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Jason Ford
Jason Ford
News editor
Low Carbon homes, EVs and the case for a "supergrid"
Temperatures in the UK are finally starting to feel seasonally wintry, which means many of us are reaching for the thermostat and warming our homes.
Some of us may even have to turn the dial up a notch or two to compensate for poor insulation, which is likely to make further demands on our energy suppliers and this doesn’t fit particularly well with other domestic low-carbon practices.
Looking forward, new housing stock is likely to improve on this scenario and this Wednesday Dr. Leslie Campbell is set to deliver an afternoon talk on the subject of low carbon homes.
Taking place at Napier University, Edinburgh, Dr Campbell will look at the challenges that stand in the way of the government’s aim for all new houses to be zero carbon rated by 2016.
The event’s publicity material states that to be zero carbon a house must generate all the household energy, including energy for heating, hot water, lighting and appliances.
It adds that to make a home completely zero carbon, equivalent to level 6 in the new code, means roughly 4000kWh of generation, which could cost anything from £5,000 to £50,000, for say photovoltaics.
A typical 100m2 home built to these new standards will likely need to produce about 15,000kWh.
Campbell invites attendees to explore how today’s homes and those of tomorrow can become carbon neutral and, importantly, a place people would want to live in.
Over in Germany the International Congress on Electric Vehicles is currently taking place in Berlin
From now until Wednesday the event will include a series of workshops looking at many practical challenges that facing the industry.
One workshop - Raising efficiency of the whole system and the different aggregates - will look at the technical, economic and standardization barriers to overcome before the true mass production of electric vehicles can begin.
The organizers say that technologies need to be developed and optimized to reduce the losses and inefficiencies of vehicle systems to maximize range and running time of electric vehicles. Intelligent energy management of different aggregates and the whole system have to be optimized too.
The question posed at the workshop asks: what are the technical functions with the highest potential of energy saving and can these goals be met to achieve economies of scale for the electric vehicles?
Attendees will be able to discuss future scenarios for EV usage and the need for standardization to assist in electric vehicles implementation and efficiency goals
Similarly, they will learn how to increase EV range and consequently accelerate mass production, and identify the key challenges in optimization of thermal management to reduce power need of the battery
Another workshop will address electrical safety in electric vehicles and during charging, with an element considering national differences, particular during charging.
Meanwhile today marks the launch of an electric car hire scheme in Paris.
The Autolib scheme will see 250 electric cars initially available from 250 self-service stations across the city, rising in time to 3,000 across 1,000 stations.
Users will be able to hire the Bolloré Group’s Bluecar, which features LMP (Lithium Metal Polymer) batteries and has a range of approximately 250km per charge.
The Clarion Hotel Copenhagen this week hosts Grid Integration of Offshore Wind Energy.
The organizers say the connection of offshore wind farms and the integration of energy from large-scale wind projects are posing numerous technical, economical and political challenges.
Fundamental questions and concepts regarding a secure future transmission system, which can incorporate large amounts of renewable energies whilst securing constant energy supply, are being discussed widely.
For example, will Europe establish a ‘supergrid’ for a new, low-carbon era? Are the available and arising technologies capable of supporting this fundamental change in energy transmission systems?
A workshop on the subject of a supergrid will look at the growing movement of companies pushing to build a pan-European offshore power network that could help cut carbon emissions and secure energy supply.
Finally, nuclear is on the agenda tomorrow in Sheffield.
The 59th annual Hatfield Memorial Lecture taking place at Sheffield University will ask: How safe is that nuclear reactor?
Despite Chernobyl and Fukushima the issues associated with the performance of the materials used in the reactors have gone unreported.
With the evolving requirements to construct civil nuclear reactors with a safe operating lifetime of sixty years or more, materials issues need to be brought to the forefront once again.
The organizers say that Britain needs to be sure that the structural materials used in new build will retain their integrity over such periods of time. Without 60 years in which to experiment the question of how best to proceed will be addressed.
Readers' comments (6)
Roger Faulkner | 5 Dec 2011 1:38 pm
In re the supergrid: the needed transmission capacity vastly exceeds the maximum capacity of offshore HVDC cables. The backbone of a supergrid must be onshore, and will require transmission lines capable of carrying ~30 GW. This problem requires new thinking; I believe that my approach (elpipes, www.elpipes.com) represents the most feasible way to get to the needed capacity.
