cost of domestic electricity in 2021 for the average household consumption of 3,600 kWh was £766, or just over 21p per kWh. However, energy prices have risen significantly since then, and customers may be finding that they are paying as much as double this for their electricity today. There have been some suggestions in the media that these new regulations are being introduced with the ultimate aim of charging customers more to charge their electric vehicles, by somehow distinguishing between the electricity they use for their homes and what goes into their car. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the regulations are aimed at ensuring electric vehicles interact as smoothly as possible into the energy system, including soaking up cheaper, off-peak energy. By using electricity in periods when there is lower demand, and often a surplus of renewable generation, consumers can get access to lower prices. For example, the Octopus Go tariff from Octopus Energy has a tariff rate of just 7.5p per kWh between 00:30 - 04:30 every night. Using a standard 7 kW home charge point, charging for those four hours could deliver 80-100 miles of range to the average electric car – up to four times the average UK driver’s daily mileage – at a cost of around 2p per mile. When draft regulations were published last year, there were several alarmist headlines suggesting that home charge points would ‘switch off at peak times to avoid electricity blackouts’ and be ‘switched off for nine-hours’ to protect the grid. The implication was that consumers might lose control of their home charger, but the regulations ensure that drivers will always retain control of their charge point, including the ability to override any smart charging activity. The default off-peak charging schedules are exactly that – the default. They can be rejected, changed or overridden. And even if a customer doesn’t bother to change the default overnight schedule in their charge point (10pm-8am), their electric vehicle should still charge sufficiently for most uses. As one of the UK’s largest providers of home charge points, our data shows that a typical household with an electric vehicle may only need to charge between five and 10 days in any month and only for 3 to 4 hours on those days. If an electric vehicle was charging at a rate of 7 kW during the default off-peak hours, it would receive 70 kWh of energy – enough for about 250 miles of driving, and more than 10 times the average UK motorist’s daily mileage. While one of the main aims of the Smart Charge Point regulations is to protect local electricity networks from being overloaded, the impact of charging off-peak or having a randomised delay of up to 10 minutes applied to any charging session will, in almost every instance, go totally unnoticed by the consumer. In summary, there is no need to worry about smart charging of your electric vehicle. Indeed, smart charging has already been applied to many of the latest smartphones, and most of us probably haven’t even noticed!

Kensa’s AR climate change campaign hailed by industry as digital innovation

An augmented reality (AR) climate change campaign delivered by Kensa Group recently won the Heat and Efficiency: Digital Innovation Award at the 2022 Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) Awards. The ADE is the leading trade organisation whose members deliver a range of solutions encompassing District Heating & Cooling and Energy Efficiency and work together to advocate the UK’s priorities for achieving net zero. Through the award-winning ‘Welcome to Green Street’ campaign, Kensa used ground-breaking AR technology and immersive storytelling to bring to life a greener future in which whole communities make the switch from gas boilers to ground source heat pumps. Using the real-life inner-city suburb of Green Street in Glasgow as a basis for the AR experience, virtual tour guide ‘Doug’ sets out how the current gas grid could be replaced with renewable infrastructure in an interactive fly-through, demystifying ground source technology and showcasing its benefits. Stephanie Gregory, Marketing Director at Kensa Group, says: “We are very proud that the ‘Welcome to Green Street campaign’ has been recognised as a leading digital innovation in this field. “We wanted to create a shift in how people think about heat pumps and how they heat their homes. For the UK to achieve our carbon reduction commitments, all of us, across society, policy, industry and the economy must be connected to this united goal.” Launched to a global audience at the pivotal COP26 climate change summit in 2021, ‘Welcome to Green Street’ delivers a vitally important message about how the UK can tackle climate change and leaves the valuable legacy of a blueprint detailing how communities can switch to renewable heating technology. The government is aiming for 600,000 heat pumps to be installed every year by 2028. The award-winning digital campaign demonstrates Kensa’s pioneering solution to this challenge. To facilitate the widespread roll-out of the technology, Kensa is urging key stakeholders to focus efforts on street-by-street installations of networked heat pumps, rather than replacing gas boilers on a house-by-house basis.

