Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice

This privacy notice is for University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland, in particular for UCD Energy Institute’s Energy Calculator Website. The University fully respects your right to privacy and actively seeks to preserve the privacy rights of those who share information with the University. At the UCD Energy Institute, we take your privacy seriously and are committed to safeguarding your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable privacy laws in Ireland. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal data when you use our website and services, particularly for the purpose of price comparison using smart meter data.

You can contact us at: energy@ucd.ie

Who We Are

Energy Calculator is a UCD designed and operated price comparison website designed for domestic electricity customers in Ireland. Our platform allows users to compare energy prices and offers based on their actual energy usage, obtained from smart meter data. Additionally, anonymised data collected through the platform is used for energy market research by university researchers and collaborators.

What Data We Collect

We collect and process different types of data, including:

• Personal Data:
  • Meter Point Reference Numbers (MPRNs): This is used for price comparison purposes, but is anonymised and stored in a format that does not allow it to be traced back to you.
  • Smart Meter Data: When you upload data from your home smart meter, we collect energy usage data for the purpose of generating personalised price comparisons.
  • Survey Responses: If you choose to complete surveys on our site, we collect your responses. These responses may include your energy habits, preferences, and household characteristics.
• Anonymised Data:
  • We anonymise MPRNs and energy usage data to remove personally identifiable information (PII) and store this anonymised data for research purposes. Once anonymised, this data is shared with university researchers and collaborators for energy market research.
  • The anonymised data will be stored for five years and used solely for academic and research purposes.

How We Use Your Data

We use your data for the following purposes:

• Price Comparison: Your smart meter data and MPRN are used to provide personalised price comparisons based on your actual energy usage.
• Anonymised Research Data: Anonymised data is used by us and our research partners to conduct energy market research and analyse consumer energy habits.
• Service Improvement: We may use your data to improve the functionality and performance of our website and services.

Data Sharing and Disclosure

• Research Collaborations: Anonymised data is shared with university researchers and collaborators for academic research. The data is stripped of any Personal Identifiers before being shared.
• Service Providers: We may share your data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website, conducting research, or providing services on our behalf. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data in compliance with GDPR.
• Internal access: The data collected from you will be accessed by staff of UCD Energy Institute.

Legal Basis for Processing Data

Under GDPR, the legal bases we rely on for processing your personal data include:

• Consent: You provide clear consent for us to process your data by using our services and agreeing to this Privacy Policy. Processing your smart meter data is necessary for us to fulfil the price comparison services you request.
•  Legitimate Interests: We may process anonymised data for research purposes based on our legitimate interests in improving energy market insights and promoting energy efficiency.

Data Retention

We retain data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected. We retain anonymised data for up to five years to support ongoing research efforts. Once the retention period expires, the data will be securely deleted.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance user experience and analyse website traffic. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or via our cookie consent tool.

For more information, please refer to our [Cookie Policy].

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these websites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal data.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal obligations. The latest version will always be posted on our website, and we encourage you to review it periodically.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at energy@ucd.ie

If you have concerns about your rights as a user of our website, you can contact the UCD DPO by email gdpr@ucd.ie

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission (DPC), the supervisory authority in Ireland, if you believe your data protection rights have been violated: https://www.dataprotection.ie/

By using the UCD Energy Calculator, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy and agree to the collection and processing of your personal data as described above.