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Michael Hadley | 5 Dec 2011 2:11 pm
Why is there a continued move to electric cars which require charging which can be considered as additional strain on the national grid (particularly if everyone converted to them) when there are other alternatives such as the Honda FCX Clarity which is a hydrogen fuel cell automobile.
The car demonstrates electric car qualities such as zero emissions while offering 5 minute refueling times and long range in a full function large sedan.
It has been in use albeit in small numbers in the USA since 2008 and from what I can see the restriction is the development/building/availability of "fast-fill" hydrogen stations to service the car.
Its performance levels are comparable with a combustion engine car of the same size - shouldn't we look to invest in this type of transport where the technology is proven?
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JG | 5 Dec 2011 3:21 pm
The best time to convert existing houses is when they are empty between owners. A scheme should be put in hand (if we could only believe the politicians) to facilitate this – legally and technically, with suitable assistance and minimum delay between occupants.
ALL new houses should be equipped like this, both with insulation (already largely done) and up to date “green” generation. Condensing boilers are hardly an improvement on those before, using gas just the same and not made to last, generally requiring a lot of maintenance (more than previous “boilers”, a daft term anyway as they don’t boil).
The other issue is, when to provided rain water collection/harvesting for secondary uses in all house – wouldn’t have done much good this last summer in a lot of England (not enough rain).
Piecemeal attention to occupied houses is good for pilot schemes and such, but can only scrape the surface and sometimes aggravate unwilling occupants if done the wrong way.
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Philip Baker | 5 Dec 2011 4:15 pm
As with today’s briefing on energy issues, almost all the media comment is a confusion of ideas, which demote and consign the core issues of energy generation and environmental impact, to the basement.
As always, it’s a plethora of new, untried, eccentric ideas, offered as the tomorrow solution, and sadly many are given the credence of that Red Herring, by an ill informed and lazy public.
Eco efficient homesteads, insulated with roof, wall cavity and internal wall insulation. These are the simplest and most effective means of improving the thermal losses from your home, especially if it’s coupled with efficient draft exclusion.
That’s all there is to it, achieving a 95% solution to the problem
Yet many have been encouraged to try the 21st century replacement to the thatched roof ? the photoelectric home generator, but no matter how they try, it just won’t run a bath, so why do they continue to distract the public with their high technology?
Because, most of the other ideas are more to do with the vested interests of businesses, convincing and encouraging the ill informed public to waste money, with inefficient widgets of manufacture, which only increase our carbon foot print.
To understand the Electric vehicle, (EV) issue you have to consider the detrimental impact on the loss of the governments fuel tax revenues, which are to big to fail.
EV development has been with us since the middle of the 19th century!
How can it be, when in 20 years, between the 60s and 70s, man developed a space technology from sending a ball with a few aerials, (Sputnik 1), into orbit, to men walking on the moon? Why can’t, we solve the EV problem?
Because, there's lots of money in it for the suppliers and taxation for the government, unlike the simple effective tried and proven alternatives.
Finally back to the core issue of our civilisations survival, electricity!
How many more articles, do we have to read where Chernobyl and now Fukushima and hints of other non reporting incidents, are used to taint public opinion to the essential fact, that nuclear generation in the UK, is the only affordable, safe and secure solution, to our growing shortage of base load power generation.
Sensational and deliberately miss leading reporting on nuclear issues!
For example a fire in 2007 at the Oldbury AGR power station, reported as a “serious incident, although no radiation was released”.
The fire was actually in the non nuclear bit, an oil filled HV bushing, (which are to be found in every power station and major substation in the country), caught fire!
In the last 50 years, the UK has operated without any major nuclear incident, the world’s first commercial super grid system, essentially supported by nuclear thermal plants, a Super Grid started in 1933.
So please, let’s get back to the tried and tested KISS principle.
Keep it simple, stupid, and develop the energy resources we must have,
And the protection the environment we must live in.
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Boiler Technician | 5 Dec 2011 7:15 pm
In some areas “JG” you could be correct, but in other areas you are wrong in my opinion.
I don’t want to offend you or anyone else, but the new condensing space heating appliances or “boiler” are miles more efficient than an old standard efficiency space heating appliance.
I can prove my facts and figures with an installation that I have fitted some years ago to a UKAEA Engineer, and I am sure that he would also be happy to pass on his fuel saving figures.
The old standard efficiency boiler/space heating appliance used up to 30% more fuel than the new condensing appliance.
