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Techno-economic optimisation of low-carbon domestic energy technologies and systems
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Ryland, Michael (2023) Techno-economic optimisation of low-carbon domestic energy technologies and systems. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3986259
Abstract
With increasing global temperatures and to achieve net zero targets’, consumers will have to decarbonise their energy demands. A third of emissions come from these consumer heating, transportation, household, and cooking demands. It is critical to understand the interactions between demands, technologies, and tariffs from the consumer’s perspective to identify their optimum solution and what technologies to purchase. However, current research focuses only on specific demands, technologies, and tariffs. The work presented in this thesis analyses the costs and emissions of these interactions. A novel holistic framework is created which mathematically simulates all consumer demands.
An initial investigation looks at how the spatiotemporal and UK dwelling variations alter the position of heating systems. For average demand dwellings across the technology’s lifetime, air source heat pumps are the most viable technology, however in lower demand dwellings or when considering shorter payback periods direct electrical heating is preferred. This potential high preference from consumers for direct electrical heating is not realised in current research and would have a significant impact on national electricity demands.
In addition, when considering holistically all consumer demands, the sensitivity of technology economic viability is shown from different tariff rates pre and post energy crisis and using different tariff structures, finding a minimum required difference between peak and off-peak rates for energy storage to payback of 6, 10, and 24p/kWh from thermal energy storage, vehicle to home, and battery energy storage respectively. Thermal storage parameters were then analysed to find that sensible heat storage couples best with direct electrical heating with high energy storage potential whereas heat pumps integrate well with latent heat storage if the capital cost can remain low.
These new insights are critical to the field, to ensure incentives and tariff structures are tailored in the right way to promote the uptake of low-carbon technologies.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Dwellings -- Energy conservation -- Great Britain, Dwellings -- Heating and ventilation -- Great Britain, Energy consumption -- Great Britain, Carbon dioxide mitigation, Heat storage, Heat pumps -- Environmental aspects, Power resources -- Costs | ||||
Official Date: | June 2023 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | School of Engineering | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | He, Wei ; Wang, Jihong, Ph. D. | ||||
Format of File: | |||||
Extent: | 140 pages : illustrations | ||||
Language: | eng |
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