FITS-LCD: Fabric Integrated Thermal Storage for Low-Carbon Dwellings
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Energy Systems Research Unit
Abstract
The domestic sector faces a range of challenges as the UK attempts to drastically cut its carbon emissions by 2050. A key issue is reducing the overall demand for heat and then decarbonising residual heat loads - which encompasses both demand for space heating and hot water provision. Two non-exclusive means to achieve these goals are: firstly, the diversification of the heat sources serving buildings and communities towards a variety of low-carbon heat sources including solar thermal energy, biomass, waste heat and ground source energy. Secondly, the electrification of space and hot water heating using heat pumps running on decarbonised electricity. Thermal storage would play a key role in facilitating both of these developments, acting as an integrating mechanism for heterogeneous heat sources and decoupling heat supply and demand to mitigate the worst impacts of the electrification of heat. However, there are challenges, one of the most significant is competition for space - as dwelling sizes reduce, the space penalty associated with conventional hot water storage acts as a barrier to uptake. Storage in the future may need to migrate away from the traditional hot water tank at seen at present, towards media such as phase-change materials and storage that makes better use of the existing space and thermal mass in and around buildings, including large scale community storage. An attractive storage option is to integrate future thermal stores into the fabric of the dwelling - fabric integrated thermal stores (FITS).
The aim of this multi-discipline research is to investigate how thermal stores could be integrated into the fabric of future dwellings and communities (both new build and retrofit) and how they would be operated within the local context of accommodating multiple low-carbon thermal energy sources and within the wider context of the decarbonisation of the UK's energy supply. Specific activities include: establishing the operating criteria for fabric-integrated thermal stores (FITS) operating in a future low-carbon energy system; generating prototype FITS concepts, controllers, energy services and heat sensing solutions; performance evaluation of FITS concepts using modelling and simulation leading to selection of best performers for further investigation; construction of scaled FITS prototypes for testing of in-situ performance; gauging user reaction to the concept of using thermal storage for energy services to third parties including demand management; and finally testing of prototype interfaces to FITS with end-users.
The research will generate new knowledge in a number of areas: the architectural integration of thermal storage materials (eliminating the space penalty associated with water tanks); interfacing of thermal stores with heterogeneous heat sources; and information on the acceptability of the participation of domestic heat storage in energy networks. Tangible outputs will include: a range of FITS concept designs - the performance of which will be evaluated using modelling and simulation; two prototypes of promising concepts will be constructed as demonstrators (to test performance in the field); new thermal storage controllers; and energy services will be developed and tested, predicated on the active participation of thermal storage in energy network management.
The work will benefit the construction industry, particularly Architects and Structural Engineers, offering new ideas on the space-efficient integration of thermal storage into buildings. The work will also benefit the building services community and technology developers, providing information on the combination of multiple low-carbon heat sources and the measurement, management and control of stored heat over different timescales. Finally, the work will be of value to utilities and energy service providers, offering insight into the potential of thermal storage to facilitate network support services.
The aim of this multi-discipline research is to investigate how thermal stores could be integrated into the fabric of future dwellings and communities (both new build and retrofit) and how they would be operated within the local context of accommodating multiple low-carbon thermal energy sources and within the wider context of the decarbonisation of the UK's energy supply. Specific activities include: establishing the operating criteria for fabric-integrated thermal stores (FITS) operating in a future low-carbon energy system; generating prototype FITS concepts, controllers, energy services and heat sensing solutions; performance evaluation of FITS concepts using modelling and simulation leading to selection of best performers for further investigation; construction of scaled FITS prototypes for testing of in-situ performance; gauging user reaction to the concept of using thermal storage for energy services to third parties including demand management; and finally testing of prototype interfaces to FITS with end-users.
The research will generate new knowledge in a number of areas: the architectural integration of thermal storage materials (eliminating the space penalty associated with water tanks); interfacing of thermal stores with heterogeneous heat sources; and information on the acceptability of the participation of domestic heat storage in energy networks. Tangible outputs will include: a range of FITS concept designs - the performance of which will be evaluated using modelling and simulation; two prototypes of promising concepts will be constructed as demonstrators (to test performance in the field); new thermal storage controllers; and energy services will be developed and tested, predicated on the active participation of thermal storage in energy network management.
