New investment - growing Bulb to bring renewable and affordable energy to more people. — Bulb Community

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New investment - growing Bulb to bring renewable and affordable energy to more people.

Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
edited August 2018 in About Bulb
Bulb recently announced that we've received £60 million of funding from two leading technology and renewable investors. This money will be used to help us invest in new technologies and deliver top-notch service. Have a quick read of our blog post to find out what our co-founder Hayden Wood has to say about the investment.

We’d love to hear any thoughts or questions you may have. Just post below.

Comments

  • katherine244katherine244
    Can you elaborate on the "invest in new technologies" bit if you are able?
  • Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
    Hey @katherine244. Good question.

    At Bulb, we have two missions:

    1. Lower energy bills for people across the UK
    2. Reduce CO2 emissions by providing green energy.

    In order to achieve this mission, we want to find ways to help our members reduce their energy consumption. Not just switch to an affordable and renewable supplier. To help us to help you, we need to research and invest in new technologies that assist with this.

    We wrote a blog post about how we are designing for the future of energy. Bulb labs research how we can be designing services and tariffs that will not only benefit the 'early-adopters' of these technologies but all UK homes.

    We want to be shaping the future of low energy consumption and this new investment will help us achieve this.

    If you have any comments or ideas on how new technologies can help shape our future energy consumption, we'd love to hear them.

  • katherine244katherine244
    Eleanor at Bulb said:

    Hey @katherine244. Good question.

    At Bulb, we have two missions:

    1. Lower energy bills for people across the UK
    2. Reduce CO2 emissions by providing green energy.

    In order to achieve this mission, we want to find ways to help our members reduce their energy consumption. Not just switch to an affordable and renewable supplier. To help us to help you, we need to research and invest in new technologies that assist with this.

    We wrote a blog post about how we are designing for the future of energy. Bulb labs research how we can be designing services and tariffs that will not only benefit the 'early-adopters' of these technologies but all UK homes.

    We want to be shaping the future of low energy consumption and this new investment will help us achieve this.

    If you have any comments or ideas on how new technologies can help shape our future energy consumption, we'd love to hear them.

    Simplest thing from me is the in home display for smart meters. Make sure it displays a history of energy consumption rather than just an instantaneous display. That would allow me to for example have a shower and look at the gas usage, and then the following day change my boiler settings and see what the difference is. Or the impact of longer vs shorter showers on gas usage.
  • MarkPMarkP
    Can't help thinking that you could achieve the same with a pencil and a piece of paper, just record the reading (including decimals) before and after...
  • katherine244katherine244
    MarkP said:

    Can't help thinking that you could achieve the same with a pencil and a piece of paper, just record the reading (including decimals) before and after...

    Sure, but the same can be said for everything. It's also not as granular as what a smart meter is capable of, as the difference is likely to be less than a single unit.
  • maizermaizer
    edited January 22
    It is amazing that this investments will help to provide renewable energy at affordable prices a large number of people. I admire people like you. Such people like you should be more !!!
  • Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
    Hey @maizer. We're excited that you are on board with Bulb =)
  • FrankMelkaFrankMelka
    edited January 22
    General Electric created the 9HA-Harriet turbine. It is the most powerful and most efficient gas turbine in the world, capable of meeting the electricity needs of a whole city. Several years of work and more than $ 1 billion were spent on the project. The 9HA collected the best technologies, it is made of the most modern materials, including single crystals. Ceramic matrix connections that were developed in the late 90s, but only realized in recent years, allow the turbine to operate at higher temperatures without distortion and with high efficiency. At the same time, the overall efficiency of converting gas energy into electrical energy is 61%, which is a record figure today.

    The design of Harriet is equipped with more than 3 thousand sensors of temperature, pressure, etc., which control its operation. The signals from them are digitized and fed to the control center on a powerful computer. The intelligent control system software allows the turbine to start, shut down and respond to changes in various conditions without human intervention.
    ********
  • mowciusmowcius
    Hey @Eleanor at Bulb, they may be sneaky, but both of the last two posts are simply spam (trying to get legitimate linkbacks to sites to rank higher on google searches or other services).

    Gotta keep an eye out!


