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Domestic Energy UseAuthor(s): Lowes, R., Pidgeon, N., Barrett, J., Qadrdan, M., Gross, R. and Wu, J.
Published: 2020
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Warren, G. and Foulds, C.
Published: 2020
Publisher: UKERC
Part of the Energy-PIECES project, this report was developed during a secondment at the Energy Savings Trust.
Author(s): Cass, N., Lucas, K., Adeel, M., Anable, J., Buchs, M., Lovelace, R., Morgan, M. and Mullen, C.
Published: 2022
Publisher: CREDS
Author(s): Heptonstall. P, and Winskel. M
Published: 2023
Publisher: UKERC
This systematic review presents data on the total installed costs for domestic heat pumps in the UK and internationally. It covers historic and forecast costs, across a range of technology types and building contexts.
Author(s): Crawley, C., Johnson, C., Calver, P. and Fell, M.J.
Published: 2021
Publisher: CREDS
Author(s): Torriti, J., Shove, E., Fell, M. and Ramirez-Mendiola, J. L.
Published: 2023
Publisher: CREDS
Author(s): Cass, N., Anable, J., Lucas, K., Adeel, M., Buchs, M., Lovelace, R., Morgan, M. and Mullen, C.
Published: 2022
Publisher: CREDS
Author(s): DNV GL
Published: 2014
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): DNV GL
Published: 2014
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2015
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): Banks, N.
Published: 2008
Publisher: UKERC
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) have been a requirement on sale of all domestic property since December 2007 as part of the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs). This report examines how this requirement has been implemented by those on the receiving end of the legislation – the software designers, the domestic energy assessors, the estate agents, the conveyancing solicitors and the householder. Bearing in mind the stated objectives of the EPC, the report then makes a number of recommendations for improving the operation of the scheme.
Author(s): Energy Systems Catapult
Published: 2016
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): ETI
Published: 2015
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): Darby, S. and Rowlands, I.
Published: 2008
Publisher: UKERC
This workshop brought together 36 experts including policy makers and advisors, scientists and residential electricity management stakeholders to provide a neutral forum, under Chatham House rules, for full and frank dialogue relating to sharing lessons learned and developing strategies and policy recommendations emerging from managing residential electricity demand in the UK and Ontario, Canada. This was an opportunity to reflect upon our various roles within the broader context of residential electricity demand management. The aim of the workshop was to draw out recommendations and actions for demand reduction, load management and carbon reduction. The workshop outputs will provide a base for continued collaboration and identification of new research initiatives.
The workshop explored three objectives: 1. Share lessons learned from the UK and Ontario, Canada regarding demand response and demand reduction initiatives
2. Examine possible strategies; and
3. Develop policy recommendations and actions for demand reduction, load management and carbon reduction.
Author(s): Hardt, L., Brockway, P., Taylor, P., Barrett, J., Gross, R. and Heptonstall, P.
Published: 2019
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government is legally bound to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels.
Historically, the focus of energy policy in the UK has been on supply-side policies, such as decarbonisation of electricity generation through greater use of low carbon technologies like wind and solar. Increasingly, however, demand-side energy policies are being recognised as having important contributions to make to achieving emission reduction targets, through reducing energy demand or by making energy demand more flexible and compatible with variable renewable energy sources. Such demand-side policies can seek to promote a wide range of technologies and behaviours, for example improved buildinginsulation, reduction in the use of energy intensive materials and increases in teleworking to reduce commuting.
To fully realise the potential of demand-side energy policies, it is important that they can be adequately represented in quantitative energy models, because such models play an important role in informing UK energy policy. However, we do not currently have a good understanding of how well the different energy models that inform UK government energy policy represent energy demand and demand-side energy policies.