The work will benefit the construction industry, particularly Architects and Structural Engineers, offering new ideas on the space-efficient integration of thermal storage into buildings. The work will also benefit the building services community and technology developers, providing information on the combination of multiple low-carbon heat sources and the measurement, management and control of stored heat over different timescales. Finally, the work will be of value to utilities and energy service providers, offering insight into the potential of thermal storage to facilitate network support services.
Planned Impact
Fundamentally, this research aims to develop new concepts for the integration and operation of thermal storage in housing in order to support the uptake low-carbon heat sources and promote interaction with low carbon energy networks through demand side response. At a national level, this activity will benefit UK in its efforts towards energy and carbon reductions, contributing to Government targets and energy policy.
More specifically, the work will benefit a wide range of non-academic stakeholders, notably the following.
Building Designers will benefit through the development new storage, balance of plant and control concepts, along with design guidance. This will lead to changes in the way that architects, engineers design and contractors construct buildings and assist the industry in developing future housing (new build and retrofit) that can play a more active role in future energy systems and make use of a wider range of low-carbon heat sources.
Utilities and Energy Service Providers will benefit in that it will generate information on the potential for demand-side participation from heating systems featuring storage, as well as developing concepts for future demand-side energy services and the financial inducements needed to encourage active participation. This could lead to changes in tariff structures, opportunities in wider network control and renewable energy integration and new business opportunities based around storage related energy services.
Building owners, communities and individual homeowners will benefit from the research as it paves the way for the provision of storage-based energy services to netowrk operators, allowing citizens to benefit financially through direct payment or preferential tariffs. The research will also allow end-users to shape the nature and of storage-based energy services through their feedback. Further, end users would benefit from the reduction in need for storage space in housing if fabric integrated storage was to prove viable.
Technology developers will benefit in that the research will develop and test a range of potential new products including fabric integrated store concepts, balance of plant for charging and discharging of heat , control algorithms for heat management and active network participation. Further, concepts for user interfaces to thermal stores will be developed and trialed, again leading to opportunities for new product and service development.
Policy makers will be able to make use of some of the knowledge emerging from the project in the design of future housing policies and standards. Of specific benefit will be the outcomes of research into the fiscal incentives needed to encourage the uptake and operation of thermal stores in dwellings, along with the work gauging end-user's enthusiasm for hosting thermal storage and participating in active demand schemes.
More specifically, the work will benefit a wide range of non-academic stakeholders, notably the following.
Building Designers will benefit through the development new storage, balance of plant and control concepts, along with design guidance. This will lead to changes in the way that architects, engineers design and contractors construct buildings and assist the industry in developing future housing (new build and retrofit) that can play a more active role in future energy systems and make use of a wider range of low-carbon heat sources.
Utilities and Energy Service Providers will benefit in that it will generate information on the potential for demand-side participation from heating systems featuring storage, as well as developing concepts for future demand-side energy services and the financial inducements needed to encourage active participation. This could lead to changes in tariff structures, opportunities in wider network control and renewable energy integration and new business opportunities based around storage related energy services.
Building owners, communities and individual homeowners will benefit from the research as it paves the way for the provision of storage-based energy services to netowrk operators, allowing citizens to benefit financially through direct payment or preferential tariffs. The research will also allow end-users to shape the nature and of storage-based energy services through their feedback. Further, end users would benefit from the reduction in need for storage space in housing if fabric integrated storage was to prove viable.
Technology developers will benefit in that the research will develop and test a range of potential new products including fabric integrated store concepts, balance of plant for charging and discharging of heat , control algorithms for heat management and active network participation. Further, concepts for user interfaces to thermal stores will be developed and trialed, again leading to opportunities for new product and service development.
Policy makers will be able to make use of some of the knowledge emerging from the project in the design of future housing policies and standards. Of specific benefit will be the outcomes of research into the fiscal incentives needed to encourage the uptake and operation of thermal stores in dwellings, along with the work gauging end-user's enthusiasm for hosting thermal storage and participating in active demand schemes.
Publications
Agbanigo Olubunmi
(2021)
PCM based thermal storage system/plant models for building energy system analysis
Allison J
(2018)
Assessing domestic heat storage requirements for energy flexibility over varying timescales
in Applied Thermal Engineering
Allison J
(2017)
Simulation, implementation and monitoring of heat pump load shifting using a predictive controller
in Energy Conversion and Management
Allison, J.
