AlertMe

AlertMe
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryHome Automation
FoundedApril 2006
FounderAdrian Critchlow and Pilgrim Beart[1]
HeadquartersCambridge, United Kingdom
Number of employees
Approx. 120 (2015)
ParentIndependent (2006–2015)[2]
British Gas Trading Limited (2015–present)[3]
Websitealertme.com

AlertMe was a UK smart Tech company that provides energy and home monitoring hardware and services. AlertMe produces hardware and software to enable users to monitor and control their home energy use.

In 2015 the company was acquired by British Gas Trading Limited[4] for £65 million.[5] In April 2016 the limited company was renamed to Centrica Connected Home Limited.[6]

AlertMe used Non Intrusive Load Monitoring to extrapolate trends from customer data, which was then used to make energy saving recommendations.

Hardware

The AlertMe platform was based on a home hub that connected to cloud servers provided by Amazon Web Services via the home broadband router. The hub communicated via Zigbee to devices in the home, both AlertMe devices and third party enabled devices.

Software

The AlertMe platform was open and expandable to allow users to add new devices and applications to their personal dashboard or smartphone app. Core applications included electricity monitoring (SmartEnergy), remote heating control (SmartHeating) and home monitoring (SmartMonitoring), but the platform was designed to be extendable.

Partnerships

AlertMe had strategic partnerships with British Gas in the UK and Lowe's in the USA.[7] British Gas is the largest domestic energy provider in the UK serving 10 million homes and 15.9 million energy accounts. Lowe's is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world with 15 million consumers visiting its 1725 stores every week.

Awards

As of 2009, AlertMe had won multiple for product innovation and business strategy, including:

Red Herring Europe 100 2012[8]

Smart Metering UK & Europe Best In Home Display 2012

Rosenblatt New Energy Award for Best Deal 2011

IET Innovation Award for Software in Design 2010

Global Cleantech 100 2009 & 2010

Bloomberg New Energy Pioneer 2010

Design Week Consumer Product Design 2009

See also

References

  1. ^ Quested, Tony (13 February 2015). "AlertMe sold to British Gas for $100m". Business Weekly. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  2. ^ "CENTRICA CONNECTED HOME LIMITED". Companies House. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  3. ^ "British Gas to acquire technology company AlertMe, to extend its leadership in innovating for customers". British Gas. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  4. ^ Cookson, Robert. "British Gas buys 'smart home' tech company AlertMe". The Financial Times. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  5. ^ Quested, Tony (13 February 2015). "AlertMe sold to British Gas for $100m". Business Weekly. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  6. ^ "CENTRICA CONNECTED HOME LIMITED". Companies House. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  7. ^ Quested, Tony (13 February 2015). "AlertMe sold to British Gas for $100m". Business Weekly. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Europe 2012 Top 100". Red Herring. Red Herring, Inc. Retrieved 16 April 2016.