Therefore we have undertaken a Rapid Evidence Assessment (a constrained form of systematic review) to examine the energy models that have informed energy policy documents published by the UK government between 2007 and 2017. The overarching question this review seeks to address is:
How suitableare the energy models used toinform UK government energy policy for exploring the full range of contributions that demand-side energy policies can make to climate change mitigation?
Our Rapid Evidence Assessment reveals that the core strength of current energy modelling is the detailed representation of technologies, with many models featuring information on hundreds of potential technological options for increasing energy efficiency. Although uncertainties exist around these technological options, these models allow us to gain a coherent and realistic understanding of how different combinations of technologies could satisfy our future energy service demands under different low-carbon scenarios.
However, the modelling landscape reveals two key limitations with regard to the representationof non-technological drivers of energy demand:
Author(s): Demski, C., Pidgeon, N., Evensen, D. and Becker, S.
Published: 2019
Publisher: UKERC
Under the UK Climate Change Act 2008, the government has committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 relative to 1990 levels (Climate Change Act, 2008). This will require a large shift in the UK’s energy system, ranging from energy production, across transmission to consumption.
The public are implicated in the transition process as energy users, increasingly also as energy producers and as active members of society who might support or oppose energy projects and policies. Previous research (Demski et al., 2015; Parkhill et al., 2013) has shown that there is widespread public support for transitioning to a low-carbon, affordable and reliable energy system – however, this change is associated with costs and it remains to be seen how these costs will be covered.
This research explores the views of the British public on how the energy transition should be financed. Drawing on a survey of 3,150 respondents and focus groups in 4 locations across Great Britain, it investigates what responsibility members of the public assign to government, energy companies and the general public for financing energy system change.
The results highlight widespread support for an energy system that ensures affordability, reliability and low carbon energy sources. Energy companies and the government were assigned primary responsibility for contributing financially to energy transition, as they were seen to have the structural power and financial means to implement necessary changes. Respondents also indicated that the general public ought to contribute as well, although the public was perceived to be paying over the odds already (through bills to the energy companies and levies to the government). Nonetheless, research participants expressed willingness to accept between 9-13% of their energy bills going towards environmental and social levies.
Willingness to contribute financially towards the energy transition was also found to be dependent on the perception that energy companies and government are contributing financially and showing real commitment to energy system change. It was also notable that this condition was not currently thought to be met; distrust in this regard was particularly evident in focus group discussions.
Distrust in companies: People believe that the majority of energy companies are driven primarily by profit motives leading to inadequate commitments with regards to energy transition goals such as investing in low-carbon energy and ensuring energy affordability.
Distrust in government: The government, and politicians in particular, are seen as too closely connected to the energy industry, leading to inadequate and ineffective regulation of energy companies and their opaque practices.
Examining what underlies people’s distrust, it is evident that the public has a number of justice and fairness concerns that need to be addressed. In particular, beliefs concerning distributive justice (i.e. how costs are distributed across society) and procedural justice (i.e. respectful treatment, transparent practices and decision-making) are important for public acceptance of responsibility and costs.
Addressing the issues underlying the trust deficit will be challenging, but this is nonetheless important if we are to ensure that there is to be broad societal consent and engagement with the low-carbon energy transition. To begin this process, the briefing includes the following recommendations:
Author(s): Keay-Bright, S., Fawcett, T. and Howell, R.
Published: 2008
Publisher: UKERC
Author(s): Tosato, G., Keay-Bright, S., Taylor, P. and Strachan, N.
Published: 2005
Publisher: UKERC
This regular ETSAP workshop, held at St Annes College, Oxford, was preceded by a focused UKERC sponsored event which examined issues in modelling future energy technology costs and choice.
The ETSAP meeting was structured around the two main themes. The first was applications of the MARKAL / TIMES model variants in specific methodological and policy focused projects. The second was presentations detailing ongoing model development and improvement in this open-source collaboration in energy system analytical tools.
