The big picture: Most smart home systems require professional installation or a “neutral wire,” which is absent in 90% of UK homes. Tewke is building a DIY-first energy operating system centered around its “Tap” hardware to automate household electricity shifts and reduce peak-time tariffs.
Why it matters:
- Retrofit Barrier: High costs and complex wiring have stalled the adoption of energy-saving tech in older housing stocks; Tewke’s hardware installs in minutes without a neutral wire.
- Tariff Optimization: By analyzing behavioral data across nine onboard sensors, the platform automatically shifts consumption to low-cost hours, slashing both bills and carbon footprints.
- Native Infrastructure: Rather than relying on third-party hubs, the company develops its proprietary OS and neuro-symbolic logic in-house to ensure offline reliability and security.
How it works:
- Tap Device: A non-invasive smart controller that monitors movement, air quality, and temperature to provide contextual household intelligence.
- Autonomous Efficiency: Uses sensor data to predict occupancy and adjust energy loads without requiring constant user manual input.
- Scalable Framework: Designed to integrate with broader residential energy performance initiatives, supported by Innovate UK and Google.
The catch: Tewke is entering a crowded market where giants like Hive and Nest have already secured significant footprint. While its “no-neutral-wire” hardware is a unique selling point for UK retrofits, its long-term defense rests on its ability to prove that its “contextual intelligence” saves more money than a standard smart thermostat. Much like the challenges in cloud infrastructure optimization, the risk for Tewke is “feature creep”—if the system becomes too complex or intrusive, users may revert to manual control, rendering the high-tech sensors an expensive novelty.
Key Details
- Funding: £1.5M (Seed)
- Lead: JamJar Investments, Cur8 Capital
- CEO: Piers Daniell
- Sector: IoT / Energy Transition
