Developing technology to heat homes sustainably

DipHE Computer and Information Security graduate James Davidson is getting ahead of larger organisations by making decarbonising practical
Solar panels on a roof with a heat pump

We decided to take what we'd learned, make our own product and take it to a specific market which hadn't yet been catered to.

James Davidson, DipHE Computer and Information Security
James Davidson profile circular
It all happened quite soon after I graduated in 2022. I got a contract to do some software development work for a company who shared the same offices as a company called Fingoti. Fingoti comprised George, Alex and Liam – also University of Plymouth graduates and my future team.
I started doing subcontract work to do technical writing for those guys. Then, when my contract was up, I went on to work full-time for Fingoti as a technical writer – that was in April of 2023.
Then in the following May, we decided to start work on our initial concept for Planet Devices. It was just a pipe dream back then so it’s hard to believe it’s nearly ready to launch! 

Building a valuable skillset

I had previously tried to get into programming and software development, but it didn't ring true with me. In my foundation year, there was a module that we did for computer programming with Mark Dixon and Liz Stewart, and immediately it clicked; I got really excited about it. 
I went on to study Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) Computer and Information Security, which meant that for the first two years I was doing a lot of computer science, which involved a lot of software development and database design, etc. 

University provided me with a great set of core skills to work with and build from. I took part in Peer Assisted Learning (PALS), as I had previous teaching experience, and that was great. This provided me with some valuable transitional skills, like presenting in front of a room of people.

I was also a course rep throughout the programme, which involved communicating directly with the Programme Leads and being part of a constructive feedback loop in a room full of people who all have different ideas and perspectives.

Finding a gap in the market

A Home Energy Management System involves a solar panel, battery storage, a heat pump, and an electric vehicle charger. You put them all together and you can start optimising your energy usage. It allows you to decide where to direct your solar energy. However, currently, there is no one central solution that can do that for you, especially if you have solar panels from one energy provider and a charger from another. This means the two don't know how to talk to each other, and that's deliberate. So, there is no manufacturer agnostic or vendor agnostic way of doing that. 

Who doesn't like the idea of being net zero and reducing carbon emissions while saving money?

We therefore decided to put our focus on monitoring heat pump performance. We didn’t want to wait for the larger organisations to make decisions as they were being too slow and, as a lean start-up, this can be very frustrating. So, we decided to take what we'd learned, make our own product and take it to a specific market which hadn't yet been catered to. 

In the UK, 14% of carbon emissions are because of household heating, which is why the government is so keen to decarbonise it. That's why we started down this route.

Planet Devices soldering
Planet Devices team
Planet Devices dashboard

Making heat pumps a practical solution

Part of this task is dispelling the myths about how well the heat pumps work – part of the reason people don't adopt them is because they're expensive. The other issue is how do you choose who's going to install your heat pump for you and which heat pump should you install? Most homeowners are used to a boiler that turns on or off but with heat pumps it's a lot more complex. 
Currently there is no way of validating how well a heat pump works – and finding out can be very expensive. Our plan was to provide the performance data at a very cheap price and make that available for everyone to access as a point of reference. It helps homeowners, it helps installers, it helps the industry, and it helps the government on its push to net zero.

The University has given us access to valuable people who have connections and can give us access to things that we wouldn't otherwise have.

Our new device is capable of speaking to more than just heat pumps. It does this by using a common language spoken between different renewable technologies, which enables us to connect one single bit of hardware and talk to it. But we have deliberately relegated it to heat pumps in the domestic market and part of the reason for that is to do with the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant which feeds into the whole decarbonising of home heating.
But, of course, it will balloon out into solar panels and electric vehicle chargers because that's where the world is going. It was initially penned for 2030 for all of this to start kicking in. But that has since slid back to 2035. But things need to happen sooner rather than later. So, the more that private companies can assist in this, the better!
Planet Devices Pitchfest winner
Planet Devices equipment
Planet Devices handshake

University keeps giving throughout your life

It’s very easy to forget about all the little building blocks you've made while at university and I think about how far we've come – like winning Pitchfest.

I left school at 17 and then I worked for a few years. I went back to university when I was 20. Then I came out of university, so there's a bit of a personal development journey since then and that ended up with me being happy to stand up in front of a room at Pitchfest and speak to people I don't know. 
There were benefits to be gained, not only in terms of professional development, but in terms of being able to go to the experts and show off my knowledge! It was a great opportunity which I wouldn't otherwise have gone for. I try more and more to do things that allow me to apply the skills I gained while at University.

Sometimes you’ve got to do the thing that makes you feel uncomfortable and see how it goes.

I think when you first go to university, it's brand new. It's nothing like school, it's nothing like work. It's a completely different ball game. There are so many different clubs and societies. I would advise going out of your comfort zone – as it’s better than sitting still and staying in your little box. If you don’t like something, you don’t have to do it again or you could go back and get better at it. I am very happy to be wrong about something if that’s where the growth is.
Networking was something I'd never done before. It wasn’t something that ever appealed to me. But after the last year, I now understand the benefits of doing it. But again, unless you try it and see how it goes, you'll never know. 
Always give something a go; if you get it wrong, you've still learned something – you haven't wasted your time.
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