Two underlying developments were discussed throughout the two days. The first was the surge of interest in scenario quantification and modelling of the options for climate change mitigation policies arising from the G8 Gleneagles Summit. ETSAP is likely to be heavily involved in this process which includes the IEA preparing a new flagship publicationon Global Energy Technology Perspectives (GETP). The first annual GETP is to be published in March 2006, will explore the role energy technologies can play in shaping long term markets and will be closely tied to results from the global MARKAL model. The second was an ongoing aim to continue to interact with key developing countries and to enhance and to link with their energy modelling capacities. This has been done through ETSAP as a whole and through bilateral contacts and this process will continue to be strengthened.
In additional to the modelling insights this workshop offered an excellent opportunity for networking and relationship building between international modelling groups. This was facilitated by the conference dinner held at St Anthonys College, Oxford.
Author(s): Barker, T. and Jenkins K.
Published: 2007
Publisher: UKERC
One of the objectives of the research under the UKERC’s quantitative modelling effort is the review and development of models of energy use by the domestic sector. The aim of this paper is to describe version 3 of the Domestic Energy Sub-model, which models household energy use in the UK as a sub-model within the UK multisectoral dynamic model of the UK energy-environment-economy (E3) system maintained by Cambridge Econometrics MDM-E3. The paper does so by describing the structure of the model and development of different versions of the sub-model, with an outline of the appliances and thermal characteristics of domestic buildings included.
The paper then goes on to explain how households use thermal energy services and describes the characteristics of the buildings and appliances which are included in the model. Finally the paper describes the data collection methodology used to update the model’s dataset from 1995 to 2004 for version 3. Such a description allows the reader to see how the model is structured and how the results of the model are generated, based on the historical data.
Author(s): Eyre, N. and Baruah, P.
Published: 2014
Publisher: UKERC
Direct use of fossil fuels is the main source of space heating in the UK and this drives a major part of national greenhouse gas emissions. Climate stabilisation therefore implies a systemic change in approaches to space heating, involving some combination of radical efficiency improvement and low carbon fuels. The challenge in this area for the UK is made particularly difficult because of the combination of the legal commitment to an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050, an old building stock and a very high penetration of natural gas as a heating fuel.
This paper presents new quantified scenarios for residential energy use in the UK to 2050. These address both factors that are exogenous to the energy system, such as population, but also some systemically different approaches to delivering residential heat.
Author(s): Simcock, N., Jenkins, K., Mattioli, G., Lacey-Barnacle, M., Bouzarovski, S. and Martiskainen, M.
Published: 2020
Publisher: CREDS
Author(s): Energy Systems Catapult
Published: 2018
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): Energy Systems Catapult
Published: 2018
Publisher: ETI
Author(s): Heptonstall, P. and Gross, R.
Published: 2018
Publisher: UKERC
The prices paid for electricity by domestic customers in the UK has been a regular discussion point in both policy debate and the media. A particular concern is the contribution that policies to incentivise low-carbon generation and energy saving make to the bills paid by householders. In response to these concerns, the UK Energy Research Centre’s Technology and Policy Assessment team examined in detail the data available on prices in the UK and other countries to address the question: How do the impacts of government policies funded through consumer electricity bills differ between countries?
This report reviews evidence on electricity prices paid by household (i.e. domestic) consumers with a focus on the UK and selected case study countries (Germany, France, Sweden and Australia), supplemented by consolidated EU-wide data to provide a broader context. Gas prices were not examined in detail because to date, policy has generally had a much greater impact on electricity prices, and UK gas prices are in the lower quartile of the EU range for all domestic consumers and almost all commercial and industrial consumers.
Electricity price formation is complex and affected by policies in the UK and all of the case studies considered in this review. Different policy approaches, geographical factors and mixes of power generation mean that comparison requires considerable caution, avoiding over-simplification. Nevertheless there is no evidence to support the contention that policy costs are either the principal source of high domestic power prices in the UK or are high compared to the country case studies or indeed the majority of Western European nations.
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