###Energy demand flexibility identification and solutions
Project ID: 2228bd1107 (You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Energy and Decarbonisation
UCL Lead department: Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources
Lead Supervisor: David Shipworth
Project Summary:
To meet our Net Zero targets, we are rapidly increasing intermittent wind and solar generation and electrifying demand from heat and transport. This requires transformative, system-wide action on flexibility. Initiatives such as Ofgem’s Full Chain Flexibility, BEIS’ Flexibility Innovation Programme, and National Grid’s flexibility trial show the importance and timeliness of research in this area. Electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps (HPs) significantly increase household electricity demand, but their impact on demand and system flexibility requirements has not been studied in a large sample of homes. This project will use SERL data from 12k homes (some known to have HPs and EVs), to develop methods to a) identify homes with these technologies, b) assess their impact on demand, and c) identify lifestyle and dwelling factors linked with households that contribute most to local network constraints. The project will also explore potential solutions to deliver flexibility, such as time of use tariffs and demand scheduling devices through household participation in a trial. Natural partners would be network operators such as National Grid or DNOs/DSOs, for whom managing network constraints and anticipating the impact of large-scale adoption of HPs and EVs. The project will leverage the enormous potential of SERL’s historic data, in addition to that collected during the project, to study energy demand from EVs and HPs on a previously unprecedented scale. This high-impact, novel research will inform policy, academia, and industry, bringing a scale and range of insights into HP and EV demand not currently represented in BSEER, but complementing existing projects. It will train a student in smart meter data analytics and machine learning; current hot topics for which there is a shortage of highly qualified graduates. We are looking for a student with a strong quantitative background, coding skills, and ideally knowledge/experience of power systems/energy demand.