PassivSystems has today launched PassivEnergy, a unique home energy management system that can reduce household energy use by up to 18 per cent, a saving of £214.92 on the average household energy bill of £1,194. PassivEnergy optimises a home’s energy use, learning when it needs to use energy and when it needs to save it.

PassivEnergy is the first energy management system that manages a home’s hot water and heating systems based around how people live their life, a function known as ‘Adaptive Occupancy Control’. The user simply tells the system their occupancy status – whether they are in, out, asleep or on holiday – and PassivEnergy looks after the rest, providing exactly the required amount of hot water and heat for that status.

It comes with an occupancy button – usually placed by the bed or the front door – that allows the user to change their status at the flick of a switch without having to re-programme the entire system.

“PassivEnergy is intelligent and intuitive enough to adjust to your household’s needs and really addresses wasted energy in the home,” said Colin Calder, CEO, PassivSystems. “It takes the guesswork out of ensuing your heating and hot water are as you want it. For instance, if you get up for work at 7:00 it will start the heating at just the right time and temperature to ensure your comfort. If you pop to the shops for a few hours you can hit the occupancy button on the way out and the house will go into a low energy state until you return.”

The systems works by talking wirelessly to sensors and controls installed around the home and is managed using the wireless touch-screen PassivController which replaces existing boiler and heating controls. This handheld device makes it easy to adjust the temperature in the home, when the heating comes on or off and when hot water is needed.

PassivEnergy can also integrate with a home’s alternative energy sources, helping people manage energy generated from sources such as solar panels more efficiently. The energy from clean sources is optimised and fossil fuel only used to top up a household’s energy when needed.

“With 84 per cent of the energy used in the home coming from heating and hot water, PassivEnergy addresses the issues that really impact the consumer,” said Colin Calder, CEO, PassivSystems. “It is completely user-friendly and once you have told it how your house behaves it manages your energy effectively and efficiently, without you even really adjusting your behaviour.”

Research conducted by YouGov to coincide with the launch of PassivEnergy revealed that 47 per cent of people in Great Britain do not know exactly how to programme their heating system. 86 per cent have admitted to committing a variety of ‘energy crimes’ from going on holiday without turning the heating off to leaving the TV and computer on stand-by.

“With antiquated heating and hot water systems operated by overly-complex controllers, it is not surprising that nearly half the UK population are unable to programme their heating and hot water effectively,” continued Colin Calder, CEO, PassivSystems. “But home energy management does not need to be that complicated and in PassivEnergy consumers now have a product that gives them greater control, greater comfort and is capable of lowering carbon footprint and energy bills.”

Other features include a zone control that allows the user to manage energy in different areas of their house separately and Advanced Heating Control that ensures the house is heated only when it is needed. It manages the temperature so the house doesn’t get too warm or cold and automatically adjusts itself based on the temperature outside.

With a recommended retail price of £395 including the touchscreen hardware that allows the users to control it from anywhere in the house, PassivEnergy offers a different and richer experience than smart meters, long touted as the solution to managing energy in the home. The research revealed that less than a third of people surveyed (32%) said they would change their energy behaviour based on the information provided by a smart meter if they had one. Smart meters have been estimated by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as being able to reduce energy usage by only two to three per cent, and bills by just £28 a year.

“PassivEnergy provides consumers with the control they have been lacking over their energy use,” continued Colin Calder. “Smart meters and other display devices provide information on household energy use, but this is not the solution. People lead such busy lives they do not have the time to act as their home’s energy manager and our research showed they want help, not information.”

PassivEnergy will soon also be able to address the issue of electrical appliances on stand-by. The research showed that more than half of respondents left their TV on standby (52%) and their computer on when not in use (56%). The next version of PassivEnergy will detect when a product has gone into standby mode and completely cut the power based on the home’s occupancy state. It will even cut the power to connected equipment, so if a TV is put onto stand-by, PassivEnergy will cut the power to the DVD player too.

To buy PassivEnergy, visit www.passivsystems.com to find the nearest supplier.

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Media enquiries:
Paul Allen – Rise PR
paul@risepr.co.uk – + 44 (0) 7515 199 487

Notes to editor:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2085 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 20th – 22nd April 2010 . The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

About PassivSystems: www.passivsystems.com

PassivSystems Ltd was established in 2008 and aims to be the leading provider of Home Energy Management Systems. Bringing together specialists from two normally separate sectors, energy and telecoms, the PassivEnergy Home Energy Management System has been designed to help people reduce wasted energy, increase comfort and save money. The system has been designed to be simple to install and easy to use.

PassivSystems has been highly commended by industry in 2010. It was one of ten companies chosen by UK Trade & Investment in January 2010 to be part of an exhibition of Britain’s best new technologies at the world’s largest consumer electronics show, CES and in February was selected to participate in the Clean and Cool Mission 2010. This trade mission saw 19 leading UK clean tech companies spend a week in San Francisco taking part in a range of activities designed to help them open up their business to the US market. In May, PassivSystems was selected as a finalist in the Red Herring Europe 100 awards which recognise the most innovative technology startups in Europe.