(2017)
Simulation and implementation of heat load shifting in a low carbon building
De Castro M
(2017)
Effect of Slope Angle on Energy Performance of Ground-Integrated Buildings on Slope Terrain
in International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning
Elsayed, A.
(2018)
Innovative Fabric Integrated Thermal Storage Systems and Applications
in International Journal of Civil, Environmental, Structural, Construction and Architectural Engineering
Flett G
(2016)
An occupant-differentiated, higher-order Markov Chain method for prediction of domestic occupancy
in Energy and Buildings
| Description | The FITS-LCD project involved work across a range of topics. Key findings from these are outlined below. Storage Designs A comprehensive taxonomy of building-integrated thermal storage options has been developed. This comprises around 50 different integrated storage options including active and passive storage systems, different storage temperatures, different storage locations in the building and different charging media (electrical, hot water air). High storage temperatures tend to restrict the viable locations in a building, but also reduce the volume of storage requires. An accompanying materials section chart has also been produced that indicates the energy sources and materials that could be employed for storage, insulation and charging at different temperature levels. Modelling There has been extensive modelling and experimental work undertaken as part of FITS-LCD to look at both the performance of integrated energy storage concepts and also of the wider impact of storage on energy networks. Storage Impacts and Effectiveness Modelling a range of integrated thermal storage options indicated that low temperature domestic thermal stores (operating at less than <100oC) become unfeasibly large when sized to hold more than 1 week's heating load. High temperature storage (~600oC) significantly reduces store sizes, but storing heat for longer than a few days becomes extremely inefficient with the majority of the stored heat being lost after a week, even with very significant levels of insulation. Integrated storage can therefore only feasibly be expected to store heat over periods of a week or less. The flexibility that electrified heating coupled with thermal storage can offer networks operators (to assist in the running of the network) has been assessed using stock modelling, where a representative portion of the UK housing stock was modelled complete with heat pumps, and sized integrated thermal stores. The work assessed the ability of electrified heating to respond to a signal from an electrical network operator to either increase demand or drop demand, but constrained by the need to meet the heat and hot water needs of the house occupants. The work indicated that without storage on average 20% of heating systems could respond to a drop and pick-up load signals. With storage the drop load response remained around 20%, but the average ability to pick up load rose to over 85%. These figures mask significant variability in responsiveness, which is also strongly influences by season, time of day and operating strategy. Different operating storage charging control strategies were assessed. Modelling Tools In addition to the modelling outcomes, new open source software tools and models have been during the project for use by researchers and industry. These include i) a generic energy storage sizing tool, capable of sizing storage for thermal or electrical systems; ii) a tool to generate occupancy and occupancy-linked electrical and hot water demand for use in housing modelling; iii) tools and data to model the behaviour of populations of heat sources and thermal stores in housing; iv) improved models of fabric integrated heating and storage technologies in open Source building simulation tools. Economics of Storage There is currently no direct support for TES in buildings compared to support for electricity storage. This could be due to lack of evidence to support incentivisation. Our studies show that: (1) Benefits from integrating microgeneration and thermal storage depend on the house type; in this case highest for a detached house, (2) The payback for integrating thermal energy storage is less than the main system payback, (3) integrating thermal energy storage with Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) i.e. power to heat storage reduces the ASHP peak and total electricity demand by 78.2 % and 8.4 % respectively, and (4) proper sizing of the ASHP reduced its total electricity demand by 35%. The capability to maintain balance between load and generation, especially when generation exceeds load becomes more challenging with increasing penetration of variable energy resources in the electricity system. Absorption of surplus electricity by power-to-heat systems can offer flexibility to the electricity system. We quantified the flexibility afforded by power-to-heat systems in dwellings in terms of time, energy and costs, and especially in cases where homeowners are heterogeneous prosumers. Offering flexibility to the grid to reduce renewable curtailment could intrinsically incentivise electrification of heat. In summary, our findings show that the price a prosumer is willing to accept to absorbing surplus electricity depends on the frequency of requests to absorb surplus electricity, and quantity of surplus electricity absorbed. More specifically key findings around flexibility are : (i) the investment in the power-to-heat system and savings in boiler fuel during periods of surplus electricity absorption determines the price a prosumer