What is Energy Trace?
Energy Trace is a simple tool designed to make the electricity system more transparent.
Electricity in the UK is becoming cleaner, but it is not equally clean at all times or in all places. Carbon intensity changes throughout the day depending on demand, weather conditions, and the mix of energy sources. Energy Trace shows how this varies hour by hour and by location, helping people understand not just how much electricity they use, but when it is cleaner or more carbon-intensive.
Some electricity use is flexible — such as charging an electric vehicle or running household appliances. By shifting flexible usage to lower-carbon hours, emissions can be reduced without changing comfort or reducing consumption. Energy Trace provides clear visibility and simple recommendations to highlight cleaner time windows and estimate potential CO₂ savings.
The long-term vision is to make electricity timing as visible and intuitive as electricity consumption itself, supporting a more flexible and lower-carbon energy system.
Energy Transition
The UK is undergoing a major energy transition. Renewable generation is expanding, while heating, transport and parts of industry are shifting from fossil fuels to electricity. Millions of homes are expected to adopt electric vehicles, heat pumps, solar panels, batteries and smart technologies.
This transition is essential for reducing emissions and improving energy security. But it also makes the electricity system more dynamic and more dependent on timing.
When demand peaks — often in the early evening — gas plants are typically used to balance the system. When wind and solar output are high, electricity can be significantly cleaner. Managing this variability is one of the central challenges of the transition.
Technology alone cannot solve this. Consumer participation and flexibility will play an important role.
Why visibility matters
As homes become more electric, when electricity is used becomes increasingly important.
Shifting demand away from peak periods can reduce emissions, ease pressure on local networks, and improve overall system efficiency. This is often referred to as consumer-led flexibility.
However, flexibility cannot scale if people do not understand how the system works or why their actions matter.
Visibility is the foundation.
How we think about engagement
Our approach is simple: build visibility first, then confidence and trust, and only then introduce automation.
Households should understand how emissions change during the day, when the system is under pressure, and what actions make a difference. When people begin shifting usage manually, flexibility becomes familiar rather than abstract. At that point, automation feels like delegation — not loss of control.
Energy Trace is built around this principle.
Where we are now
Energy Trace is an early-stage project. The current version focuses on regional carbon intensity, hourly changes in emissions, and visibility of the electricity mix.
Future development will explore how this visibility can support informed and voluntary participation in flexibility, in ways that remain transparent and easy to understand.
Our aim
Energy Trace does not replace energy suppliers or flexibility platforms. It is designed to provide the visibility and understanding that make participation possible.
A more flexible electricity system depends not only on technology, but on informed and confident consumers. Energy Trace aims to support that foundation.
Our team
I've always been environmentally conscious and wanted to contribute to climate solutions in a practical way.
Before Energy Trace, I founded the first zero-waste shop in my city — a grocery store where customers could bring their own containers to reduce packaging waste. When I moved to London, I decided to deepen my involvement in sustainability by studying renewable energy. I completed a Master's in Energy and Environmental Technology and Economics at City St George's, University of London.
My dissertation focused on low-voltage electricity networks and how they are affected by the uptake of electric vehicles, heat pumps and solar panels. Through this research, I saw firsthand that electricity networks face real challenges in accommodating new loads, and that consumer participation and flexibility will likely be part of the solution.
At the same time, I became curious about the electricity I use at home — where it comes from and how it changes during the day. I realised that if environmentally conscious people could see and understand this variability, they might naturally want to respond to it.
Energy Trace began as an attempt to connect people more directly to the electricity system. If this felt important and interesting to me, it might resonate with others too.
The long-term vision is to create a provider-agnostic tool that enables households to participate in decentralised energy networks and flexibility in a simple and transparent way.
I'm an Software Engineer with a professional background in Product Management, who's driven by solving systemic problems, especially those where technology can create measurable environmental impact.
By implementing the Energy Trace application as a developer, I explore how real-time carbon intensity data, historical consumption patterns, and practical recommendations can help households shift usage away from peak hours. The goal is not just to inform, but to enable action - making carbon reduction tangible in everyday decisions like when to run appliances or charge an electric vehicle.
For me this project is both a technical and a personal human challenge. It requires data modeling, and behavioral insight. At the same time it reflects a personal goal - educate myself on how my consumption habits can be harmful or safe for the environment.