Smart Systems and Heat - Developing Knowledge from Data - An analysis of national travel survey data to inform estimates of heat demand

Abstract:

As part of its Smart Systems and Heat programme the ETI is developing EnergyPath Networks which is a software tool that will be used to develop future local area energy system designs to meet 2050 carbon emission reduction targets. The tool requires data in order to estimate current and future energy demands, and to assess the relative costs and merits of technologies.

Travel diary data from the National Travel Survey was used to identify the home occupancy patterns of survey participants. By tracking the journeys of individual household members through their travel diaries it is possible to establish the times at which they were at home. Aggregating the individual members of a household can then give the occupancy level of the house through the diary week.

Depending on current heating patterns, houses with lower occupancy levels may offer the greatest opportunities for energy savings whilst maintaining comfort levels by matching heating times to occupancy patterns. Occupancy in houses with fewer residents is likely to be easier to predict so the need for remote heating control may be reduced.

In larger houses with larger numbers of residents it will more difficult to predict occupancy. Interest in remote heating control may be increased. The amount of time that these houses are empty is significantly less so the benefits of matching heating times to occupancy are reduced. In larger, multiple occupant houses the potential benefits of zonal heating controls will be larger. This would give the ability to heat the areas of the house that are occupied at any one time rather than the whole house.

Publication Year:

2016

Publisher:

ETI

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5286/UKERC.EDC.000676

Author(s):

ETI