About us

Local technology

The technology was created by the electronics engineer, Luc Wathelet, originally from Belgium but living in Lillehammer. What started as an experiment in our own home in 2021 is now set to help people reduce their electricity bills.

"At our home, we have reduced costs by 30 percent since the beginning of 2022 when we started using SmartVVB. I have saved more than 5000 kroner and never had cold water.

It has been important for me to produce something that can easily save electricity and money, and it was crucial that the product could be used with old water heaters, precisely to prevent use and discard."

Partners

We have received support from both Lillehammer municipality and the county council. All production takes place at Betek AS in Lillehammer, and SmartVVB has undergone extensive testing and is type-approved by Nemko. Since 2022, we have an agreement with Gudrbrandsdal Energi (Elmera Group). Now, we are looking forward to making the product available to everyone.

"We see a clear trend that more and more people want services and tools to help save electricity. We have gone all in on the development of power-saving tools, and SmartVVB is an important part of our initiative.

We are greatly looking forward to offering our customers this product, hopefully at the beginning of 2024."

Where do we manufacture SmartVVB ?

We are truly committed to producing locally and if possible avoid using China or other dictatorships that do not respect the environment and human rights. Electronic manufacturing is particularly dependent on Asia. But there are still possible choices for some components.

Here is the list of main components and their manufacturing locations:

  • Printed circuit board: Macedonia or Germany
  • Enclosure: France
  • Connectors: Italy
  • Temperature sensor: Poland
  • Transformer: USA
  • Cardboard box: Norway
  • User manual: Norway

Development, electronics production, assembly, and packaging take place in Lillehammer (Norway)

Why SmartVVB?

“Water heating is independent of the price of electricity. End users heat water when it is most expensive. We must develop renewable energies as much as possible but production is not constant, hence a large variation in electricity prices. SmartVVB is the ideal product to reduce electricity bills and contribute to the development of renewable energies.”
Luc Wathelet Luc Wathelet, CEO Wattlet AS