is willing to accept for the service offered, (ii) this price reduces with increase in requests and the quantity of surplus electricity generation, (iii) the thermal storage capacity increases with the quantity of electricity absorbed, (iv) prosumers who savings in boiler fuel is greater than the annualised investment in the power-to-heat system always participate in the flexibility market, and (v) The flexibility offered and subsequent value could help incentivise electrification of heat via air source heat pumps and integration of thermal energy storage in dwellings. A key limitation to prosumers willingness and ability to participate will be the frequency of request, quantity of electricity absorbed and the aggregator price signal. Physical Demonstrators Two demonstration thermal storage systems have been developed at the University of Bath's HIVE facility and the University of Strathclyde at the BRE's Ravenscraig demonstration site. Wall Mounted Heat Storage Demonstrator A variable-volume fabric integrated thermal store has been designed and tested at the University of Bath's Building Research Park. The system used conventional underfloor heating pipework cast within clay panel modules. This approach facilitates off-site pre-fabrication and the ability to install a modular system within the envelope of the building. For the Bath System, modelling was used extensively to inform the experimental design. A Simulink model was implemented for the clay panel-based storage design with the capability to integrate the building fabric behaviour with the room environment and accounts for the effects of parasitic losses on the room environment. Additionally, Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation has been used to quantify the performance of the embedded heating coil arrangement. It was observed that heating coil length inside the storage medium affects the performance significantly, indicating that that a coiled pipework arrangement provides increased storage performance and better heat distribution relative to serpentine configurations. In a series of storage system experiments two heating methods were tested in the project: (1) heating by large capacity water tank and (2) heating by plate type heat exchanger. The latter option had much improved effectiveness, relative to the large cylinder, and the plate heat exchanger was able to complete the storage charging process in less than 5 hrs to a target storage temperature of 60oC The Bath system used storage panels in an existing wall structure, and could be used to retrofit of a storage system to existing dwellings. However, to ensure an acceptable parasitic losses, the insulation would need to be of a very high performance, e.g. vacuum insulated panels (k < 0.007 W/mK) as conventional high-performance insulation (k = 0.02 to 0.04 W/mK) would require >50 mm resulting in storage unit thicknesses likely to be impractical in most applications. In-situ application of insulation around the edges of the wall-mounted systems is problematic as it conflicted with the routing of pipework to the storage media resulting in sub-optimal reduction in heat transfer between storage panels and the room environment. However, this could be addressed through off-site pre-fabrication of a completely finished wall panel that was cast, insulated, and plaster-finished off-site and only requiring water pipework connection on site. Foundation-based Heat Storage Demonstrator The Ravenscraig demonstrator is an example of foundation-integrated storage and features underfloor heating pipework cast in two insulated concrete floor slabs of different thermal capacities. The store supplies a heating convector. Some of the key findings were as follows. The Ravenscraig store had two different thicknesses of storage slab of 75mm and 125mm. Initial analysis indicated that both slabs could be fully charged in 3 and 5 hours respectively using a source at 70oC. The 75mm slab could then provide usable heat for approx. 4 hours, whilst the 125mm slab could provide usable heat for around 7 hours. The thermal storage slabs were cast in-situ once the heat transfer pipework and supporting structure had been fixed in place in the foundation. To minimise heat losses, 100mm of high-performance insulation (k = 0.02 W/mK) was placed round all sides of the store. Consequently, the system would best be deployed in new build housing. Whist the storage capacity of the concrete-based stores was high, the realizable output temperatures were relatively low (30-50oC) compared to conventional heating systems (70-80oC), also these temperatures dropped as the store depleted. Consequently, the use of fan-assisted convectors was a more effective means of utilizing the stored heat as the area of conventional radiators required to supply heat at these temperatures would be impractical. |
| Exploitation Route | The findings associated with the outcomes have all already been published in several journal papers and also on the project website. The tools and techniques developed in the project can be used by researchers and indistry looking to demonstrate urban sustainability - the generic sizing method has already been deployed as part of the H2020 RUGGEDISED project (http://www.ruggedised.eu) to size battery storage for a photovoltaic-electric vehicle charging system and the thermal modelling tools are being used in the same project to analyse the impact of thermal storage and load shifting in high-rise dwellings, The project outputs can also be taken forward by academia and industry looking towards newbuild and retrofit buildings for zero carbon performance. FITS-LCD software tools are already being used in another EU Project Indu-Zero, which is focused on new approaches to retrofitting dwellngs for Zero Carbon (https://northsearegion.eu/indu-zero/). The tools and techniques from the project are already attracting interest from Utilities looking to assess the potential for demand flexibility from electrified heating and cooling in the domestic sector. It is envisaged that the taxonomy for storage materials and selection guide will be used by building design practitioners and also heating product designers in the the development of new thermal storage solutions for buildings. |
