The next regular meeting will be a zoom on Thursday 15th February 2024 at 19:30
Happy Newy Year to you all.
Here are some notes from our January meeting, some interesting discussions on lots of topics raised by group members.
Strategic planning of gas and electricity networks. Is TDC engaged?
This guide was launched by the Energy Networks Association, aimed at councils. A few years ago, ACT arranged a meeting for this to happen on a regular basis, not sure if this is still happening. We’ll try to find out.
Is timed low-carbon electricity matching system any closer?
This topic often raises the question of how to allocate ghg emissions to the electricity we consume from the grid. Unfortunately there are many misunderstandings often exploited by suppliers. The TECs Greenwash guide has been tweaked to clarify some of the points raised at the meeting.
There are efforts to create software systems to enable half hourly ghg calculations. This in leu of a monitoring/tagging standard with greater granularity than the current annual grid electricity Carbon Intensity. The following is a recent example aimed at business consumers and generators.
Heat Pump basics (again!) and their deployment at schools, opportunities in Teignbridge.
Regen has a useful guide on shared ground source heat pumps, for use when supplying multiple buildings such as in the case of schools. Also see this example of HP deployment at schools. Unusually, the Trust has measured things before designing the system, something ACT encourages we all do.
‘Insider’ report from COP28
Here are some takeaways from a webinar organised by the UK’s UN Global Compact Network with three speakers who had attended.
- Not just technological, we need social/behavioural change;
- action needs to be local & personal;
- need responsible business/organisations to develop a plan so as to leave the right legacy.
- Global stocktake to set targets in article 14 will need to be completed.
- GHG pricing in article 6 needs work to correctly set markets.
- Greenwashing is recognised as a serious issue.
- Easy part is over!
- Push government to have appropriate policies.
Behavioural surveys, are they useful?
This is an international survey with insights from different countries about climate change. The relationship between level of concern, causes and actions is worth looking at more closely.
Transport Strategy consultation
Devon and Cornwall (Peninsula) questionnaire on transport strategy for the region, deadline 5th Feb. Worth responding to as it is an opportunity to support some of the better ideas.
Observations from media outlets
BBC Radio 4 Start The Week had some good insights into the positive things that are happening as well as the economics and some science about the consequences. The positives focused on technology, at no point throughout the 45 mins was reduction of energy consumption through behavioural change mentioned. The most unfortunate statement came from the presenter who suggested that 40% of UK energy came from renewables, this in connection to the UK being ahead of everyone else. This of course is a mistake often repeated by politicians and media presenters.
What they should say is that ~40% of electrical energy is now generated by renewables. This represents ~17% of our total territorial energy consumption which is ~1,600 TWh/a compared to electricity which had dropped since the pandemic from 324 TWh/a in 2013 to 275 TWh/a in 2022. These figures do not include the energy we consume for the net import of goods and services. It also varies year on year with recent reporting showing significant reductions, but mainly because of Covid. It’s therefore worth looking at the source data (a toe = 11.630 MWh of energy).
Offsetting, what are valid actions? Tree planting, exported electricity
We discussed whether tree planting and exporting PV generated electricity to the grid can be used as a legitimate ghg emissions mechanism. This came up at the August meeting, in essence you want to make sure that the scheme:
- Needs to remove emissions which would not otherwise have been removed.
- Needs to correctly assign emissions avoided in the year that happens, not historic or future.
- Needs direct, verifiable evidence reported annually.
Sizing battery Power to maximise PV generation
Can one add batteries when on-site PV generation is much greater than on-site consumption, e.g. in the summer. The direct answer is: technical yes but it would extremely unlikely to pay back financially within it’s expected life, it may even increase ghg emissions.
Anther topic which we’ve discussed on a number of occasions. It really pays to do the calculations to size/design the PV and battery systems before opting for an installer’s suggestion, or even one’s own gut feeling. To help with this please refer to the TECs guides for PV and residential battery systems.
Impact of new refrigerant (R290 vs R32) on HP efficiencies
Big claims are being made on the breakthrough R290 refrigerant will make on HP deployment. R290, or propane, has been used as an effective refrigerant for many years. It has several pros but also cons, e.g. it is highly flammable. HP manufacturers need to use refrigerant gases which meet the low Global Warming Potential regulations. R290 is ~3 times that of CO2 which compares very favourably to other refrigerants.
While the heat transfer coefficient of refrigerants used in HPs is important, it is not the only contributor to the overall system’s Seasonal Performance Factor (SPF). There are several academic studies that analyse different refrigerants, e.g. this one comparing R290 to R32.
It is important to first establish that a HP is suitable for your home, something you can do relatively easily, start with the TECs guide on HPs. When choosing a HP, it’s more important to establish the SPF based on the product data as applied to your home and how you heat it, rather than what refrigerant it uses. It’s also useful to get real world experience of systems in operation if this is available.
Written by Fuad
Energy group coordinator
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