Posts Tagged ‘Research’

Energy Education Hitting Home: Monitoring the Impact of Energy Matters

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  • Added:Thursday, May 13th, 2010
  • Writer(s):Caroline Heijne
  • Publication Date:April 1, 2003
  • Publisher:Centre for Sustainable Energy
  • Abstract:This research provides some snapshots into the ways that staff at both primary and secondary schools addressed sustainable energy, often in the context of wider community issues. Of the range of environmental issues affecting society today, dealing with energy use and energy sources can have the most immediate impact on institutions, such as schools, and their local communities. Energy Matters is an energy education programme developed and run by the Centre for Sustainable Energy, in London and across England. The programme is unique, in that it provides education materials with training and ongoing support for teachers through local Energy Educators who deliver the programme. The Energy Matters Resources cover Home Energy, Sustainable Energy and School Energy. These Resources respond to criteria in the National Curriculum, in Science and Geography, and link to other areas of the Curriculum, including Education for Sustainable Development, Literacy, Numeracy, PSHE and Citizenship. This research aimed to evaluate the effect, on energy efficiency activity, of Energy Matters on the schools and homes of participating pupils. The research covered both behavioural changes, to reduce energy consumption, and installation of energy saving measures. Interviews were held with a sample of parents of pupils who had worked with Energy Matters, with a range of staff at some of the schools who had used the programme and with small groups of pupils at the same schools. This research was completed in March 2003. The findings from the research show clearly that there is a considerable impact in relation to energy saving in both schools and the homes of pupils where Energy Matters Resources have been used. • Three quarters of parents had adopted some behavioural changes to save energy as a result of their children’s involvement in Energy Matters. The level of behavioural change is comparable with that achieved by professional energy advice services, such as Energy Efficiency Advice Centres. These parents also rated their children and Energy Matters as almost twice as influential on their behaviour as other sources of information on energy saving. • Nearly all the pupils involved in this research said that they had done a number of different things to save energy, both at home and at school, and that they would be able to keep on doing these. • Staff in most of the participating schools reported a number of actions taken by pupils and staff to reduce energy consumption as a result of work they had done with pupils on Energy Matters. • Most of the schools involved in this research undertook energy saving investment. Some of this was as a direct result of staff involvement in Energy Matters. Involvement in Energy Matters also encouraged other staff to ensure that energy saving was a factor in deciding on future maintenance and refurbishment programmes in their schools. Energy Matters helps schools to build on their home–school links through an activity which helps educate parents as well as the pupils.
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Research on Real-Time Pricing of Electricity

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  • Added:Thursday, May 13th, 2010
  • Writer(s):A Kallio
  • Publisher:Imatran Voima Oy
  • Abstract:Finland has a two-step organization for distribution of electricity. Producers operate as wholesalers to the industry and to electric utilities, which distribute electricity to end-users such as households, public buildings, services and small-scale industry. The sales are based on public tariffs. There are some major pricing principles which have been generally approved in Finland. They have also been included in the national energy policy program. According to the matching principle, each customer pays for the cost he has caused. In the principle of cost nccurncy, tariffs must follow the famation of the produdion cost structure and time fluctuation. The major goals in pricing are to cover long-tern costs and to secure stable price development for electricity. Industry and electric utilities can supply their electricity by buying it from the five Finnish wholesalers and/or by investing in their own power plants. Imatran Voima Oy is the largest wholesaler in Finland with a market share of 42% of the total consumption. The wholesale pricing has to compete with the other alternatives of the wholesale astomer. Imatran Voima Oy's wholesale tariff system H/85 consists of three partial tariffs, each of which is divided into demand and energy prices. The partial tariffs have their cost background in the production structure of the company. The base tariff is based on hydro and nuclear power generation, the middle tariff on coal condensing power generation, and the peak tariff on the gasturbine power generation. The energy prices vary by winter and summer and by day and night. At present there are some 130 electric utilities in Finland. Practically all of them have joined the Association of Finnish Electric Utilities, which publishes distribution tariff recommendations. The major tariff types are general tariffs, time tariffs and demand tariffs. The general tariffs suit the smallest-scale consumers, such as households. The energy prices are the same all year round. The time tariffs are planned for middle-sized consumers, such as households with electric heating. The energy prices may vary by day and night and/or by seasons so that they are lower during the off-peak periods. The demand tariffs are planned for small industry whose amount of consumption and utilisation time of subscribed demand differ from those of other amsumen. The energy prices may be even 4-stepped and vary by winter and summer and by day and night. Each consumer may freely choose the tariff type which suits them best. Electric utilities are independent in their pricing. Their tariffs compete with the prices of other fuels like oil and gas. The wholesale purchases form about 60% of the total costs of an electric utility when it does not have any generation of its own, i.e. when it purchases all energy from a wholesaler.
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Market Based Demand Response Research Project Summary

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  • Added:Thursday, May 13th, 2010
  • Writer(s):Ove S. Grande, Hanne Sæle, and Ingeborg Graabak
  • Publication Date:December 1, 2008
  • Publisher:SINTEF Energy Research
  • Abstract:This report summarizes the main results and contributions from the “Market Based Demand Response” project (2005-2008). The project has been organized in three work packages with the following focuses: WP 1: Measures to increase the demand side price elasticity, WP 2: Technology and quality improvements in the “meter value chain” from the meter to the electricity bill and WP 3: International development through participation in the IEA/DSM project “Demand Response Resources.” One of the main aspects in this project was to encourage demand response to the marginal price in the electricity markets. Spot price energy products and Time of Day (ToD) tariffs have been used for both households and for larger customers. The principles and reason for the choice of tariffs are explained in the report. The following pilot tests involving households and medium sized customers have been carried out a) “Fixed Price with Return options” energy contract, b) Remotely controlled load shifting, c) “Smart house” control in housing cooperative, d) Low prioritized loads controlled by building energy management system (institution and shop) and e) Automatic Demand Response to the electricity spot price. The Norwegian authorities have now decided that “smart meters” should be installed to all customers in Norway within 2014. Experiences from full-scale implementation of systems for automatic meter reading (AMR) have in this context been collected and described, and a specification of requirements for AMR systems is developed in cooperation with a group of network owners. Definitions of how to measure quality and availability of hourly meter data within the settlement period is proposed by the project. The main recommendations from the project: I) Temporary reduction in space heating and load shifting of water heaters are the most convenient demand response objects in Norway II) Frequent metering is needed to secure that the responsive customers really get lower bills in periods with high prices III) ToD network tariff combined with hourly spot price provide the customers with a dynamic price signal that gives incentives to needed investments and to load reduction in peak hours IV) Rational implementation of remote and /or local control options should be considered as a part of the coming AMR projects V) Quality requirements should be included in the directions from the regulator VI) The requirement specification developed in the project is recommended as a basis for tenders VII) Nordic cooperation in the Nordic AMR Forum should be priortised VIII) The investments in AMR systems need to be followed up by dedicated programs with focus on how to respond to price variations, preferably combined with information about the environmental impact (CO2 emissions etc.).
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