How Totem cut electric heating use by >54% at Bargate House
At Unilife's 122-room Bargate House in Southampton, electric wall heaters were left running in empty rooms under all-inclusive rent. Totem's retrofit heating control turned every heater into an intelligent, monitored device — cutting waste without compromising resident comfort. The headline figure above updates from the building's live energy data.
Overview
Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) operators face a constant challenge: keeping residents comfortable while controlling rising energy costs. At Bargate House, traditional electric wall heaters were driving high electricity consumption and unnecessary waste — with all-inclusive rent, heating was often left running even when rooms were unoccupied.
Unilife implemented the Totem intelligent heating control system across the 122-room property. The result: a building-wide reduction of over 54% in electric heating use — live and updated weekly — while maintaining a comfortable environment for residents. Over the initial measured pilot period the system reached a peak reduction of 73.2%, and it has run at over 99% uptime since January 2026.
The challenge
For PBSA operators, student comfort is essential — but traditional heating gives very little control over usage. At Bargate House, Unilife faced:
- Electric wall heaters relying on basic internal thermostats
- Heating frequently left running in empty rooms
- Rising energy costs — up to £5 per room per day in colder weather
- No ability to adapt to changing occupancy patterns
- Students leaving heaters on permanently, day and night
The result was an ongoing dilemma: maintain comfort for residents, or attempt to control energy costs.
The solution
Unilife deployed the Totem intelligent IoT heating control platform, designed for retrofit in existing residential buildings. At its core is the Totem smart meter, a compact device installed behind the existing heating spur — no rewiring and no structural work — which instantly turns a standard electric heater into a connected, intelligent system. Corridor signal boosters were added to ensure a resilient wireless mesh throughout the building.
Centralised energy management
A central dashboard gives operators real-time visibility of heating usage and room temperatures across the building, with the ability to adjust schedules and respond to seasonal changes.
On-demand heating for residents
A simple wall-mounted boost button lets residents activate a two-hour heating boost when needed — comfort on demand, without leaving heaters running continuously.
Intelligent schedules
Heating aligns automatically with typical student routines — warm in the morning, on return from lectures, and during colder periods — eliminating waste in vacant periods.
Frost protection
When rooms are unoccupied for longer periods, the system holds a minimal background temperature to prevent excessive cooling while still reducing energy use.
Fail-safe by design
On any fault or loss of connection, Totem Control units default to full power — never off — so a technical issue can never leave a resident cold.
ESG reporting & insights
The platform measures both electricity consumption (kWh) and room temperature per room, generating data for energy savings, operating cost, carbon reduction and ESG performance.
How we measured it
Transparent methodology
Bargate House is a new building, so there was no historic full-year baseline to compare against. Totem measured actual consumption over a representative period and scaled it to an annual baseline using a seasonal demand profile — weighting the coldest months (January and February at roughly 14% of annual demand each) and the warmest summer months (around 5% each).
Savings are calculated by comparing controlled consumption against this baseline, per room, and aggregated across the building. The figures on this page are drawn from that live dataset and refreshed weekly, so the headline reflects current performance rather than a one-off snapshot.
The results
The two-phase pilot provided clear evidence of the system's effectiveness:
- Over 54% reduction in electric heating usage building-wide (live, updated weekly); peak of 73.2% over the initial measured pilot
- Cumulative CO2 avoided tracked live, with an estimated ~50 tonnes per year for a building this size
- Return on investment in under two years
- Over 99% system uptime since January 2026
These savings were achieved without compromising resident comfort or satisfaction.
Client feedback
"The Totem system has given us the control we needed, cutting unnecessary energy waste while maintaining warm, welcoming spaces for our residents. The added benefit of reducing our carbon footprint, with a payback period of under two years, makes this a win for both our residents and the environment."
Why it matters for PBSA operators
Purpose-built student accommodation often includes all-inclusive utility costs, which can lead to significant energy waste. Solutions like Totem help operators reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs, improve ESG performance, maintain resident comfort, and gain real-time control over heating — all from a retrofit that installs without rewiring.
Want results like these across your portfolio?
See how much your buildings could save, backed by live verified data — not estimates.
Book a demo →