Current work
The Green Deal aims to make household and business energy efficiency improvement measures more affordable, and is a significant part of the Government’s push to reduce energy demand. DECC scientists and engineers are working hard to ensure the energy savings and costs of measures supported by the Green Deal are based on the best available evidence, and that any wider technical implications of installing measures are properly understood and appreciated.
DECC has commissioned a range of real-world tests to improve our understanding of the real effects of interventions in homes and provide evidence to assist policy development. These include measurements of the:
- effectiveness of insulation in UK homes
- performance of condensing boilers
- energy advanced heating controls can save
In addition, we recently completed an investigation into the technical problems associated with insulating ‘hard-to-treat’ cavity walls.
Heat pumps are the key measure for the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive policy. DECC is heavily involved in field trials of air- and ground-source heat pumps, including acoustic tests. The Science team has worked closely with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme to devise new guidelines for the heat pump installation. These will help to ensure efficient performance in homes and businesses.
We publish reports on energy use in homes, which are based exclusively on the English Housing Survey commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and an annual Housing Energy Fact File giving an up-to-date picture of the Great Britain stock. Throughout 2010-12, consultants are carrying out a follow-up survey to monitor heating and temperature patterns in homes, and to help understand energy use and the potential for savings in the future.
DECC is also currently developing a National Energy Efficiency Data Framework (NEED), which will provide the Department with a greater understanding of energy consumption and the impacts of energy efficiency measures. The data framework matches the gas and electricity consumption data collected for DECC Sub-national energy consumption statistics and records of energy efficiency measures in the Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED) run by the Energy Savings Trust (EST). It also includes typographic data about dwellings and households, obtained from a variety of sources. It will help inform policy development and support policy evaluation.
As well as taking steps to change the energy performance of buildings and appliances, DECC is looking at the behaviour of their occupiers and users. The challenges we face are greater than government can address on its own and so social and behavioural scientists are playing a key role in developing policies that encourage households, businesses and communities to take responsibility for their energy use – and in doing so, to materially benefit from their actions. Initiatives such as the Low Carbon Communities Challenge are looking for evidence on how best to help communities make deep cuts in their carbon emissions. LCCC has provided financial and advisory support to 22 communities, to help with the installation of measures such as solar panels, insulation, and hydro turbines.
Smart metering could transform how gas and electricity are used and bring a wide range of benefits and new services to consumers, empowering people to conserve energy better and use it more efficiently. Evidence is being gathered on all aspects of the programme, including improving our understanding of the potential energy management benefits through large-scale trials as part of the Energy Demand Research Project (EDRP).
We are also addressing scientific and technical issues from across the wider energy system. Projects include:
- in situ performance of solar thermal installations in the UK
- field measurements of the daily profile of household electricity consumption by appliance type (this will help us understand the components of peak electricity demand, and how this might be managed)
Publications
Results from the research we are undertaking in these areas will be published here.