CLUES Survey of Urban Energy Projects

As part of our work to bring together the various tracks of activity in CLUES, we are inviting people who are involved with urban energy to take part in a survey that aims to enhance understanding of the issues and challenges that they face.

Who should take part?

If you have been involved with projects or policy to develop energy generation, increase energy efficiency in urban areas in the UK, or other activities related to urban energy generation and consumption, then your input will be invaluable. We are particularly interested in hearing from planners, policy makers, and urban designers as well as individuals working in the third sector.

How does it work? 

The survey will be carried out in two stages via a web interface between January and April 2012, with the second stage being based on the results of the first (referred to as Delphi technique). Each stage will require a maximum of half an hour and can be completed at a time convenient to the participant.

What is the research?

The survey is part of the CLUES project (Challenging Lock-in Through Urban Energy Systems), which is combining national and international research to better understand how urban energy systems can contribute to delivering carbon reductions, and disseminating the findings in a way that will assist decision-making. 

How can you take part?

I hope that you will consider taking part. To register, simply enter your name and email address into this Internet form (www.tinyurl.com/urbanenergyclues) by 27th January. If you have any questions about the research, please contact graeme.sherriff@manchester.ac.uk.

Please mention this to colleagues who may be interested in taking part.

Warm Swedish buildings

This week I went to Stockholm to learn about Kungsbrohusen Office Building – and to experience for myself if this building is really as comfortable and user-friendly as it sounds. For two nights I stayed in the Kungsbron hotel which is a small hotel inside this building – and it seems like the owners of the hotel are very proud of being located in this energy efficient building as there is a lot of information in every room about how sustainable the building is.

The Kungbronhusen Office Building is a 13-storey property in the centre of Stockholm, near the Stockholm Central Station.


Both the Central Station and the Office Building are owned by Jernhusen company.


Jerhunsen wanted to prove that it is possible to built a sustainable office building using available of the market materials and mature technologies rather than fancy but risky innovations.
The objective of the project is to create a development where the environment and energy-efficiency are central considerations.
Building’s branding is about being ‘green’: the office space is let to the companies that want to boost their image as environmentally-friendly. All the tenants in the building are supported the expert who helps to adapt the organizations and minimize their impact on the environment. The building is advertised as being ‘eco-smart’, which includes three characteristics:
- Eco-smart building: The building with energy efficient façade and environmentally adapted materials, combined with other innovative solutions that lead to three environmental certifications.
- Eco-everyday: Services and technical solutions that enable users to operate in an eco-friendly way.
- Eco-location; The building’s proximity to public transport makes travelling and transports easier and contributes to lower CO2 emissions.



The users of the building are encouraged to minimize the environmental impact of their daily activities. Building users are offered coordinated framework agreements for cleaning services, servicing of office machinery and waste management. The building is also provided with secure bicycle storage area with a compressor pump and tools available for bicycle repairs, as well as dressing rooms and showers.
Another intersting part of the building is a ‘green button’: This button is pressed at the end of the working day to ensure that all standby functions such as computers, screens and other lighting are switched off.
An important part of the project is the building’s energy-efficient frontage, which controls the amount of sunlight allowed into the internal space and creates a balance so that the interior is neither too hot nor too cold.


One of the interesting features of the building is that every hour the Swedish meteorological centre automatically sends a detailed weather forecast direct to Kungsbrohuset via the GSM network. This means that the heat supply to Kungsbrohuset will be increased several hours before a drop in temperature occurs. By doing this, building’s heat regulating system is put to optimal use.
The largest part of the heating is provided by GSHP, with some part of the heating provided by body heat! Approximately 200,000 people pass through nearby Stockholm Central Station every day. These people, along with the various restaurants and cafés in the station, produce a large amount of excess heat. Instead of letting this heat goes to waste, it now being used for heating. Kungsbrohuset building. The technology is not new and is similar to the principles of Canadian wells. The heat generated by human activity is recovered by the ventilation system and then sent away from the station in its water tanks. Heated by this hot air, the water is sent to the second building through a heat exchanger, which allows the building to save up to 20% of its energy consumption. To complete the loop, the cooled water is returned to the station to optimize its temperature control.
Jerhusen is planning to build some more office buldings around the train station in the nearset future and they also have similar projects in other cities in Sweden.



Does this mean that this kind of projects are easy to replicate and can be widely used in the UK? We will talk about it in our workshop in early February – and if you are intersted, contac tme on k.chmutina@lboro.ac.uk .

