Energy

The impact of energy policy measures has been assessed with various appraisal and evaluation tools since the 1960s. Decision analysis, environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment are all notable examples of progenitors of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in the assessment of energy policies, programmes and projects. This chapter provides overview of policy tools which have been historically applied to assess the impacts of energy policies, programmes and projects. It focuses on the types of data and models that typically inform RIAs for energy policies; the organisations involved; and issues of data exchange between energy companies and policy-makers. Examples are derived from the European Commission, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and France. It is concluded that the technical and economic analysis underpinning RIAs on energy policy and regulation varies significantly depending on the type of organisation carrying them out

Time of the day dependence of social practices and energy demand

The starting point of this work is that the time dependence of social practices at specific points of the day shapes the timing of energy demand. This work aims to assess how dependent energy-related social practices in the household are in relation to the time of the day. The analysis of the 2005 Office for National Statistics National Time Use Survey makes use of statistically-derived time dependence calculations for six social practice: preparing food, washing, cleaning, washing clothes, watching TV and using a computer. The focus is on social practices over temporal scales of different days of the week and months of the year, with particular emphasis on February and June. Findings will have implications on the way flexibility is conceptualised and the effectiveness of intervention aimed at practices rather than individuals (e.g. through price and technology)

Explaining shifts in UK electricity demand using time use data from 1974 to 2014

Peaks in electricity demand generate significant negative environmental and economic impacts. As a result recent policy and research attention has focused on the potential for temporal flexibility of demand, especially in the context of intermittent low-carbon generation. Much of this work emphasises the need to understand what makes up the peak and to engineer socio-technical solutions to meet this 'normal' consumption. However today's patterns of temporal consumption may only be a snapshot of continuing change. This paper uses UK household time-use survey data to analyse change in temporal patterns of activities over the last 40 years to shed light on apparent temporal shifts in overall UK electricity demand. The results highlight long term gradual evolution in when and where people work, travel, eat, use media and carry out social activities. In particular they suggest that changing patterns of labour market participation may be contributing to shifts in food related, personal/home care and media activities. The former in particular are correlated with shifts in electricity demand. We conclude that both stable and dynamic social structures and forms of organisation have direct implications for policy debates around current and future flexible demand-side solutions

The risk of residential peak electricity demand: a comparison of five European countries

The creation of a Europe-wide electricity market combined with the increased intermittency of supply from renewable sources calls for an investigation into the risk of aggregate peak demand. This paper makes use of a risk model to assess differences in time use data from residential end-users in five different European electricity markets. Drawing on the Multinational Time-Use Survey database, it assesses risk in relation to the probability of electrical appliance use within households for five European countries. Findings highlight in which countries and for which activities the risk of aggregate peak demand is higher and link smart home solutions (automated load control, dynamic pricing and smart appliances) to different levels of peak demand risk

Categories, Concepts and Units : Representing energy demand in and through time

Preprin

Framing evidence: policy design for the zero carbon home

In 2006 the UK government announced a move to zero carbon homes by 2016. The demand posed a major challenge to policy makers and construction professionals entailing a protracted process of policy design. The task of giving content to this target is used to explore the role of evidence in the policy process. Whereas much literature on policy and evidence treats evidence as an external input, independent of politics, this paper explores the ongoing mutual constitution of both. Drawing on theories of policy framing and the sociology of classification, the account follows the story of a policy for Zero Carbon Homes from the parameters and values used to specify the target. Particular attention is given to the role of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) and to the creation of a new policy venue, the Zero Carbon Hub. The analysis underlines the way in which the choices about how to model and measure the aims potentially transforms them, the importance of policy venues for transparency and the role of RIAs in the authorization of particular definitions. A more transparent, open approach to policy formulation is needed in which the framing of evidence is recognized as an integral part of the policy process

Role of household activities in peak electricity demand and distributional effects of Time-of-Use tariffs

Introduction of Time-of-Use (ToU) tariffs have the potential to motivate consumers to flex their energy use and, by utilising their flexibility, support the reduction in peak electricity demand. In return, lower peak demand could also reduce the system costs due to the reduced need for peaking generation and network reinforcement. By their nature, ToU tariffs would penalise consumers with high consumption during peak periods and who are not able to exercise flexibility. Therefore to ensure the affordability of energy bills it is important to understand the relationship between the timing of activities in the household and socio-demographic properties of the consumers. This paper uses UK Time Use survey data to cluster households by their energy-related activities during the peak electricity demand periods, model the corresponding electricity demand and analyse the impact of ToU tariffs across several socio-demographic parameters. Results show that similar patterns of energy related activities exist for the clusters with different socio-demographic parameters (e.g. family structure or income). Findings also show that there is no single dominant socio-demographic parameter that defines the winners or losers from the introduction of ToU tariff

A comparative analysis of building energy estimation methods in the context of demand response

A critical element of assessing a building’s suitability for Demand Side Response (DSR) is understanding its turndown potential to ensure that DSR participation will be financially viable. While research has been undertaken on site level DSR estimation methods, there is currently no research that compares the outcomes of these methods. This paper compares four non-domestic energy estimation methods used for understanding the DSR potential of electrical appliances in a building to provide insights about uncertainty levels based on input requirements. Each method is deployed to estimate the DSR potential of HVAC chiller assets at two UK hotels over two years. The results show the methods have a range of error levels from the highest Mean Average Percentage Error (MAPE) of 159% to the lowest MAPE of 39%. The input requirements followed a general trend of more complex informational inputs resulting in lower error values. The outcomes of this research enable users to make informed decisions in selecting DSR estimation methods based on information availability and acceptable estimation error levels