How does the scan work — and what does it do with my data?

§ 01Why a scan and not a quote form

Most websites in the energy market end in a form: name, company, "request a quote". That produces leads, but no insight — and it forces you into contact before you know whether it's worth it. The fossil replacement scan turns that around. First you get content: an initial chain and proof route for your situation. Only after that, if you want, do you leave your details so the route can be sent to you and discussed. [3]

The tool is also built to say "no". If your situation points to an adequate grid connection, electrification is the logical route, and that's what the route brief says. A scan that always ends up at renewable gas wouldn't be a scan.

§ 02The three steps

• Situation. You describe your situation in plain words, the way you'd tell a colleague — or you pick one of the examples as a starting point. For instance: a construction site without a grid connection for six months, or a process waiting for a grid capacity upgrade.
• Recognition. From your description the scan derives the attributes that determine the route: segment, duration, power and grid connection. Every attribute it recognises shows up as an option you can correct. Recognition is an aid, not a verdict; you stay at the wheel.
• Proof and timing. You indicate who is asking for proof — client, auditor, local authority, or no one yet — and the timeframe you want to act in.

The scan then draws two things: a chain map with the steps from source to use for your situation, viewable in practical mode or proof mode, and a route brief with a reading of your situation, the proposed route, a paragraph on proof and a caveat.

§ 03What you can and can't expect

The scan gives a first route, not a design and not an offer. The outcome is indicative and based on what you filled in; the six details from the article on site suitability make it sharper. The recognition and the route selection are rule-based; the figures in the chain map are indicative. If you want to discuss the route brief, a chain adviser will get in touch.

What the scan doesn't do: name prices, promise savings, or commit you to anything. Those conversations only follow once the route makes sense, based on your actual figures.

§ 04What happens to your data

This is the question that belongs with a tool like this, and the answer is deliberately short. [1] [2]

• During the scan your answers are used only to draw the route. You don't have to fill in any contact details to see the chain map and the route brief.
• Contact details — name, organisation, work email address — the scan asks for only after the substantive feedback, and only if you want to receive and discuss the route brief. Sending is possible only with explicit consent, which you give when you send.
• Purpose. Your details are used to send you the route brief and to contact you about your situation. No newsletter, no sale to third parties, no profiling for advertising.
• Processing. The request is handled through the platform Powercrumbs uses to follow up requests, which acts as a processor on our behalf; your details aren't shared with other third parties, unless the law requires it.
• Retention and rights. Details are kept no longer than needed for the follow-up, and you have the right to access, correction and erasure. The full text is in the privacy statement.

That statement is currently a draft; the legally reviewed version follows at launch and replaces this text. What doesn't change is the principle: minimal data, one purpose, explicit consent.

§ 05Start the scan

Three steps, about two minutes, and a first route back — start the scan. And if you'd rather first read what makes a site suitable: Is my site suitable?

§ 06References

• Powercrumbs — Privacy statement — Which data the scan collects, for what purpose, on what legal basis, who it's shared with and how long it's kept.Own documentation · draftInternal
• Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) — An explanation of the GDPR principles (purpose limitation, data minimisation, consent) the scan is built on.Regulator · nlHigh
• Powercrumbs — What we do — The four steps from intake to evidence file, of which the scan is the first.Own documentationInternal

Full references (titles, dates, links) to follow.

About the author