Acceptability of a heat deferral approach for UK residential heating Impacts from an online focus group approach

Presentation at the International Conference on Evolving Cities (ICEC 2022) Friday 15th July 2022

Transcript

1. International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Acceptability of a heat deferral approach for UK residential heating Impacts from an online focus group approach P. Turner1, T. Rushby1, S. Gauthier1, P. James1, M. Manfren1, A. S. Bahaj1, T.Sweetnam2 1Energy and Climate Change Division, www.energy.soton.ac.uk, University of Southampton, UK 2Igloo Works
2. 2 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Ref: Khan, C. (2020) I'm all fired up to beat my boyfriend in the thermostat war, Guardian [Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/dec/04/beat-my-boyfriend-in-the-thermostat-war] Energy and Climate Change Division – www.energy.soton.ac.uk “75% of people argue over the temperature in their home.” Ref: Vivinit Solar (2020) Thermostat Wars [Available at: https://www.vivintsolar.com/blog/thermostat-wars] Would you allow someone to control your heating International Conference on Evolving Cities
3. 3 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Energy and Climate Change Division – www.energy.soton.ac.uk Understanding the problem, the current state International Conference on Evolving Cities “Domestic users accounted for a third of total electricity demand in 2020.” Ref: Martin, V. (2021) Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES): Chapter 5: Electricity [Available at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes]
4. 4 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Understanding the problem, the future state The increase in heat pumps in combination with electric vehicles could lead to a 200-300% increase in UK’s annual electricity demand creating serious capacity issues for our electricity system. Will households approve of their energy company remotely adjusting their heating system and altering the household temperature? International Conference on Evolving Cities
5. 5 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Key questions International Conference on Evolving Cities Is deferrable heat a viable approach? What is the response and how should the message be framed? International Conference on Evolving Cities Does a households stated accept match reality? How do various parties differ? Early adopters v mass rollout, energy literacy and purchased v inherited heating system
6. 6 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Potential impacts of a deferral approach International Conference on Evolving Cities Enhance energy security and help meet carbon targets International Conference on Evolving Cities If found to be acceptable, this approach can provide benefits to the UK across scale; Distributed Network Operators through reducing local demand Heat pump suppliers Demonstrating added grid value Reducing bills of households Avoiding peaking dynamic tariffs
7. 7 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Background survey, distribution Demographic Household Heating. Thermal comfort Energy literacy Personality 5,500 Survey responses 20% 20% 130,000 customers 27,000 Consenting customers Survey deployed in April 2021 to 26,754 Igloo Energy customers for a 2 week period. Survey obtained a 20% response rate (N=5,500). International Conference on Evolving Cities
8. 8 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July International Conference on Evolving Cities Background survey, findings International Conference on Evolving Cities What is the set temperature for your main living space Responses Temperature (ºC) What is your main source of heating? Homeowner Rental Inherited Installed Built home 23 35 20 58 35% 31% 10% 60% 20% 19%
9. 9 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July International Conference on Evolving Cities Background survey, area of concern International Conference on Evolving Cities Would you approve of an energy company remotely adjusting your heating system? Would people in your community expect you to allow for your heating to be remotely adjusted? 27% 28% 33% 28% What level of heat deferral would be at acceptable? 29% 41% 27% 38% Overnight (11pm-6am) Evening (5pm-11pm) Midday (11am-5pm) Morning (6am-11am) With a degree Without a degree EDUCATION Would you approve of an energy company remotely adjusting your heating system? ENERGY LITERACY Correct response Incorrect response CLIMATE CHANGE Very concerned Strong concern Somewhat to no concern TOP METRIC FOR ENERGY SUPPLIER Reducing carbon footprint Cost of bill Control & understanding
10. 10 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July International Conference on Evolving Cities Focus groups, method International Conference on Evolving Cities Focus groups focus on four main questions • Reason for either accepting or not accepting heat deferral • If heat deferral was implemented what if any limits would you set (temperature, time or length of deferral) • Are there any questions about heat deferral that need to be addressed • How would you describe heat deferral to a friend or a neighbour Participants contacted 552 Withdrawn 46 Completed doodle poll 161 Attended focus group 124 Participation rate 29% Attendance rate 77%
11. 11 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Energy and Climate Change Division – www.energy.soton.ac.uk www.energy.soton.ac.uk/latent-residential-heat-as-an-energy-system-service International Conference on Evolving Cities Focus groups, video
12. 12 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July Focus groups, video impact International Conference on Evolving Cities Would you approve of an energy company remotely adjusting your heating system? 50% 16% 54% 32% 30% 21% What level of heat deferral would be acceptable? 0°C 0.5-1.5°C 1.5-3°C 3-5°C 57% 27% 64% 32% 49% 34% How long would you allow your level of heating to be adjusted for? 27% 32% 30% 26% 36% 26% 0 mins 30 mins 60 mins 1-2 hrs +2 hrs
13. 13 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July International Conference on Evolving Cities International Conference on Evolving Cities Focus groups, initial findings AN ENSLIGHSMAN’S HOME IS HIS CASTLE Explaining the need Assist the wider community through softening the curve Mistrust in government & energy companies What is in it for me? There is a need for personal gain Carrot or the stick? Better tariff, pay as you go or penalised for continual override
14. 14 International Conference on Evolving Cities University of Southampton, 13-15th July International Conference on Evolving Cities Interviews Follow up interviews with focus group participants on household heating profiles and thermal comfort/discomfort behaviour. Modelling & simulation Calculation of duration of the heat deferral event and of the amount of heat that can be effectively deferred for each dwelling based on archetypal characteristics. Development of normalized load profiles for the different archetypes to compute aggregate load profiles. Field trial deployment Examine how householders with heat pumps experience and react to heat deferral. Phase 1: test temperature/time limits of heat deferral by running a series of deferral events of differing lengths. Phase 2: test response to tariff/reward structures 24:00 00:00 12:00 24:00 00:00 12:00 Next steps
15. Energy and Climate Change Division | Sustainable Energy Research Group University of Southampton | www.energy.soton.ac.uk | @EnergySoton Organised by International Conference on EVOLVING CITIES University of Southampton JULY 13-15 #ICEC2022 Any questions please contact p.a.d.turner@soton.ac.uk International Conference on Evolving Cities