NVC achieves carbon neutral status

The UK has committed to being carbon neutral by 2050. As a responsible lighting supplier, NVC Lighting is keen to play its part in this and by partnering with Carbon Neutral Britain has now achieved carbon neutral status. Carbon Neutral Britain is a leading consultancy and offsetting organisation. With the organisation's help, and using international standards, NVC has calculated its greenhouse gas emissions. In the period March 2021 to April 2022 these were 463 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. These have been offset by investing in audited projects including re-planting forests, generating renewable electricity, and restoring damaged environments. NVC’s Carbon Neutral status is now in place until April 2023. Greenhouse gas emissions will be recalculated annually to ensure that NVC continues to contribute effectively towards the UK’s drive towards carbon neutrality. Alongside offsetting, NVC is reducing waste, cutting emissions, and increasing efficiency in multiple ways. These include: 50% reduction in electricity usage. By improving logistics and management, NVC is achieving higher sales and better customer service with much less stock requiring less warehouse space, which has reduced electricity consumption by almost half. Less packaging. Reducing dimensions of the packaging round NVC’s lighting products means that more of them can fit into a standard 40ft container reducing the number that are imported. No printed instruction leaflets. NVC’s product cartons have QR codes which lead to instructions rather than separate printed instructions. Electric vehicles. NVC has started the process of replacing all petrol and diesel-powered company cars with electric vehicles.

Self-employed electricians increase earnings to offset cost of living crisis

Earnings for self-employed electricians grew by 3.8% in May, according to Hudson Contract. Analysis of the construction industry’s biggest payroll shows average weekly pay for electrical subcontractors increased to £1,071 during the month. Ian Anfield, Managing Director of Hudson Contract, says: “Self-employed electricians are more able than employees to keep pace with the rising cost of living. Even if things level off in the next few months and rate inflation flattens, self-employed electricians have the option to take on more work or achieve more output to increase their income. In contrast, the directly employed are reliant on annual pay deals negotiated by unions with whom most of them have no membership or relationship with.” Ian adds: “None of our clients are telling us they are struggling for work but quite a few are telling us there are fewer tenders coming through the door. It could be a sign that a bit of heat is coming out of the market in some parts of the country. “For the last two or three years, the construction industry has been incredibly resilient in dealing with inflation linked to Brexit, the pandemic and problems in the Suez Canal blocking up the supply chain for materials. It’s a real shame that the government, which says construction is the foundation of the economy, has chosen to slap huge tax rises on the industry by ending the red diesel rebate and introducing a VAT reverse charge. Inflation is now big news because it is hitting households and it will be even bigger news if the tax rises start to impact housebuilders – the foundation of the economy can only carry so much.”

Wickes joins RangeMe on a digital drive to scale product sourcing

Wickes has partnered with RangeMe to support its product buying teams, ensuring it has access to the most relevant products its customer’s demand. This partnership presents Wickes with innovation and scale opportunities for sourcing products for its customers. With 232 stores across the UK, Wickes exists to help customers feel house proud, and now through RangeMe, its buyers can access the most relevant products for its customers. RangeMe first launched in 2014 and is used today by more than 15,000 retail buyers in the U.K., Europe, North America, and APAC region. It has quickly established itself as the industry leader for retail product discovery, sourcing and buying by becoming the world’s largest source of brands and products purchased by retail buyers. RangeMe helps retailers and buying teams scale product sourcing efforts with streamlined submissions, simplified discovery tools, and the industry standard digital sell sheet. Buyers can filter searches to find brands and products meeting exact sourcing needs, seamless connectivity and collaboration with suppliers, and offering curated collections to help identify and understand category trends and emerging brands. Andrew Cotterill, Director of Strategic Procurement and Responsible Sourcing, at Wickes comments: “Wickes are very excited to begin working with RangeMe to expand our access to new products and innovation and to streamline the procurement process." “This partnership forms part of the Wickes wider digital strategy and we are thrilled to be a part of this journey with such a loved household-name retailer in the U.K. as they transform their product sourcing experience. This is also an extraordinary opportunity for suppliers around the world to connect directly with Wickes buyers and showcase their products” says Nicky Jackson, CEO of RangeMe. This news presents suppliers around the world with a front-row audience with one of the biggest names in home improvement. “Our mission has always been to empower retailers and suppliers to be productive and successful whatever their objective. The platform offers retailers hyper-local choices as well as innovative global options. We exist to help them offer an extraordinary experience for their customers” adds Nicky.