Ok, we did also update the controls within the system, as this is a requirement by building control, but this has contributed to better energy efficiency within the heating and hot water system.
Another area which has also helped with efficiency within the system has been adding a pressure vessel to the system.
So by increasing the system pressure above gravity pressure this has also helped with energy savings.
Other areas that could have helped would have been fitting TRV’s to all but one of the radiators, but this offer was not taken up by the client.
I have completed this in my own home and the savings have fantastic, so I would recommend this to anyone.
We should not forget that although an old boiler/space heating appliance might appear to be working fine, but it could be full of sludge or scale, and therefore this would result in a higher than normal flue gas temperature.
So the extra energy that you are putting in is going straight out of the chimney or flue.
This would not happen if the system is flushed with a chemical cleaner, and a suitable amount of system protector added after flushing.
So how many heating and hot water system have been flushed over the last 15+ years?
I would say not enough due to the cost, but if you shop around or do it yourself this would not cost a fortune.
A flushing machine could be hired from most hire shops, with an approximate cost around £100 or less.
So it is worth flushing an old heating system in my opinion.
The chemical cleaners can add up if the system is very dirty, but generally this would cost around £15 per 500ml of system cleaner. The system protector is around the same price, and it should not need topping up for a year or two.
As for loft insulation, well I would like to say most have people have added more loft insulation, but there are still a lot of homes that have not!
So more advertising and offers from “DIY” stores could do the trick.
I would like to see better insulation within commercial premises, as well as more energy efficient lighting.
One of my commercial customers could be making a saving of £8000 per year with their lighting alone.
Ok, there is the capital outlay, but within 3-4 years this would have paid for itself and future electricity bills will be reduced significantly.
If I move in to the heating & hot water area of the same commercial premises, this could be reduced by better insulation, solar hot water, and reduce the draft entering the building, this would help them make more savings, as well as reduce their CO2 emissions.
I can except that this does cost a lot of money in some cases, but in others it does not.
A prime example was a new heating system which I had fitted this week. The owner could reduce his boiler/space heating output by 5Kw just by installing more loft insulation.
So after I had told him this information by calculating the materials fabric of his home he was straight down the road to a well know DIY store, and he was adding more insulation in the roof space.
The other fact about condensing boilers/space heating appliances is that there flue gas temperature is much lower than a standard efficiency space heating appliance.
Therefore due to the lower flue gas temperature more of the chemical energy is heating up the home/building and not the atmosphere.
This also results in the radiators or under floor heating up faster than a standard efficiency boiler/space heating appliance.
So with the above information most home owners and businesses could save some money on their fuel bills and electricity.
I would also say that when the government introduced the “boiler scrapage scheme” this did encourage many homeowners to part with their old worn out inefficient boiler.
I would be more than happy to pass on the fuel saving information, but with the consent of my clients.
So “building control” enforcement is for the right reasons, as a fully pumped sealed system is far better than an old gravity primary system with very little control.
The information about a new boiler/space heating appliance requiring more maintenance is false.
I would not disagree that there are many more components fitted to a modern heating system, such as PCB controls, more thermostats, room thermostat or thermostats if there are additional zones, TRV’s, mechanical zone valves or mid position valves with an electronic actuator, programmers with variable zones/channels, frost thermostat and pipe stat if the appliance is fitted outside of the main fabric of the building, burner electronic control box, hydraulic jack, coil, ignition transformer, fan, pump, motor and electronic diode/photocell.
So many of these parts could be fitted to a domestic boilers/space heating appliance, but the result is an increase in fuel efficiency.
However, the down side of all of this is finding a technician who can fix it and who understand how various chemical energies burn within the appliance.
I hate to say it but within the area where I live there is no “Gas” trainer/assessor due to him retiring from the local college.
So this is no good for the industry as well as potential customers.
I am all for apprenticeships, and the government has said that it will provide more places for apprentices, but “who” is going to teach them if the local college does not have a tutor/assessor?
I am sure that this role will be filled at some point, but someone should have been prepared it.
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David Cutter | 20 Dec 2011 12:44 pm
Insulation is the key to keeping my energy costs low and I now use aluminium-faced foam boarding where-ever I can: particularly under the floor, in new walls and in the loft space. I believe this to be far superior to soft materials like rock wool and polystyrene which hardly affect the passage of infra-red. Yet I still see new houses being built with this way. I must be missing something; could someone explain?
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