Carbon dioxide emissions show record jump

Professor Chris Rapley (UCL Earth Sciences) comments on new figures detailing the rapid increase in carbon emissions.

Find out more in the Guardian...

£30 million announced for community green schemes and public sector energy efficiency

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has today announced funding of £10 million for local community energy projects, and a £20 million boost to the existing public sector energy efficiency loan scheme. Chris Huhne said:
"This is great news for the public sector. Not only do we need to encourage energy efficiency in our schools, hospitals and universities, we also need to get green energy generation and energy efficiency into our communities. That's why we are also making £10million available for communities to help spur an energy revolution at a local level."

The new £10 million Local Energy Assessment Fund, managed by a number of community networks and administered by the Energy Saving Trust, will be run as a competition, with the chance for around 200 community organisations to get to grips with energy efficiency and renewable energy generation. Organisations including parish councils, voluntary associations, development trusts and faith groups are all eligible to apply.

Visit the DECC Website for the full press release

UCL Environment Institute Debate on Canadian Oil Sands

The Canadian Oil Sands – an Environment Institute Debate

When: 6pm – 7.30pm Monday 12^th December 2011 with wine reception afterwards

Where: UCL Archaeology Institute, Lecture Theatre G06 (in Gordon Square)

The development of the Canadian oil sands in northern Alberta is a highly controversial topic that has raised important issues about energy security, decarbonisation, environmental degradation and international trade in energy. This Environment Institute Debate will examine these and other issues. It offers an opportunity to hear the Chair of the Royal Society of Canada present the report of its expert panel on the environmental and health impacts of Canada’s oil sands industry, and to hear reactions from a UCL expert panel. There will be ample time for questions and comments from the floor.

Chair:

Professor Yvonne Rydin, Director of the UCL Environment Institute

Panel:

Professor Steven Hrudey, FRSC and Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta

Professor Paul Ekins, Professor in Energy and Environment Policy, UCL Energy Institute

Professor Catherine Redgwell, Professor of International Law, Faculty of Laws, UCL

Professor Peter Sammonds, Professor of Geophysics, Director of UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction

2012 CLUES Conference - Initial Announcement

　

Energy in the Locality: a day‐conference to explore local energy case studies in urban and rural locations

8 May 2012, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1

The Energy in the Locality Conference will be held at University College London on 8 May 2012. A detailed Conference Call will be issued in January 2012.

Many current research projects on energy systems are using urban and rural case studies to explore a variety of research questions. The conference will provide an opportunity to hear results from local case studies on different aspects of energy systems, and to reflect on the theoretical and methodological implications of using case studies to understand such systems.

A key-note address will be provided by Professor Patrick Devine-Wright of Exeter University. Thereafter the conference will be structured into three streams:

Ø  The Theory and Methodology of Case Study Research: the theoretical and methodological foundations of local case study research in relation to energy studies;

Ø  Results from Urban and Rural Energy Case Studies: overviews of research findings from projects based on urban and/or rural energy case studies; and

Ø  A Case Study Circus: short presentations focusing on ‘one-offs’ innovative local energy case studies.

In addition, there will be a Poster Session where delegates can view summaries of research projects during refreshment periods.

Abstract submissions will take the form of:

Ø  an abstract of up to 250 words for papers for ‘Theory and Methodology’ or ‘Results’ sessions,  and/or

Ø  a brief outline of up to 50 words for the ‘Case Study Circus’ or the’ Poster Session’.

Contact details:

Dr. Catalina Turcu Catalina.Turcu@ucl.ac.uk

New energy tools out there

Went to a very interesting meeting organized by Government Foresight this morning looking at joining up data and tools available on energy, including local energy. On the day that the Government's new Carbon Plan is launched (http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/carbon_plan/carbon_plan.aspx) it seems apposite to be noting some interesting new resources out there or soon to be out there:

1) CSE will be launching their zoomable national heat map early in 2012 which uses Google maps as a very accessible base: http://www.cse.org.uk/news/view/1458

2) CSE also have a fabulous resource for community planning available at http://www.planlocal.org.uk/

3) DECC have their Community Energy Online resource at http://ceo.decc.gov.uk/

4) DECC are also relaunching their 2050 Pathways, which now include cost data and visualisations at home, city and country level that react to the parameters chosen when playing around with the pathways calculator: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/tackling/2050/2050.aspx

5) EST is hosting the Housing Energy Efficiency Database at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Professional-resources/Existing-Housing/Homes-Energy-Efficiency-Database; working is ongoing on one that incorporates non-domestic data

6) Finally, CSE has DEC data available to download at www.cse.org.uk/data

Happy browsing!

