Built for buildings where
energy runs in empty rooms.
Totem works wherever electric heating runs in unoccupied spaces — and residents or guests have no financial incentive to manage it.
Purpose-Built Student Accommodation
PBSA is the environment Totem was built for. The structural problem is specific: all-inclusive rent means students have no financial incentive to manage their heating. Rooms run warm during lectures, at weekends, and throughout vacation periods — because from a student's perspective, there's no cost to leaving the heating on.
This isn't a behaviour problem. You can't communicate your way to a meaningful energy saving. Totem makes the saving structural — automated schedules, inter-term setback, temperature compensation — running continuously, whether anyone acts or not.
Compatible with any electrically-heated PBSA building. Installs behind existing wall sockets in approximately 15 minutes per room. No rewiring, no structural work, no disruption to residents.
Students pay a fixed fee. Zero financial incentive to manage consumption. The waste is structural — Totem makes the saving structural too.
Three academic terms create predictable inter-term voids. Automated setback eliminates vacation-period waste without manual intervention.
Panel heaters, storage heaters, and towel rails are the dominant heating type in PBSA — exactly the devices Totem controls.
EPC C required from 2028 for new tenancies, 2030 for all. Totem's room-level data directly supports EPC assessments and Smart Readiness compliance.
Institutional investors and lenders increasingly require verifiable energy performance data. Totem produces it at room level, continuously.
Most PBSA is existing building stock that cannot be extensively renovated. Totem retrofits without structural work — the only practical room-level solution.
“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.”
Other sectors with the same problem
The same structural conditions exist elsewhere — electric heating, rooms that sit empty, no occupant incentive to manage energy. Totem applies wherever these three conditions are met.
Build to Rent schemes where utility bills are included in rent face the same dynamic as PBSA — tenants have no incentive to manage heating. Room-level monitoring, scheduling, and automated setback apply directly.
Totem is commercially available for BTR operators. Contact us to discuss →
Guest rooms in hotels and serviced apartments sit empty between check-out and check-in. Electric heating runs regardless. Totem's scheduling and remote control capabilities apply directly to any electrically-heated room stock.
Available to hospitality operators. Contact us to discuss →
We'll tell you if it's not the right fit
Totem controls electrical devices rated above 500 watts. It does not integrate with gas boilers, heat pumps, or wet radiator systems. If your building is heated primarily by gas central heating, Totem is not the right solution.
On a demo call, we'll establish your heating type in the first five minutes. If Totem isn't suitable, we'll say so — no wasted time on either side.