Symple powers up with major recruitment drive and £600k investment

Symple is ramping up its expansion by doubling its pool of specialist contractors to 2,000 and investing £600,000 in technology to meet increasing demand for its services. Symple is seeking to recruit 1,000 accredited and strictly vetted service providers across the UK over the next 12 months. Symple manages property certificates for single and multiple residential sites, including those for gas and electrical safety, boiler servicing, PAT testing and energy performance. Its cloud-based platform is a one-stop shop which manages bookings for inspections and arranges for service providers to carry them out. The recruitment drive for service providers follows continued strong growth for Symple, which now has a portfolio of 5,000 properties. The company has also earmarked £600,000 for a software upgrade as it launches new services such as repairs and maintenance, taking the total investment in technology since its inception to £1.3m. Founder and Chief Executive Simon Dresdner says: “Symple has seen continuous strong growth and now we are delighted to announce further significant investment across the business in line with our rapid expansion. “We need to recruit 1,000 additional service providers to meet increasing demand and ensure inspections are picked up and completed quickly in all areas of the country. “Our system is based on an Uber model, whereby service providers receive a text message or email about an inspection which has been booked with us and can then respond if they are in the area and wish to attend. “Our ease of operation, straightforward administrative process and prompt payment means it’s a very appealing proposition for those looking for an additional source of revenue. “There is no sign-on fee, and contractors are free to make their own decisions about whether or not to carry out an inspection when it is notified to them. “They love the model because they know exactly what they will be paid when they see the job come up, and that they will receive payment within seven days directly into their bank account. “We support them throughout the process, ensuring they have all the information they need to get the job done quickly, with no need to raise invoices.” He adds: “Landlords, agents and homeowners also love the platform because it’s a one-click order system, there is no registration fee, and Symple manages the entire renewal process for certifications, including sending reminders when they are due and arranging inspections with key holders and service providers. “We have a long list of services which they require, such as repairs and maintenance, cleaning, pest control and property valuations, which we are looking to add in the future. “As the platform develops, it will be one that landlords will rely on to take care of any property-related service they need. “To facilitate this expansion, we are developing our technology with a further investment of £600,000 as we increase the number of properties and contractors, and roll out new services to a growing client base.”

Lighthouse Construction Charity urges ‘Talk to Us’