– Paul Allen 20-05-2010

HAMPSHIRE, UK: 19th May 2010 — A continuing surge in mobile Internet usage, allied to the increasing penetration of integrated GPS receivers within both smartphones and featurephones, will see location-based local search and information services used by nearly 1.5 billion mobile users by 2014, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The mobile location based services report found that while technical advances in handset screens, user interfaces, processors, memory and graphics handling technologies had previously contributed to the launch of a rash of high spec, but relatively high cost, mobile devices from leading vendors, their features – including GPS – were gradually migrating into mass market devices. At the same time, GPS unit prices and form factors had improved considerably making integrated GPS much more cost effective and design friendly.

Meanwhile, the attendant growth in mobile Internet adoption – itself in part a corollary of improved handset form factors and affordable data bundles – is expected to provide further impetus to the adoption of browser-based local search services.

According to MLBS report author Dr Windsor Holden, “The sharing culture of Web 2.0 is increasingly shaping the way many location based services and location enabled apps develop. Social networking application usage has continued to grow at an explosive rate, while mobile driven apps such as Loopt and Brightkite have extended the Web 2.0 concept further with the introduction of geotagged content”.

Additionally, the Juniper report found that while browser-based services will dominate the local search market, applications purchased via app stores will take a growing portion of the information services market, particularly template apps providing city guides and entertainment guides.

Other findings from the Juniper report include:
• Total revenues from all mobile location-based services are expected to reach $12.7 billion by 2014
• While advertising will comprise an increasing proportion of total market value, some concerns remain regarding its large-scale viability as a primary revenue stream

Juniper Research assesses the current and future status of mobile location-based services based on interviews, case studies and analysis from representatives of some of the leading organisations in this critical area of the mobile industry.

Whitepaper and further details of the study ‘Mobile Location-Based Services: Applications, Forecasts & Opportunities 2010-2014’ can be freely downloaded from www.juniperresearch.com Alternatively please contact John Levett at john.levett@juniperresearch.com, telephone +44(0)1256 830002. – John Levett 19-05-2010

• Peugeot’s Diesel sales up 53.4 % in April
• April sales up 21.6% in a market up 11.5%
• Strong Fleet sales’ performance in April up 24.4% in a static market
• Strong LCV sales up 51% year-on-year in a market up 11.1%

Peugeot is a brand on the move with sales in April up 21.6%.

April has seen another strong performance from Peugeot in the run up to it 200th anniversary in May. As the UK market reported an 11.5% increase in April, Peugeot benefited from strong sales of its HDi diesel models, up 53.4%, to record an overall sales increase of 21.6%. This was fuelled by the strong retail and fleet demand for Peugeot’s two latest models, the Peugeot 3008 (What Car? Car of the Year 2010) and the Peugeot 5008 (What Car? MPV of the Year 2010); both cars also continue to exceed all sales objectives.

A strong April performance means Peugeot continues to out-perform the market year-on-year with increased sales of 29.4%, in a market up 23.9%. This growth has been achieved by increased sales of the Peugeot 107, 207 and 308 models, and the 3008 and 5008 which have achieved sales of almost 6,000 in the first four months of 2010.

Peugeot’s strong LCV sales performance also continued again in April with sales up 12.2% in a market up 6.0%, as confidence in the economy starts to return. Year-on-year Peugeot has now increased its LCV sales by 51%, in a market up 11.1%. Strong sales performance across the whole LCV range has put Peugeot in the position of No1 French manufacturer in the UK LCV market, and with the highest volume increase out of all the top five manufacturers.

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To obtain high resolution LCV downloadable images and pricing and specification information on any of the Peugeot Range of city cars and family cars please log on to the Peugeot Press website: www.peugeotpress.co.uk (Newspress passwords apply)

Press Contacts
www.peugeotpress.co.uk

Andrew Didlick +44 (0)24 7688 4309
andrew.didlick@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0) 7836 362859

Craig Morrow +44 (0)24 7688 4261
craig.morrow@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0)7747 764745

Ian Sedgwick +44 (0)24 7688 4216
ian.sedgwick@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0) 7881 500617

Janet Brace +44 (0)24 7688 4257
janet.brace@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0)7798 607896

Kevin Jones +44 (0)24 7688 4215
kevin.jones@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0)7880 786596

– Richard Skidmore 18-05-2010

Bristol, May 17, 2010 – Digital TV software specialist, Ocean Blue Software, has announced compliance of its mature MHEG-5 engine, Voyager™, with the UK’s specification for DVB-T2 Freeview HD receivers.

The announcement comes in time for the surge in demand for HD services on Freeview in the run up to the World Cup. The development utilises the enhanced graphics capabilities of HD-ready televisions during interactive “red button” sessions, giving consumers an enhanced viewing experience.