| Sectors | Construction,Energy,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| URL | http://fits-lcd.org.uk/ |
| Description | Analysis of phase change thermal storage systems has been used to develop a calculation approach for the standard assessment procedure (SAP), which is used across the UK for assessment of housing designs. The calculation approach allows SAP assessors to represent the impact of thermal storage on building energy performance. Via work with West Highland Housing Association (WHHA) the approach will be disseminated (via a Technical Note) to SAP assessors through Scotland responsible for letting public contracts. The algorithm for predictive load shifting developed in the project and reported on in [1] was employed (2020-2021) by the University of Strathclyde in work for Connected Response Ltd. investigating the effectiveness of heat load shifting in London's Trellick Tower and also in contributions to the EU RUGGEDISED project (Grant agreement ID: 731198) [2]. The ESP-r software, including additions from FITS-LCD and occupancy modelling tool [3], which was part-developed under FITS-LCD, are being used to support the development of the next generation of SAP - SAP11 in collaboration with BRE, AECOM and Loughborough University. The work which updates the SAP modelling approach and tool to better accomodate net-zero dwellings and technologies. ESP-r is being used as the reference dynamic building modelling cose against which the outputs of SAP 11 are being compared. [1] Allison, J., Cowie, A., Galloway, S., Hand, J., Kelly, N. J., & Stephen, B. (2017). Simulation, implementation and monitoring of heat pump load shifting using a predictive controller. Energy Conversion and Management, 150, 890-903. [2] Kelly, N. J., Allison, J., Flett, G., & Hand, J. W. (2020). Assessing the ability of roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV) canopies to support electric vehicle (EV) charging in cities. uSIM2020 Building to Buildings-Urban and Community Energy Modelling. [3] Flett, G., & Kelly, N. (2021). Modelling of individual domestic occupancy and energy demand behaviours using existing datasets and probabilistic modelling methods. Energy and Buildings, 252, 111373. |
| Sector | Construction,Energy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Construction Leadership Council - Innovation in Buildings |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA) BIM-BEM Interoperability Expert Panel |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | SAP Industry Forum Group |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Sustainable Glasgow - Heating and Housing Hub Member |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Anderson Bell Christie Architects. Community Carbon - Zero Carbon Neighbourhood tools |
| Amount | £243,383 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 04/2025 |
| Description | ERA-Net Smart Energy Systems (SES) RegSys Call |
| Amount | € 1,700,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 91413 |
| Organisation | Scottish Enterprise |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2019 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Evaluating Options and Outcomes in The Retrofit of pre-1919 Glasgow Tenement Housing: A Demonstration Project. |
| Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Department | Scottish Funding Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 10/2021 |
| Title | Generic sizing approach and tool for energy storage |
| Description | The sizing approach uses simulated supply and demand profiles (in this case generated using a building simulation tool) along with a custom scanning algorithm to determine the capacity of storage required to supply a demand over a user-defined period of time. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The approach and tool was used initially used to size thermal storage for buildings, assessing the storage needed to meet the heat demands of dwellings over different timescales as part of FITS-LCD (EP/N021479/1). Subsequently, the approach and tool has also been applied to the sizing of battery storage for a photovoltaic/electric vehicle energy system as part of the H2020 RUGGEDISED project and also in the sizing of battery banks for heating load shifting in high rise flats - http://www.ruggedised.eu |
| URL | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359431117370825 |
| Title | Archetype models of UK houses for use with the ESP-r building simulation tool. |
| Description | Four archetype building simulation models for use with the ESP-r building simulation tool, which can be used to calculate space heating demands under a variety of operating contexts. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2016 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Results from models provided to: project partners Glasgow School of Art (Prof. Tim Sharpe) and Imperial College (Dr. Adam Hawkes), leading to development of architectural designs for fabric integrated thermal storage and econometric analysis of thermal storage concepts. |
