Plentify
Building Intelligent Energy Systems for the Future

The move towards renewable energy in Africa is an exciting one, but here’s what makes it risky: a frustrating mismatch between energy supply and user demand. This is a challenge that smart energy company, Plentify, is set on solving. CEO and Co-Founder of Plentify, Jon Kornik, explains, “We all want an energy system that is affordable, reliable, and clean. But the reality is that the times of day when renewable energy sources can best generate energy don’t match the times of day when people most need energy. And while diesel peaking power plants can cater for demand during peak hours – it comes at a high financial and environmental cost.”

Electric water heaters, in particular, devour around half of household energy – most of it in the mornings and evenings, when the energy grid is under the greatest strain. This is where Kornik recognized a gap for smart home products that can fuse advanced hardware, artificial intelligence, and user-centric design to strengthen electricity systems for everyone.

Unpacking Plentify: HotBot in action

Drawing power during off-peak hours is resourceful: it eases the burden on utilities and is far cheaper. Plentify has built an intelligent load management platform that adapts home utilities around user behavior and the needs of the electric grid. At the heart of this platform is HotBot, a smart energy device that connects to any existing water heater and uses powerful AI to ensure it operates most efficiently.

HotBot connects independently to the internet, allowing clients to control the device at any time, from anywhere. Using the Plentify app, clients can schedule hot water when they need it, save energy when they don’t, and only pay for what they use. This can cut water heating costs by up to 30% – a significant reduction in South Africa, where water heating accounts for 40% to 60% of a typical electricity bill, and average electricity prices have increased five-fold in the last 10 years.

Savings for property owners, insurers, and utilities

But Plentify’s smart technology doesn’t just offer relief on monthly electricity costs, it also prevents large, unexpected insurance costs in the future. Burst water heaters account for 40% percent of building insurance claims in the country, and a typical water heater bursts every five to ten years. HotBot can detect faults like leaks and proactively shut off the water supply in time to prevent flooding and damage. This reduces the risk for insurers, while increasing safety for homeowners, and saving them inconvenience.

By syncing up HotBots in the area, Plentify can also, in effect, connect home appliances together to form a virtual power plant. These fleets of HotBots work together to shift their electricity demand to match times when electricity supply is cheapest and most abundant – helping utility companies keep supply and demand in balance. This reduces their wholesale electricity costs and improves their margins. The increased reliability and affordability of the system also keeps paying customers happy, so fewer of them leave the grid.

Plentify at work: City of Cape Town case study

To showcase proof of concept, Plentify conducted pilot studies in Cape Town. These measured the technology’s impact in three main categories: reducing electricity load at targeted times, minimizing network congestion, and maximizing solar self-consumption.

By enabling water heaters across a network to switch on and off at varying intervals, the utility could shed load from congested networks in a coordinated way, eliminating up to 90% of water heater use at a given time. It also reduced the maximum demand by 40% – effectively shaving the top off its energy peaks. All of this was achieved without adversely affecting user satisfaction. The value is clear: no risk of overloading, and no more wasteful energy generation.

Cleaner energy that lightens the energy load for everyone

To maximize the use of renewable sources, Plentify’s technology coordinates connected appliances to draw electricity as solar plants are generating energy. By doing this, Plentify can increase the size and utilization of solar plants and make them affordable for both individuals and utilities.

Plentify clients are also empowered to better understand and control their personal energy consumption. With HotBot, users can use energy in a more informed and efficient manner, without compromising flexibility, and turn their water heater into a valuable, cost-saving asset.

By altering demand to match renewable energy supply, Plentify is positioned to transform the country’s energy consumption landscape. “Our goal,” says Kornik, “is to make affordable, reliable and clean electricity a reality for everyone.”