Energy use and practices
Research under the 'Energy use and practices' theme investigates the factors that shape energy use and practice, and the ways in which these may evolve in the context of the low carbon transition. Current research projects within this theme are listed below.
Carbon Comfort and Control
This project (led by David Shipworth, UCL and funded by EPSRC-EoN) aims to engage users in the design of control systems they like, that allow them to create the comfort conditions they want, and which through using the technology and fabric of their homes more effectively, reduces their energy use by 20%. We want to design and test these control systems in a way that complies with utilities' CERT-2 obligations, and provide design, installation and maintenance guidance which allows others to learn from our work and apply it more widely.
The research is highly interdisciplinary and is based on fieldwork involving monitoring to ensure the technologies work and deliver real, measurable savings. The research team is a balance of technologists and social researchers and through working closely with householders, utilities and housing providers, we feel we can make a real contribution to understanding how people use energy to make their homes comfortable, and to develop control systems that can help them do this more effectively while saving on energy costs and reducing their carbon footprint.
Staff:
Technical and social aspects of demand side management
The aim of this PhD research is to identify a Demand Side Management strategy that can be technically implemented at reasonable cost and in a socially acceptable way but still have significant technical and economic impact on the design and operation of future electrical distribution networks in a low carbon economy.
Staff:
- Professor Phil Taylor (School of Engineering and Computing Sciences)
- Dr Sandra Bell (Anthropology)
PhD student:
- Mark Lawson (School of Engineering and Computing Sciences)