| URL | http://fits-lcd.org.uk/file_uploads/Other/160547__FITS_Houses_V4.0.zip |
| Title | Computer models and supporting data used for thermal storage assisted demand flexibility modelling. |
| Description | The models scripts and data sources used for the modelling of thermal storage assisted demand flexibility in a stock of typical UK buildings. Used to generate the results for the paper Allison, J., Cowie, A., Flett, G., Hand, J. W., Hawker, G., & Kelly, N. J. (2018). Modelling responsive demand from electrified domestic heating and storage under different operating strategies. Paper presented at uSIM - Urban Energy Simulation, Glasgow, United Kingdom. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Models and profiles were used by Dr Graeme Hawker to contribute to the project: UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) phase 3: theme 3 - Energy systems at multiple scales |
| URL | http://www.fits-lcd.org.uk/file_uploads/Other/130319__HousingStock_GridResponse.tar.gz |
| Title | Improved underfloor heating algorithm |
| Description | Research undertaken during FITS led to an improvement in the modelling of underfloor heating in the ESP-r building simulation tool. The improvement results in better linkage between the building and systems modelling components of the ESP-r tool and allows explicit modelling of pipework within the building structure. The algorithms can be used to model both underfloor heating and fabric-integrated thermal storage. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The work is being deployed within IEA EBC Annex 71 - Building energy performance assessment based on in situ measurements. This is an international research consortium of 9 countries. www.kuleuven.be/bwf/projects/annex71 |
| URL | http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/Downloads/downloads.htm#ESP-r |
| Title | Programme to generate statistically-based occupancy and occupant driven electrical demand profiles. |
| Description | This tool can be used to generate single or multiple occupancy and related occupancy-driven electrical demand and hot water demand profiles. The data output can be deployed in activities such as building performance simulation, stock modelling, district heating analysis, energy flexibility analysis and smart grid analysis. The input is information on the population of people being modelled. The programme is written in Python. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | . |
| Title | Script for calculating thermal energy storage sizing for energy flexibility over varying timescales. |
| Description | The script takes energy supply and demand time series data along with requirements for storage duration in order to calculate an appropriate storage capacity. The algorithm is technology agnostic and so can be used to for any type of energy system. |
| Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | . |
| Description | Development of SAP 11 |
| Organisation | Building Research Establishment |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | This project is developing the next generation of the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) - SAP11, updating the assessment process and tools for net zero dwellings. ESRU at Strathclyde are providing simulation software, developing detailed simulation models, and developing new algorithms for the simulation of low carbon technologies. The work will include the use of dwelling archetypes and occpancy software developed as part of the FITS project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | BRE Ltd are leading the partnership and leading the development of the new SAP tool. |
| Impact | Collaboration just started. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Title | Adapted ESP-r simulation code used as part of the FITS project. |
| Description | This is a version of the ESP-r building simulation code, customized for use in modelling of thermal storage in the housing stock. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The model has been used to generate the data used in a number of research and journal papers associated with FITS and also for the project UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) phase 3: theme 3 - Energy systems at multiple scales |
| Title | Algorithm for sizing of thermal storage for delivery of heat varying timescales |
| Description | The algorithm (written in Python) uses supply and demand profile data as input to size a thermal store according the a user-defined period over which heat should be delivered. In the FITS-LCD project to size domestic thermal storage, however the algorithm is generic and can be used to size any other storage technology. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | The algorithm has subsequently been used to size battery storage for the H2020 ruggedised project (http://www.ruggedised.eu), the battery store being part of a photovoltaic/electric vehicle charging installation to be installed at the Duke St Car Park in Glasgow. |
| URL | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359431117370825 |
| Title | Demonstration of a domestic building-integrated underfloor thermal store. |
