Net Zero Compare

Greenely: Manage Your Home’s Energy Smarter

Written by Polina Martinuka
Published September 24th, 2024
7 min read

Summary

Greenely is a carbon accounting and sustainability management software platform designed to help businesses measure, reduce, and report their carbon emissions through a user-friendly mobile app. Greenely primarily operates in Sweden but is actively expanding its reach into other Nordic countries with ambitions to extend further into Europe as part of its mission to revolutionize household energy consumption.
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Details

Name
Greenely
Date of establishment
2014
Organization

Deep dive

Software overview

"Greenely envisions a future where energy is sustainable, affordable, and accessible to all. Our vision is to create a world where households can effortlessly manage their energy usage, reducing costs to zero while minimizing environmental impact."

Source: greenely.se

Key Features

  1. Real-Time Energy Monitoring: The app provides real-time data on electricity consumption, enabling users to track their energy usage hour by hour. This helps households to understand their energy habits better and identify areas where they can save money.

  2. Dynamic Electricity Pricing: Greenely’s software offers a time-based electricity pricing model, meaning users pay for electricity based on the current market rate at the time of consumption. This feature allows users to shift their energy usage to times when electricity is cheaper, resulting in significant savings.

  3. Smart Integrations: The platform supports over 40 integrations with connected devices, such as solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, home batteries, heat pumps, and other smart home systems. This makes it easy to manage various energy sources and optimize their usage in one place.

  4. Virtual Power Plant (VPP): The VPP feature allows households to participate in balancing the grid by connecting their energy assets, like EV chargers and home batteries, to Greenely’s virtual power plant. This not only helps stabilize the electricity network but also provides a new revenue stream for users by contributing to grid frequency balancing services.

  5. Smart EV Charging: Greenely optimizes electric vehicle charging by scheduling it during the cheapest electricity hours, potentially saving over 50% on charging costs. The app automatically adjusts charging schedules based on real-time electricity prices.

  6. Solar and Battery Management: Users with solar panels can monitor their production and manage excess energy by selling it back to the grid at competitive rates. The software also connects with home battery systems, allowing households to store energy for later use or participate in the VPP to earn income.

  7. Energy Insights and Recommendations: The app provides personalized insights and recommendations on how to reduce energy consumption, helping users make informed decisions to lower their electricity bills and carbon footprint.

  8. Transparent Billing: Greenely’s app offers full transparency on energy costs, breaking down consumption and associated costs in real-time. Users can view estimated bills, track past usage, and plan their consumption to avoid unexpected expenses.

Technical Specifications

Platform Architecture

  • Greenely’s software operates on a cloud-based platform that integrates data from various connected devices within a household. This architecture allows for real-time data processing and scalability across different markets.

  • The platform utilizes APIs to connect with over 40 devices, including electric vehicle (EV) chargers, solar inverters, home batteries, and heating systems. This integration allows seamless communication between the app and smart home devices.

Dynamic Electricity Tariff

  • The system uses time-of-use (TOU) pricing algorithms that adjust the cost of electricity based on market rates at specific times, optimizing consumption to the lowest-cost hours.

  • Greenely’s algorithms analyze past consumption patterns and predict optimal usage times, providing users with actionable insights to adjust their behaviour for maximum savings.

Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Technology

  • Greenely’s VPP technology connects households to the national grid, enabling them to participate in grid frequency balancing. The software manages energy storage and release from home batteries and EV chargers to help stabilize the grid.

  • By participating in the VPP, users can earn income by contributing to grid stability, enhancing the dual functionality of energy cost reduction and additional revenue streams.

Energy Monitoring and Control

  • The platform collects data from connected devices in real-time, providing granular visibility into energy consumption. This allows users to monitor their solar production, EV charging, and overall household energy usage at any given moment.

  • The system can automatically schedule energy usage for appliances, EV chargers, and heating systems based on real-time electricity prices, ensuring that energy-intensive tasks occur during the most cost-effective times.

Device Compatibility

  • Greenely supports a wide range of devices including popular brands like Tesla, Huawei, Fronius, Zaptec, and Easee for EV chargers, solar inverters, and battery systems. The platform continuously updates to include more devices, enhancing its adaptability.

  • The app is designed to be easy to set up, with plug-and-play functionality for compatible devices, minimizing the need for complex configurations.

User Interface and Experience

  • Greenely’s app is available on both iOS and Android, featuring a clean, intuitive interface that displays real-time data, energy costs, and consumption trends. Users can control their energy settings, view historical data, and receive personalized recommendations.

  • The app provides detailed billing insights, breaking down costs associated with consumption, taxes, and grid fees, allowing users to anticipate their bills accurately.

Security and Data Privacy

  • All data transmitted between the app, cloud, and devices is encrypted to ensure user privacy and security.

  • The platform adheres to European data protection regulations, including GDPR, ensuring that user data is handled responsibly.

Source: https://www.greenely.com/
Source: https://www.greenely.com/

User Experience and Feedback

Users of Greenely’s platform frequently praise the software for its transparency, ease of integration with existing home systems, and the financial savings achieved through smart energy management.

Hourly Pricing Transparency

Greenely's pricing model allows customers to see real-time electricity costs:

  • Users can view today's and tomorrow's electricity prices in the app

  • This transparency enables customers to manage their consumption more intelligently and lower electricity costs

Smart Energy Management

The Greenely app provides tools for optimizing electricity usage:

  • Users can smart control electric cars or heat pumps to run at the cheapest prices

  • The app allows tracking of consumption and estimated electricity costs

  • Customers can compare their usage to neighbours and similar households

Integration with Renewable Energy Systems

  • Users can connect their solar inverters to the Greenely system

  • This integration provides a better analysis of both electricity consumption and production

Potential for Cost Savings

Greenely claims their smart technology can help customers lower electricity costs by around 10-20% compared to traditional providers.

Fossil-Free Energy Mix

Greenely only offers electricity from fossil-free sources like solar, wind, hydro and nuclear power. However, it's important to note that user experiences seem mixed. While Greenely promotes these beneficial features, some customer reviews indicate issues with the following:

  • Customer support quality

  • Unexpected additional fees beyond the advertised pricing

  • Difficulty changing contract terms once enrolled

According to customer surveys and online reviews, the average user satisfaction rate is high, with many highlighting the app’s simplicity, cost-saving potential, and the empowerment it provides in managing home energy. Testimonials frequently mention the positive impact on household budgets and the convenience of having all energy data accessible in one place.

Pricing

Greenely’s pricing model revolves around an hourly price agreement, where customers pay the actual cost price of electricity based on the current hourly market rate. This pricing model includes several components such as the exchange electricity price, electricity certificates, guarantees of origin, balance responsibility, and various fees associated with electricity trade (e.g., fees for eSett, NordPool, and Svenska Kraftnät).

Greenely's service comes with a membership fee of 49 SEK (~5 USD) per month when paid annually, or 69 SEK (~7 USD) per month if paid monthly. This fee covers the app’s functionality, ongoing development, and customer support. The app also includes smart features that automate electricity consumption to align with the lowest cost periods, allowing users to optimize the charging of electric vehicles, control heating systems, and more without having to constantly monitor prices.


Polina Martinuka
Written by:
Polina Martinuka
Sustainability Research Analyst
Recently graduating from a university in the UK, with a Bachelor's degree in Multimedia Journalism, Polina brings a unique blend of investigative skills, the ability to analyze complex data and environmental awareness.