    On the thread at hand though, I was disappointed to see that Bulb have ruled out crowdfunding as an investment option. Can anyone elaborate as to why?
  • ProffNicolaProffNicola
    Great topic,I think that high-tech equipment is the future. I like biotechnological equipment of this company, I would like to use it in my future projects
  • FromTheValleysFromTheValleys
    mowcius said:

    Hey @Eleanor at Bulb, they may be sneaky, but both of the last two posts are simply spam (trying to get legitimate linkbacks to sites to rank higher on google searches or other services).

    Gotta keep an eye out!


    On the thread at hand though, I was disappointed to see that Bulb have ruled out crowdfunding as an investment option. Can anyone elaborate as to why?

    And the one between us too.
  • 198kHz198kHz
    I don't like Spam sandwiches. :#
  • RichyBRichyB
    Perhaps we could have user requirements (more than 3 posts, member for more than 1 week) before people are allowed to post 3rd party links (links to *.bulb.co.uk sites - excluding referral links - OFGEM, DNOs, http://www.energynetworks.org / powercut105.com - perhaps should all be allowed by 'default).
  • Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
    Sorry for not getting back to you sooner on these spam sandwiches ;)

    I've removed the links now.

    And thanks all for the flags.

    Although that sounds like a sensible plan, I don't want to censor what's on Community too much @RichyB. For now, we'll keep the flag feature and a Community manager will remove anything inappropriate.
  • 198kHz198kHz
    :+1:
  • Rob___01Rob___01
    Good morning,
    I would also be interested in why a members crowd fund for investment wasn't done. I already get the feel good factor of knowing my electricity is renewably sourced but being part of (as an investor) of that organisation would be a lot more rewarding.
  • HooloovooHooloovoo
    Rob___01 said:

    Good morning,
    I would also be interested in why a members crowd fund for investment wasn't done. I already get the feel good factor of knowing my electricity is renewably sourced but being part of (as an investor) of that organisation would be a lot more rewarding.

    Crowd funding is not investing.

    If you actually want to invest in Bulb, it's not as simple as crowd funding. For example, if you contributed to some Bulb crowd funding, what exactly would you expect to get back in terms of benefit?
  • Rob___01Rob___01
    Hooloovoo said:

    Rob___01 said:

    Good morning,
    I would also be interested in why a members crowd fund for investment wasn't done. I already get the feel good factor of knowing my electricity is renewably sourced but being part of (as an investor) of that organisation would be a lot more rewarding.

    Crowd funding is not investing.

    If you actually want to invest in Bulb, it's not as simple as crowd funding. For example, if you contributed to some Bulb crowd funding, what exactly would you expect to get back in terms of benefit?
    You're totally correct, apologies for using the incorrect terminology, this could be confusing.
    I meant actually investing, small scale. A chance to be a shareholder in an energy company that doesn't use fossil fuel for its electricity (I'm aware gas is gas)
  • HooloovooHooloovoo
    Rob___01 said:

    You're totally correct, apologies for using the incorrect terminology, this could be confusing.

    Thanks for the correction. So many people seem to think places like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are related to investing these days, when it's really just purchasing something at a discount from the retail price with a gamble that you might not get anything at all. As you say, it can get confusing.
    Rob___01 said:

    I meant actually investing, small scale. A chance to be a shareholder in an energy company that doesn't use fossil fuel for its electricity (I'm aware gas is gas)

    Someone else asked a similar question here. Will from Bulb mentioned that a "non IPO crowdfund is something [they've] thought about". There are no other details. Hard to see how a crowdfund could provide any benefit to customers, other than purchasing months of energy in advance at a discount. As you say, the real interest would be in an IPO with a purchase discount for customers. I can't see that happening any time soon.
  • Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
    Hey everyone.

    We're not looking for the extra funding at the moment but a crowdfund is certainly something we'd explore carefully if we were to do another raise. We like the idea of giving our members the chance to own part of Bulb.

    Monzo's crowdfund seemed pretty successful. Did you like their model? Or would you do it differently?

    I've popped this idea on the Open Road Map too.
  • FromTheValleysFromTheValleys
    Eleanor at Bulb said:

    Hey everyone.

    We're not looking for the extra funding at the moment but a crowdfund is certainly something we'd explore carefully if we were to do another raise. We like the idea of giving our members the chance to own part of Bulb.

    Monzo's crowdfund seemed pretty successful. Did you like their model? Or would you do it differently?

    I've popped this idea on the Open Road Map too.