Yvonne Rydin

Berlin's approach to Refurbishment: Energy saving partnership

Couple of weeks ago I went to Berlin to learn more Berlin Energy Saving Partnership.
I met up with Ms Susanne Berger from Berlin Energy Agency, which is responsible for the implementation of the partnership and also with Mr Klaus Ritcher from one of the ESCOs carrying out the implementation of energy efficiency measures.
Berlin energy saving partnership was first introduced by the State of Berlin in 1995. The reason for developing BESP was to reach Germany’s ambitious climate protection objectives, as well as to reduce energy costs. Its basic principle is simple: a private specialized energy service company (the contractor) brings its know-how and financials means into the project. The responsibility of the contractor is to ensure that by making adequate investments, the energy savings can be guaranteed. Both partners then share cost reductions and profits are also shared between the client and the contractor – while energy consumption is reduced.
Under the current BESP, among refurbished buildings there are school, kindergartens, office buildings, swimming pools, theatre, universities and other municipal buildings. All together around 1,400 buildings have being refurbished with the total CO2 reduction of approximately 69,600 t/a. One of the first refurbished buildings was Berlin City Hall.



The refurbishments have been performed by 17 contractors, and the guaranteed savings were achieved in all contracts. On average the guaranteed savings are around 26% of baseline energy consumption, with the highest energy savings resulted in 35% savings!
Interesting, replacement of the windows and insulation are not a part of the programme - implemented energy efficiency measures include refurbishment of heating and illumination, energy management and what is very important user motivation. I found the last measure – user motivation – particularly interesting: it is a requirement for the contractor to teach the building users about energy savings, and by the end user they do not mean buildings manager. If the building under refurbishment is a kindergarten, then the contractor talks to children as well!
This model has proved to be a success in Berlin and is now widely replicated in other European countries, such as Slovenia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, as well as in China, Chile and other countries. It also expands in Germany and there are plans for implementing “Berlin Energy Saving Partnership Plus” where more expensive measures such as building insulation and window replacement will be performed.
More about this progamme will be presented as a part of our workshop on 27th of January – and we will also look at its potential to be implemented in the UK.

CLUES workshop

On November 23rd 2011 we successfully held our first innovative international case studies workshop on seawater heating systems - more details on this to follow. We would like to thank all those attended for heir valuable contribution and very interesting and informative presentations and discussions.

In the next couple of months we are organizing other workshops.

Our second workshop “New ways of financing renewable energy: an example of Morris Model, New Jersey, USA” is on 8th December 2011, 13.00-18.00, at the UCL as well. The aim of the workshop is to introduce a new approach to financing PV and to discuss its potential to be implemented in the UK, as well as to share the experiences of those who already worked with this innovative approach. Attendees expected at the workshop include a representative of the Morris County, USA; representatives of the UK government, academics and other interested parties.

We are also planning a workshop on “Performance Contracting and Retrofit: an example of Berlin’s success” on 27th of January (location tbc). The aim of the workshop ids to introduce a new way of financing retrofit of commercial buildings and to share the experience of Berlin Energy Saving Partnership, as well as to discuss its potential to be implemented in the UK. Attendees expected at the workshop include representatives of the Berlin Energy Agency, representatives of the UK government and those interested in building retrofit.

All the workshops are free, but places are limited, so if you are interested please contact Dr Ksenia Chmutina on k.chmutina@lboro.ac.uk.

The experience of KfW - a German Bank - in the Reduction of Energy Use in and CO2 emissions from Buildings

UCL and LSE have recently launched a joint report regarding the lessons that the UK could learn from the experience of KfW, a part publicly owned German Bank, in the reduction of energy use in and CO2 emisions from the built environment. For more information please go to
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1111/111109-Lessons-from-German-bank-cut-energy-bills-UK-homeowners?dm_i=UAA,LHOP,3YPFC4,1QR43,1 and to this complimentary presentation http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/textonly/LSEhousing/Events/Cutting%20Carbon%20Costs/Paul_Ekins.pdf.

Catalina Turcu, UCL
14 Nov 2011