Evaluation of Decentralised Energy Systems – Fuel Poverty

Oliver Martin-Du PanProf. Dino Bouchlaghem

Prof. Philip EamesProf. Paul Rowley

Authors:

Who Am I? - Oliver Martin-Du Pan

Mechanical Engineer doing an industrial doctorate (EngD) for Loughborough University.

Based at Buro Happold: a professional services firm providing engineering consultancy for all aspects of buildings.

Buro Happold

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The research problem

Investigate the sustainability and the system performance of a decentralised energy (DE) system; I am looking into:

The viability of a DE system; The overall system performance.

Drivers Towards A Low Carbon Economy

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In 2011, the UK was the 7th greatest producer of man-made carbon emissions generated from fossil fuels. However, the UK has become, through the Climate Change Act, the first country to adopt a legally binding target to reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 80% by 2050.

Drivers Towards A Low Carbon Economy

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• The Kyoto Protocol, in 1997, set the UK to cut its carbon emissions by 2012, whereas the Climate Change Act in 2008 set the UK to cut its carbon emission another further by 2020 and 2050.

• 12.5% by 2012;• 33% by 2020;• 80% by 2050.

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GHG Reduction targets Total emissions

The carbon emission Targets:

Strategies to Reduce the Carbon Emissions

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There exist two active means to reduce carbon emissions; these means are through:

Renewable energy, and Efficiency, such as using a CHP engine:

Decentralised Energy Financial Analysis

The financial analysis and the payback calculation of a decentralised energy technology can be calculated after determining:

The installation cost; The maintenance cost; and The operating cost with and without the

decentralised technology.

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Economic Profitability

Economic profitability improves if:Market Conditions allow for a competitive DE

heat and electricity price;Low service and maintenance costs;Low demands on rate of return from the

owners.

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Case Study: A Hotel in Central London

This is a 31,000m2 building that has been built in a steel structure; it opened its doors in 1909;

It has got 785 guest rooms and accommodated 317,000 guests in 2010;

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• No air conditioning in the guest rooms;• Their Chief Engineer is passionate about system

performance and has a good relationship with their CHP supplier.

Hotel’s Energy Plant

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2 x 250kWe CHP engines

2 x 800kW Boilers

No thermal storage, but the piping loop from the energy plant to every radiator and heat exchanger in the hotel acts as a thermal storage; it can store hat water up to 90dgC.

Commercial Terms

The CHP engines are leased from the supplier over a 12 year term – “Off Balance Sheet”;

To cover the maintenance cost and to give the supplier a return on capital, the hotel agreed to pay a monthly amount of daily annual generation of1,000MWh of electricity per engine per year; hence the current cost is approximately 92,000£/Year.

4.15p/kWhe day rate;1.39p/kWh night rate

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Financial Operation Compared To The Baseline

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Figure 6: Financial operation of the hotel's energy plant compared to the baseline.

The hotel savings: Summing the monthly saving, the losses equals to £564.

Payment to the energy supplier:• £90,557 per year

Maintenance cost:• £13,000 per year

Savings from CHP engine:• £77,000 in 2010

Prices: • Electricity

- day: 6.786 p/kWh- night:3.789 p/kWh

• Gas: - day: 1.791p/kWh- night: 1.791p/kWh

Payback:The installation cost for these two engines was of £420,000, hence the payback is obtained after ~5.5 years for the owner of the engines (the energy supplier).

Hotel Summary

Hotel’s energy demand: Heat: 4,797 MWh/year Electricity: 2,081 MWh/year

Decentralised energy generation: Heat: 2,923 MWh/year (61%) Elec: 1,864 MWh/year (90%)

CO2 reduction: 20% Payback: ~5.5 years

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Case Study: Pimlico

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• A glass-faced accumulator tower was built in 1950 to collect heat from the now disused Battersea’s combined heat and power (CHP) Power station built on the opposite side of the Thames.

• Because of its scale Pimlico DH needs to comply with the stringent EU ETS regulation without increasing the amount of fuel poor household.

• At present, an energy centre produces heat and electricity from a new Energy Centre and supplies it through a district heating network to:

• 3191 residential property

• 55 commercial properties:

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What Is and Why District Heating in the UK?

District heating is the use of a decentralised boiler installation (or other technology) to provide more sustainable or cheaper heat to a number of buildings.

The Mayor of London has set a target to generate 25 per cent of London’s energy from decentralised sources by 2025. This will reduce the CO2 emissions.

Heat Distribution: Heat = ~5.5p/kWh

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Questions?

Can Pimlico comply under climate change regulations while minimising fuel poverty?

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Acknowledgements

Prof. Philip Eames – Academic supervisor (Loughborough University)

Prof. Paul Rowley – Academic supervisor (Loughborough University)

Buro Happold Engineers and the EPSRC for funding this project

Thank You