Ocean Blue’s MHEG-5 HD engine has been fully compliance tested to the DTG D Book version 6.2, which introduces the use of JPEG bitmaps, AAC audio (streams and clips) and improved resolution and colour depth that will all enhance the audio / visual experience. Additional changes to graphics have been made to ensure that any upscaling of SD MHEG 5 applications to HD generates a high quality image on HD graphics planes.

The new software release also allows for interactive services on Freeview HD. Ocean Blue has implemented the latest ETSI standard ES 202 184, including the interaction channel to provide for example: interactive voting, shopping and video-on-demand. The development will enable many of the “Red Button” interactive features previously unavailable to Freeview customers as their receivers had no connection back to the broadcaster.

As per all Voyager enhancements and evolutions, the new HD development involves adding software interfaces to the existing API. By maintaining the existing API and only adding relevant functionality it ensures that Ocean Blue’s existing customers require minimal effort to update and integrate; whilst new customers benefit from integrating a mature and stable software solution.

Voyager MHEG-5
Voyager is a DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) based MHEG-5 interactive software middleware component which is ready for integration into digital televisions and set top boxes. The MHEG-5 engine allows the receiver to execute interactive digital television applications from DVB-S, T or C broadcasters.

The DSM-CC (data transmission mechanism) client is supplied as part of Voyager MHEG 5. Support for SD/HD platforms with and without MPEG-4 / H.264 capabilities is included in the latest release.

Ocean Blue provides clients with test lab facilities using the latest DTG and DVB test suites, test processes and broadcast streams.

A video demonstration of Voyager MHEG-5 is available on Ocean Blue’s website http://www.oceanbluesoftware.com/video-library.shtml

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About Ocean Blue Software
Ocean Blue Software, based in Bristol and with offices in Hong Kong and Korea, specialises in the development, distribution and support of world-class software solutions, which are incorporated into Digital TV consumer electronics products, present in the Digital Home.
Ocean Blue’s software products stand out in terms of maturity, usability, operability and adherence to international digital broadcast standards, notably DVB and DTG. Ocean Blue is active in both DTG and DVB groups, assisting in the development of industry software standards. Ocean Blue’s latest software developments include support for High Definition TV broadcasts, Talking TV technology, CI Plus and Connected-TV solutions such as HbbTV. For further information visit http://www.oceanbluesoftware.com.

Ocean Blue Software Contact:
Laura Buck
Marketing Manager
Email: laura.buck@oceanbluesoftware.com
Tel: +44 (0)1179 722753
http://www.oceanbluesoftware.com – Laura Buck 17-05-2010

Peugeot invites you to put your creative head on, think outside of the box and look at advertising in a whole new light. To coincide with the UK launch of the new RCZ this month the ‘It Chooses You Campaign’ launches on Facebook today giving people the opportunity to win the most desirable Sports Coupé on the market – the sexy and dynamic Peugeot RCZ.

Meanwhile, Peugeot is looking to find a creative star to win one of these cars through the new RCZ Facebook campaign.

The competition on Facebook flips traditional advertising on its head by running ads that look like classified car ads but actually feature ‘real’ people advertising themselves to the RCZ. Entrants may even find themselves grabbing the headlines and becoming famous as some of the best entries will be picked to feature in an online advertising campaign for Peugeot UK.

Alongside the RCZ Facebook page, a micro-site has been created where entrants can really start to get those creative juices flowing and express themselves through the world of advertising, creating their advertisement with the help of Facebook Connect. Furthermore, entrants will get an extra chance to win if they invite friends to participate as they enter the prize draw at www.itchoosesyou.co.uk. By joining the RCZ Facebook page, people can keep up to date with all the latest competition news in the run up to the live draw on 11th June.

Andy Goodall, Internet Marketing Manager at Peugeot UK said: “The RCZ Sports Coupé goes on sale from the 21st May. The exciting RCZ Facebook competition will engage the audience, keeping them interested and excited using street-casted online ads, viral videos, e-mails and then using online ads featuring real entrants amongst all entries to win the stunning RCZ.”

Come on Britain, let’s really see who’s got talent!

Ends

Press Contacts:

www.peugeotpress.co.uk
Andrew Didlick +44 (0)24 7688 4309
andrew.didlick@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0) 7836 362859

Craig Morrow +44 (0)24 7688 4261
craig.morrow@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0)7747 764745

Ian Sedgwick +44 (0)24 7688 4216
ian.sedgwick@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0) 7881 500617

Janet Brace +44 (0)24 7688 4257
janet.brace@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0)7798 607896

Kevin Jones +44 (0)24 7688 4215
kevin.jones@peugeot.com
Mob +44 (0)7880 786596

To obtain high resolution downloadable images and pricing and specification information on the Peugeot Range of vehicles please log on to the Peugeot Press website: www.peugeotpress.co.uk
– Richard Skidmore 16-05-2010