| Description | A demonstration of a domestic underfloor thermal store has been developed at the the BRE Ravenscraig innovation park in Motherwell. This has been developed to 1) to better understand the practicalities of constructing integrated thermal stores in buildings 2) develop operating and control strategies and 3) generate empirical data on charge discharge times of stores and also time-varying discharge temperatures temperatures. The demonstrator comprises the following A well insulated building 3.8 L x 2.8 W x 2.6 H housing the heat system and monitoring equipment. Integrated Thermal Store The thermal store comprises two isolated slabs, each 1.8 L x 1.3 W of depth 125mm and 75mm, respectively. Each slab has embedded charging and discharging piping. Heat System The hydronic heating system consists of a 6 kW heat source along with pumps/valves and heat exchanger that allow each slab to be charged or discharged independently using a series of motorised valves. The stores can be discharged to a 1kW convector unit, which can also be supplied directly from the heat source. Monitoring Monitoring for the site includes a full climate monitoring station, monitoring outdoor air temperature, direct and diffuse solar radiation, wind speed and direction and relative humidity. The heating system includes 3 heat meters. Temperatures in the slabs are recorded using over 50 thermocouples. |
| Type Of Technology | Physical Model/Kit |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Impact | The demonstrator has only recently been commissioned and experiments will be ongoing throughout 2019. |
| URL | http://www.fits-lcd.org.uk |
| Title | Demonstration of a domestic building-integrated wall-based thermal store |
| Description | A demonstration of a fabric-integrated thermal store (FITS) has been developed at the University of Bath Building Research Park located that the Science Museum site in Wroughton, nr. Swindon. The demonstrator is at room-scale (4 m x 3 m x 2.8 m high) and forms a single-zone space within The HIVE test building, which, in total, houses 10 single-storey 'cells' of similar dimensions arranged in two rows of five and all accessed from a central shared corridor. The FITS demonstrator cell comprises 20 water-heated wall-mounted panels (each approx. 1 m x 0.6 m) embedded within a sandwich of two layers of clay board and clay plaster (for heat storage) and outer layers of insulation to limit heat loss to the room space. The hydronic heating system is divided in to three independently controlled storage circuits of 1 x 8 panels; 1 x 8 panels; and 1 x 4 panels serving west, east, and north walls, respectively, with the south wall being an external façade incorporating double glazed windows. A further two circuits link a 500 W double panel radiator and 100 Litre water-based storage cylinder, with heat exchanger and bypass, to the integrated storage system and a 2 kW heat source. The whole arrangement permits controlled charging and discharging of three sets of wall-based thermal storage. The radiator and water cylinder can be charged via the thermal store or directly from the 2 kW heater. The heat exchanger facilitates rapid heating of the wall panels, when bypassing the water cylinder, and this can be further controlled by varying the output from the main heater. This demonstrator has been developed to better understand the practicalities and performance of integrated thermal stores in buildings and to develop operating and control strategies for real systems. The operation of the system has generated empirical data on charge discharge times of stores and also time-varying discharge temperatures, which has provided suitable calibration for computational models. Monitoring for the site includes a weather station, monitoring outdoor air temperature, barometric pressure, direct and diffuse solar radiation, wind speed and direction, rain fall, and relative humidity, all of which is linked to a data logging system sampling data every 30 seconds and recording all variables at 5-minute intervals. Pulse-output water flow meters are integrated into each water circuit and thermocouples measure water temperature in all circuits and at surface and sub-surface positions at four points on each wall. Additional thermocouples record temperature on the flow and return pipework serving the radiator and also on the surface of the radiator plus within the water storage cylinder; a total of over 20 thermocouples. The room Relative Humidity and temperature is recorded throughout the monitoring campaign and a set of six heat flux plates provide two records of heat flux on each heated wall. |
| Type Of Technology | Physical Model/Kit |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The demonstrator was commissioned in April 2018 and was operated over a period of 6 months during which time it has generated data for comparison with, and calibration of, our computational models (in Simulink and ANSYS CFD). It has served as one of two showcase projects for visitors to the University of Bath Building Research Park (around 20 visitors from UK, France, Germany, and Spain) and has, so far, contributed to knowledge disseminated in two conference papers. |
| URL | http://www.fits-lcd.org.uk |
| Title | OccDem - a program to generate statistically-based occupancy and occupant-driven electrical demand profiles |
| Description | This tool can be used to generate single or multiple occupancy and related occupancy-driven electrical demand and hot water demand profiles. The data output can be deployed in activities such as building performance simulation, stock modelling, district heating analysis, energy flexibility analysis and smart grid analysis. The input is information on the population of people being modelled. The programme is written in Python. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Software only just released to no impacts as of yet. |
| URL | https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/datasets/occdem-a-program-to-generate-statistically-based-occupan... |
