Meet the sensible product engineers remodeling inexperienced heating

Senior engineer Derya has spent a lifetime on the forefront of tech. She’s a powerhouse of a girl, carrying herself with a heat and kindness that immediately places you relaxed. She began her profession in Turkey, designing cellphones within the pre-internet days, earlier than transferring to Nokia to develop connectivity applied sciences like Bluetooth and Wifi – she made the world’s first Wifi name (by way of ‘SIP’) on a cell phone. She additionally helped develop the expertise that permits us to make funds with our cellphones at this time (NFC); tech so superior it influenced developments in Silicon Valley. Subsequent, Derya moved to Hive, the place she was the important thing engineer behind their innovative, a number of award-winning sensible thermostat. You may learn extra about her avant-garde profession journey right here.

Subsequent, seeking to be part of essentially the most progressive gamers within the inexperienced power area, Derya joined us at Octopus. She’s now been there for over 2 years, utilizing expertise and engineering to remodel the UK’s outdated power techniques to assist us cut back our reliance on fossil fuels.

Derya’s brainchild is the Octopus House Mini; a real game-changer within the trade. When plugged in at a house with a wise meter, it beams readings to a prospects’ Octopus smartphone app each 10 seconds. This gives prospects an unbelievable quantity of detailed, updated details about their power use, which they’ll see and analyse in actual time, straight on their Octopus App. ‘Data is energy, and I need to empower folks with all of the data they want on the subject of their consumption, knowledge and payments’

Her subsequent large feat: making electrical warmth easy and user-friendly, making a product that can permit folks to simply management their scorching water and heating by way of smartphone from wherever they’re. One of many folks to first convey boiler heating controls to the UK at Hive, Derya is uniquely positioned to drive this development.

Her subsequent problem? Optimising battery storage to hurry up the transition to renewable power. ‘Electrification is the best way of the long run. With batteries, solar energy, electrical autos, and warmth pumps we are able to drastically cut back our reliance on fossil fuels. My purpose is to make this attainable for each residence within the UK – and to make it a seamless transition’.

Derya’s a real pioneer – and her achievements are doubly unbelievable in an trade the place nearly 85% of the workforce are males. That hasn’t all the time been straightforward; ‘As a girl, and as somebody from Turkey working within the UK engineering world, I do know what it’s wish to really feel like an outsider, or such as you don’t belong. However I rapidly realised that it does not matter who I’m or the place I come from, if I’m good at what I do, I will be accepted wherever.’

All through her profession, Derya had by no means labored with one other feminine engineer – till Octopus that’s, when she began working with Analysis and Improvement engineer, Carmen. As we speak they work intently collectively creating the Octopus House Mini and warmth pump controls undertaking.

Turning into an electronics engineer hadn’t been Carmen’s unique plan – till she made the spontaneous determination days earlier than her admissions exams on the Politehnica College of Bucharest in Romania.

A polyglot, Carmen speaks her native Romanian, English, in addition to some French, Spanish and Mandarin. At Octopus, she focuses predominantly on firmware improvement, rigorously testing and certifying each product to a excessive customary so prospects get the very best expertise. She additionally takes care of the gadgets fleet, resolving any bugs and ensuring our sensible merchandise out on this planet are functioning as they need to.

Their crack group is consistently engaged on innovating new merchandise, enhancing options, technical software program improvement, connecting with suppliers and constructing {hardware}. ‘While we work intently with different departments, we’ve a tiny core R&D group that’s tremendous linked. After all working with new applied sciences on a regular basis is difficult however this tremendous supportive surroundings has been wonderful. My recommendation to others is; there are not any dumb questions and by no means put any limits on what you’re able to’.

While the engineering discipline is in determined want of extra feminine and BAME illustration, the Octopus engineering division is an anomaly.

Carmen can also be working continuous on the warmth pump controls undertaking, which kicked off in the midst of the pandemic. Regardless of delays and challenges with disrupted provide channels, she and the engineering group managed to compile the parts, create a prototype and rework it right into a product that can transform the best way heating works. ‘Our mission is to make use of tech to make clear power inexpensive. However to resolve an issue, you first want to grasp it. That’s the reason we need to supply our prospects a easy solution to monitor, perceive and management their power consumption’.

This sort of expertise is the important thing to a greater future. Within the wake of the present power disaster, it’s crucial we’re discovering progressive options that cut back our carbon footprint and save prospects cash. Carmen and Derya have a transparent imaginative and prescient of making sensible power merchandise which can be accessible to all. To that finish, they spend a lot of their time optimising their creations and making certain the interfaces are straightforward to make use of. Finally they are saying, the job of a wise product engineer is to supply the very best and best attainable expertise for the top person.

As Undertaking Supervisor, Jess’ function is to make issues occur. She brings the groups collectively to finalise the merchandise and ship a simple-to-use, intuitive and customer-friendly product to the shoppers, all while making all of it look so straightforward.

The sensible power trade has developed closely prior to now few years, and prospects are extra engaged and knowledgeable about power than ever earlier than. They’re way more prone to need to change power suppliers and carry on prime of their utilization to save cash so merchandise like those Jess is managing, are essential within the panorama.

Derya, Carmen and Jess are utilizing expertise to pave the best way in the direction of a greener, cheaper system, the place prospects are in complete management of their power. Engaged, empowered prospects are the important thing to upending the outdated methods of the power trade, maximising renewable power when it’s considerable, avoiding fossil fuels when it’s busiest, and balancing the power grid. With Octopus’ tech platform Kraken, progressive sensible merchandise, versatile tariffs and the laborious work of those inspiring girls, this actuality is nearer than ever.