Frequently Asked Questions

Small Power is the electricity used by devices that are plugged in via power sockets or fused-spur connections. You may know it as plug load or miscellaneous electric load.

Small Power is used by the multitude of devices that make work convenient, comfortable and productive. Whether plugged in or directly wired, Small Power devices include computers, monitors, printers, task lighting, personal heaters, kettles, chargers, displays, chilled water fountains, building heaters, water tanks etc.

Small Power often exceeds 40% of total electricity usage in most corporate and commercial office buildings. Up to half of Small Power usage results from things left plugged in or powered during non-working hours, a significant share of which is wasted energy. That waste incurs unnecessary expense and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Plug-in power monitors, designed to plug into electrical sockets, are quite easy to bypass which has a harmful effect on data quality, removes automatic control and net outcomes. The m.e Power Socket can’t be tampered with and has additional features like automatic device recognition, Impact Indicator light, preventative maintenance and Virtual Load.

Most smart socket devices available today are loaded with features suited for residential rather than commercial needs. They aren’t refined, often use more energy than they can save, and are not cost-effective for large-scale networked building installations. The m.e Power Socket has been built from scratch to be energy efficient, highly secure, machine learning enabled and a lot more affordable than anything on the market today.

The m.e Platform provides built-in automatic monitoring and control at a level of detail impossible to reach by sub-metering.

Our solution automatically manages energy reduction and continuously improves efficiencies without intervention – freeing up facilities teams’ time and effort. It goes beyond showing data analytics by executing control, to make a real difference. 

m.e Power Socket installation is a straightforward replacement of a conventional power socket (no specialists or additional hardware required) and all that’s needed is a standard Wi-Fi network.

Our plan includes a full line of power socket formats to meet commercial and industrial needs.

At the moment, we offer UK dual gang sockets that can be fitted into a standard 35mm backer box. These can also be used in floor boxes and smaller backer boxes with an adapter. Fused spur and a 4-gang desk mount extension lead format is also available.

We’ve designed our technology to easily adapt to any power socket format. EU and industrial socket versions will be available in 2023.

The m.e Power Socket will glow green, amber or red according to the ratio of renewable to fossil-based energy being used. So, if the renewable energy supply on your grid is at its peak for the day, the sockets will glow green to show it’s the best time to use energy. We use local building, local grid and National Grid data to calculate this number every day.

Armed with this information, we aim to help people understand the grid better, target their energy use at ‘greener’ times and reduce emissions. The m.e Platform can also automatically control devices according to this data; for example, you can ask our system to charge your phone at times of more renewable energy (and we can tell when your phone needs charging).

The m.e Power Socket light (a very low wattage LED) can be turned off at certain times of the day and can be configured to use a different colour scale if needed.

The m.e Platform uses real-time data from the National Grid and any local energy generation data (e.g., solar panels on the roof) to create an overall picture of the mix of renewable and fossil fuel energy being used. So, if it’s a windy, sunny day, there’s likely more renewable energy in use on average, and vice versa.

Whilst we can’t tell you where your electrons are coming from, we can tell the average of the regional or local electricity grid you’re using; and targeting electricity use when there’s more renewable energy reduces your carbon footprint.

A renewable energy tariff refers to the electricity generation of your energy supplier. What this means is that you are paying for the renewable energy that they are generating and supplying to the grid. However, once the energy is on the grid, it gets mixed in with all the other energy that is being generated e.g., nuclear, fossil fuels, other renewables, imports etc.

But not to worry, our power sockets still give you and your occupants the opportunity to make decisions around the energy use and save carbon emissions by taking power when our sockets light up green rather than red. 

We have multiple partnership models that work with System Integrators, Energy Brokers, Consultants as well as businesses offering complementary tech or services. We are always happy to discuss new partnership opportunities.

Yes we have! We have won a few actually:

• Most Innovative New Hardware Product at the Building Innovation Awards 2022
• Green Award at the Hustle Awards 2022
• Carbon & Energy Management Award at the Big Sustainability Expo 2022
• Sustainability Champion Award at the Big Sustainability Expo 2022

We are also nominated for the Green/Sustainability Award at the National Construction and Buildings Awards for our work decarbonising portable site construction cabins.

It ‘thinks’ using machine learning and ‘takes action’ using the unique m.e Power Sockets.

The heart of the m.e Platform is its capacity to turn devices off automatically when they are not required. Our proprietary machine learning algorithms analyse electricity used for each m.e Power Socket, as well as other building data. The algorithm’s purpose is to learn what needs to be on and when to control each socket. It also gets better and evolves as the data accumulates.

The m.e Platform is also designed to help occupants modify their power use behaviour and further reduce any wasted energy through visual cues in apps and the Impact Indicator light feature.

We’re open to align with building communications protocols.

The m.e Platform is currently open to all standard building communications protocols including BACNET and MODBUS.

To start, our objective is to keep it below 0.5 Watts on average. 

Unlike others in the smart socket world, we’ve designed our IoT hardware to be ultra energy efficient. Our long-term plan is to keep the m.e Power Socket’s consumption at less than 0.3 Watts on average. We’ll push the limit further with software management refinements in the future.

The m.e Power Sockets have a 10-year guarantee for manufacturing faults and defects. If there is an issue caused by faults from manufacturing, we will provide replacement sockets FOC.

Security, safety and reliability are part of our DNA.

We take all the steps possible to maximise the security of the m.e Platform. We monitor and assess all security threats and encryption protocol developments weekly.  We also follow the UK government’s code of practice for IoT security which limits damage of potential attacks through design.

m.e Power Sockets use hardware enabled encryption that provides the best possible defence against bad actors. m.e Power Sockets communicate with our secure cloud-based software that operates using the latest encryption protocols that are upgraded regularly.

We commit to supporting the security of our m.e Power Socket hardware for at least 10 years through software updates. We are IASME IoT Security Assured and Cyber Essentials Plus accredited.

The full details of UK government’s code of practice for IoT security guidelines are available here.

If you believe you have found a vulnerability in our product, service or website, please get in touch following our Vulnerability Disclosure Policy available here.

The m.e Power Socket is UKCA, CE and BS1363 certified as well as compliant with several different directives and standards including:

• 2014/30/EU Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)
• 2014/35/EU Low Voltage (LVD)
• 2011/65/EU Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances (RoHS)
• 2014/53/EU Radio Emissions Directive (RED)

The m.e Platform is also IASME IoT Security Assured and Cyber Essentials Plus accredited.

We will have confirmed the number and type of sockets you’d like as well as any other requirements or checks before the deployment.

We will also have liaised with your IT team to set the sockets up and connect to the most appropriate network. That way everything is ready ‘out of the box’ upon arrival.

Once the sockets are ready, we will send them to an approved recipient for extra security.

We'll agree between us who will install the sockets and when. This could be an external or internal qualified electrician.

All we need from you is a designated "super-admin" of the m.e Hub who will have full access to the setup. We'll supply training to demonstrate how to add users and roles to organisation as well as highlight the m.e Platform key features. You'll have access to our knowledge base and wiki for any quick issues.

You won’t need to do much. We recommend leaving the system to gather a baseline of data for a representative period and help you setup your rules engine to eliminate wasted energy.

Each device type has a discernible energy signature. Because we monitor 12 different parameters of power in real time, we can use this data to tell device types apart. In the initial months of an installation the system may ask for confirmation on devices that it has not seen before, but as more and more devices get plugged in, our machine learning algorithms get better and better at identifying devices.

We can detect monitors, laptops, lamps, phone chargers, heaters, fridges, printers, vending machines, coffee machines, kettles, microwaves and hot water taps to name a few.