Visualising our own energy use

At Parallax, we’re committed to Net Zero and we’re certified as carbon negative (albeit, for now, with the help of offsetting. We know it’s not perfect, but it’s a start, and we’d rather be moving in the right direction than waiting for all of the stars to align).

Two years ago, we installed 30kW of solar panels on the roof of our office. Since then, they’ve already paid back around a third of their initial cost in free, sunshine-powered heating, cooling, coffee, and compute which feels like a pretty good return for something that just sits there quietly doing its thing.

This dashboard is our way of making that impact visible. It shows, in real time, how much energy we’re generating versus how much we’re using: What we’re pulling from the grid, and what we’re giving back. Energy is usually invisible, so we wanted something simple and approachable that helps us understand it a bit better day-to-day.

We've also just started working with Elexon who deliver half-hourly settlement for the UK Grid so getting a closer insight into how we use energy ourselves felt like a great idea, especially as the project we're working on with them is focussed on the energy flexibility market which enables households, businesses, and providers to power a smarter, cleaner, and more efficient energy system as well as supporting the UK’s Net Zero goals.

When the top-right number's green, we’re powered entirely by the sun. When they don’t… well, maybe that’s a sign someone’s popped the kettle on.

We've gone a bit wild with our own office and use it as a test-bed for technology to use on client projects. We've just started letting AI control the air conditioning based on a number of different sensor readings to increase efficiency and comfort which has been more successful so far than it has any right to be.