    Would bulb merchandise be an idea? Mugs which say 'brewed with 100% renewable energy'

    Tshirts, hoodies,

    I like the idea of shares. I'd be game for those.
  • mowciusmowcius
    edited February 8
    FromTheValleys said:

    Would bulb merchandise be an idea? Mugs which say 'brewed with 100% renewable energy'

    Tshirts, hoodies,

    I like the idea of shares. I'd be game for those.

    I've already got a T-shirt, but if I told you how I got it I'd have to kill you :mrgreen:

    Also got some stickers :wink:
  • AllanrAllanr
    edited February 8
    mowcius said:


    I've already got a T-shirt, but if I told you how I got it I'd have to kill you :mrgreen:

    I've put my thinking cap on and I have a good idea how you got it. =)

  • mowciusmowcius
    edited February 9
    Allanr said:

    I've put my thinking cap on and I have a good idea how you got it. =)

    I didn't pick it up in London :wink:
  • Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
    edited February 11
    @FromTheValleys

    We've had discussions about Bulb merchandise before. Although we'd love for everyone to roam around in a snazzy pink Bulb t-shirt, producing and distributing mugs and jumpers is not particularly environmentally friendly.

    We don't send out paper bills so in keeping with our environmentally friendly ethos, we won't be mass producing other Bulb merch.

    I've added the Crowdfund idea to the Road Map. We'll have a think about how this could work.

  • FromTheValleysFromTheValleys
    edited February 11
    Eleanor at Bulb said:

    @FromTheValleys

    We've had discussions about Bulb merchandise before. Although we'd love for everyone to roam around in a snazzy pink Bulb t-shirt, producing and distributing mugs and jumpers is not particularly environmentally friendly.

    We don't send out paper bills so in keeping with our environmentally friendly ethos, we won't be mass producing other Bulb merch.

    I've added the Crowdfund idea to the Road Map. We'll have a think about how this could work.

    I don't have the exact colour shades of bulb, but would happily take a phone background which is simple bulb pink, bulb in the middle charged with 100% renewable energy, you could quickly knock some common resolutions out like 1080p and common phone screen resolutions.
  • mowciusmowcius
    edited February 11
    If anyone wants to have a play, the CSV logo is (approximately at least, stroke styling might be different - I didn't check):
    <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" viewBox="20 76.2 141.7 53.8" focusable="true" width="20%">
    <path d="M22.9,102.3C34,91.4,39.2,82,37.7,79.2c0,0-7.6,6.4-11.1,20.3c-3.6,14.6-1.4,25.5,8.3,27.3c7.5,1.4,15-5.3,16.6-14.3c1.9-9.8-3.6-15.1-10.8-13.8c-7.4,1.3-10.1,10-10.1,10s10.5-11.2,23.8-11.2c10.7,0,11.4,2,11.4,2c-4.3,11.2-7.6,22.8-1,26.5c7.5,4.2,16.5-7.2,19.3-12.8s5.3-15.1,3.5-13.5s-4,9.2-4.2,13.1c-0.2,4-0.6,12.2,7,13.2c8.3,1.1,18.8-15.2,23.5-26.3c4.5-10.9,5.4-20.4,2.7-20.4s-8.5,8.2-11.7,20.1c-6.1,23.3,4.5,30.2,11.6,26.7c6.9-3.7,19.8-15.4,23.8-27.4c3.4-10.3,5-19.4,2.2-19.4c-3.4,0-8.9,10.1-11.7,20.4s-1.1,26.2,11.2,27.2c7,0.6,13.6-5.7,15.7-12.5c2.6-8.3-0.3-14.9-7.6-14.9c-6.8,0-9.9,7.3-9.9,7.3" fill="none" stroke="black" stroke-width="6" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"></path></svg>
    and the colours are
    Blue: #003366 / rgb(0, 51, 102)
    Pink: #DC268D / rgb(220, 38, 141) or #C3428C / rgb(195, 66, 140)

    The two pink colours are:
    1: Picked off the main image on the bulb homepage.
    2: What the pink text is at the bottom of the page.
  • mowciusmowcius
    edited February 11
    (duplicate)
  • Eleanor at BulbEleanor at Bulb
    edited February 12
    Thanks for sharing @mowcius



    ^ These are our brand colors. Generally speaking:
    • Pink is used for highlights
    • Blue is used for text, in alternating backgrounds, and for pathway buttons
    • Green is used in action buttons and linksPink is used for highlights
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