British Gas taps ‘Internet of Things’ with water leak deal

BRITISH Gas owner Centrica has spent £13m on a UK start-up developing technology to detect leaky water pipes in homes, as the energy giant seeks to lure customers by connecting them to the “internet of things”.

Britain’s biggest energy supplier is attempting to counter a long-term decline in customer numbers by branching out into more unusual energy tariff and product offerings.

These include what the company calls the “connected home”, which involves using technology to monitor and control household appliances remotely.

The acquisition of FlowGem Limited, which it said was an “early stage UK-based business developing unique and innovative technology to remotely detect water leaks”, is the latest in a string of small deals to pick up expertise and technology in the field.

British Gas declined to divulge details of the new product offering, saying that “the device is currently in prototype”.

“We are not able to confirm at this stage exactly what will be launched. We will need to develop the product to fit on our platform,” a spokesman said.

British Gas is already offering a series of “connected home” products including “smart” thermostats to control central heating from a smartphone app, and remote-controlled plug sockets and lights.

Last year British Gas bought AlertMe, an internet of things specialist, for £44m and earlier this year it launched a product that makes boilers send a notification when they are malfunctioning.

Centrica said the FlowGen deal strengthened its connected home division “as a leading internet of things business”.

Nina Bhatia, managing director of Centrica’s connected home business, said: “This acquisition will enable us to expand what we can do to help customers manage their homes more effectively using technology, and will enrich the offer from our existing services businesses.

“We are very excited to be extending our capabilities in this new area of leak detection, as we look to 2017.”