The Flex Community™ Portal developed by Stemy Energy in collaboration with BWCE is the website which enables householders and installers to join and participate inFlex Community™ .

The Flex Community™ Portal enables householders to:

1. Upload information on their energy use to build up a comprehensive smart energy profile.
2. Apply to install Stemy smart devices to enable a compatible energy technology already installed to provide flexibility to the electricity grid.
3. Apply to install new energy technology (e.g. heat pump, EV charge post) PLUS Stemy smart devices enabling them to provide flexibility to the electricity grid.
4. Arrange site surveys with potential installers and choose which one they wish to proceed to installation with.
5. Arrange an installation date.

Once they have arranged an installation date (5) they go outside the Portal to complete their installation and make the necessary contractual arrangements with the installer.

The Flex Community™ Portal went through several versions based on Stemy software design and feedback from BWCE staff, Flex Community™ users and external organisations. These are the key elements of the Portal that resulted from this development process.

Registration

• Householders register on the Portal to create their unique password-protected account.
• By registering, they agree to the Terms and Conditions of use with the associated Privacy Policy.
• They receive an email from Flex Community™ confirming their successful account set-up.

Welcome page

A Portal Welcome Page provides the following information:

• A list of the user’s current Plans (a Plan is a combination of energy technology PLUS smart device to enable the energy technology to communicate with the Stemy platform to offer flexibility).
• Information on how to navigate the Portal
• Details of how the Portal works
• In case users need help there is a link to Frequently Asked Questions. and an email to contact Stemy Energy.

Users are required to complete a series of short questionnaires to build up their smart energy profile.

Information required:

• Personal data.
• Property – age, size in square metres (all floors), photos of property, fuse box and electricity meter.
• Electricity supply – supplier and tariff.
• Energy efficiency measures – cavity wall and loft insulation, double glazing plus a photograph of their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) if available.
• Internet connection.
• Existing technology installation(s).

This information is used to:

• Assess technical eligibility for the different Plans on offer.
• Ensure that there is a baseline of information to determine whether flexibility services can be provided.
• Provide installers with householder details if and when they are asked to provide a quote for the installation of an energy technology.

A progress bar details the percentage of information that has been provided as users work through the questions.

Completion of all questions in this section are required before users can proceed to the next step.

Plans

A Plan is a combination of energy technology PLUS smart device to enable the energy technology to communicate with the Stemy platform to offer flexibility.

Householders are asked to go to Available Plans and then choose one or more of the Plans to apply for. They can apply for as many plans as are appropriate to their circumstances and interests.

If they already have compatible energy technology

They need to complete a Flexibility Plan to arrange to install smart devices (no cost) to enable them to provide flexibility from this technology to the electricity grid.

If they want to install new energy technology (e.g. heat pump, EV charge post) PLUS Stemy smart devices

They need to complete a Heat Pump or EV Charger Plan to arrange assessments with potential installers, receive quotes, choose which they wish to proceed with and arrange an installation date.

They will need to pay for the heat pump or ev charger installation.

To apply for each Plan they need to complete a questionnaire (Plan survey).

They need information ready to hand to apply for a Plan. This is detailed in the introduction to each Plan Survey.

Details on the Stemy smart devices householders will need to install to connect their existing energy technology to the grid under the Flexibility Plan is available in the Plan Actions section.

By registering on the Portal and applying for a Plan a householder is not yet committing themselves to participate in Flex Community™ .

For information on what happens once a householder has applied for a plan, please check out the Customer Journey.