July is Talk to Us month and the Lighthouse Construction industry Charity is raising awareness of the importance of talking about wellbeing issues with friends, colleagues and professionals to prevent situations from spiralling to crisis point. Working in construction can be extremely rewarding but has its challenges. Over 87% of the workforce are male which means they are less likely to talk about and share their problems. In addition to this, long hours, tight deadlines and lack of job security can contribute significantly to poor mental health. Many contracts mean working away from home without the normal support network of family and friends, so trying to keep everyone happy including family, their boss, the main contractor and the client, can simply be too much. Talking can be a way to cope with a problem you’ve been carrying around in your head for a while and just being listened to can help you feel supported. You never know who might be struggling so don't forget to check up on your friends, family and colleagues to see how they are coping. Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction industry Charity says, “Last month, we saw a record 300 calls to our 24/7 construction industry helpline, but the positive message is that people are feeling more able to reach out and talk to someone. No problem is too large or too small and if they’re not comfortable with talking on the phone, they can use our text support service to chat. They can even visit one of our Lighthouse Beacons to meet and talk face to face in a safe environment. Talking can make us feel vulnerable, but it shouldn’t be seen as a sign of weakness. We know that all the work we are doing together with the industry is helping to reduce the stigma of talking about feelings and problems.” One such initiative is the charity’s partnership with National Grid at its interconnector site in Kent.  A wellbeing facility that encourages a positive wellbeing environment where people can share their issues and signposts workers to information on how to reach out for support. Nicola Medalova, Managing Director of interconnectors for National Grid says, “We need to ensure that wellbeing initiatives are reaching the most vulnerable and more needs to be done to improve support and services offered within the sector. That is why we have partnered with mental health professionals from the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity to provide support to all of our workers and provide easy access to a huge range of wellbeing support. As well as this, there are lots of informal ways to connect with workers and build relationships, particularly for those who feel intimidated by professional help. Sometimes just talking to a friend or colleague can help”. The Construction News ‘Mind Matters’ survey published last week identified a significant shift in construction’s mental health journey due to a change in attitudes about talking openly. 53% of survey respondents said that they felt comfortable talking about their mental health with colleagues, compared with 33% in 2019. Colin Marrs, Editor of Construction News says, “These findings are positive, and many companies have their own initiatives to help their employees start a conversation about whatever is troubling them. The industry has a collective moral responsibility to ensure that construction is a safe and healthy place to work, both mentally and physically. There is still much work to be done and we cannot take our eye off the ball, but it is encouraging to see this positive shift in attitudes”. The charity’s current campaign, ‘Help Inside the Hard Hat’ aims to raise awareness of all the support available to both companies and individuals and highlights the importance of reaching out. The ‘Help Inside the Hard Hat’ campaign is also visiting construction sites and builders’ trade outlets across the country to meet and talk to the trades and raise awareness of the support available to them. The team are all fully trained mental health first aiders with first hand life experiences in construction, so are able to identify and relate easily with the issues being raised.

Gloucester electrical contractor plugs into renewable energy with HSBC

The UK’s largest electrical contractor serving the new-build housing sector has secured a seven-figure finance package from HSBC UK to support a management buyout and diversification into the renewable energy sector. Clarkson Evans has used the funding from HSBC UK to undergo a management buyout, at a time when the business is well placed for its next phase of growth. The deal will also allow Clarkson Evans to invest more in renewable technologies as demand from builders continues to increase. This includes researching new technologies, working collaboratively with customers to introduce new products and upskilling staff. With the ban on gas boilers in new-build homes being introduced from 2025 and other regulatory changes coming in to make new homes greener, the company is preparing to install air source heat pumps into new-builds as well as thousands of EV charging points and solar panels. The firm's new owners include Chief Executive Lindsey Young; Finance Director Doug Sparrow; Production Director Chris Pike; Technical Director Leigh Mason; and Commercial Director Tim Bisp. Lindsey Young, CEO at Clarkson Evans, says: “Our new management team has 75 years of experience working for Clarkson Evans between us, so we’re confident the firm will continue to thrive. We see this move as the next exciting chapter for Clarkson Evans, as we begin to look towards a more sustainable future for the sector and offer additional services to our customer base. Using renewable technology will become increasingly important over the years, so we need to make sure we’re ahead of the curve. “Our relationship manager at HSBC UK, Mark Wilton, has been a fantastic support throughout the process. The funding has allowed us to pursue new ventures and continue to uphold our reputation as a trusted first-choice electrical subcontractor to builders up and down the UK.” James Shepherd, Head of Corporate Banking, South West at HSBC UK, adds: “It’s been a pleasure to support Clarkson Evans’s management buyout and its journey to becoming a more sustainable business. As the need for greener homes continues to rise, there’s no doubt that there will be huge demand for these services in the construction space.”