| Title | Programme to generate statistically-based occupancy and occupant driven electrical demand profiles. |
| Description | This tool can be used to generate single or multiple occupancy and related occupancy-driven electrical demand and hot water demand profiles. The data output can be deployed in activities such as building performance simulation, stock modelling, district heating analysis, energy flexibility analysis and smart grid analysis. The input is information on the population of people being modelled. The programme is written in Python. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Title | Script for calculating thermal energy storage sizing for energy flexibility over varying timescales. |
| Description | The script takes energy supply and demand time series data along with requirements for storage duration in order to calculate an appropriate storage capacity. The algorithm is technology agnostic and so can be used to for any type of energy system. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Description | 'Analysis of UK domestic heat futures through exemplar local energy systems' at the Low Carbon Networks and Innovation Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Graeme Hawker presented on 'Analysis of UK domestic heat futures through exemplar local energy systems' at the Low Carbon Networks and Innovation Conference, Telford, 17th October, detailing work on low carbon heating conducted under Theme 3 and in collaboration with Theme 2. Multiple industry partners (including the National Grid Future Energy Scenarios team) contacted Graeme for follow-up discussions in order to look at incorporating the results presented into their own modelling work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.energynetworks.org/events/lcni-conference/lcni-conference-2018.html |
| Description | 'Assessing the value of competing carriers for domestic heat: analysis paralysis or spoiled for choice?' at the 2nd IEEE International Forum on Smart Grids for Smart Cities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Graeme Hawker presented on 'Assessing the value of competing carriers for domestic heat: analysis paralysis or spoiled for choice?' at the 2nd IEEE International Forum on Smart Grids for Smart Cities, Genk, Belgium, 26th-28th November. After the presentation, Graeme met representatives of the Flemish Energyville research institute while attending the IEEE conference in November, including researchers from KU Leuven working on decarbonisation of heat and transport. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.ieee-pes.org/meetings-and-conferences/conference-calendar/monthly-view/167-cosponsored-b... |
| Description | FITS-LCD engagement workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | FITS LCD Engagement Workshop - This activity was a workshop attended by a variety of stakeholders including Architects, housing associations and utilities. The workshop featured presentations of the research undertaken by the FITS-LCD team followed by interactive sessions looking at 1) barriers to the deployment of fabric integrated thermal storage and 2) actions required for the deployment of FITS by 2030. There was considerable debate during the workshop regarding the function and feasibility of the integrated storage concepts presented and there has been follow-up activity with West Highland Housing Association to look at how thermal storage could be integrated into the UK's standard assessment procedure for housing. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fits-lcd-stakeholders-workshop-tickets-50960041857# |
| Description | H2020 Project Work Shop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Workshop for the H2020 Ruggedised Project (http://www.ruggedised.eu) 23-24 October, 2017. Results were presented from battery sizing work for a proposed photovoltaic/electric vehicle charging installation in Glasgow. The work reported used the generic storage sizing algorithm developed as part of the FITS-LCD project and described in the paper Allison et al. "Assessing Domestic Heat Storage Requirements for Energy Flexibility Over Varying Timescales", In Press, Applied Thermal Engineering 2018. Attendees at the event included Siemens UK, Transport Scotland, Scottish Power Energy Networks and Glasgow City Council. Glasgow City Council are using the outcomes from this work in the procurement of the battery for the charging installation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.ruggedised.eu |
| Description | Participation in Scoland Heat Summit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Dr N Kelly participated in the Scotland Heat Summit, presenting on how modelling could be used to inform policy decisions for the Scottish Government's upcoming heat strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://www.climatexchange.org.uk/files/1214/7584/9984/Nick_Kelly_-_Energy_Efficiency_in_Buildings_-_... |
| Description | Project web site |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was the launch of the project website. This provides information on the project and makes selected outputs publicly available. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://fits-lcd.org.uk |
| Description | RCUK Thermal Energy Challenge Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Advisory board member |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016,2017 |
| Description | University of Strathclyde - Engage with Strathclyde - Dissemination Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The seminar will provided an opportunity to see and hear about the latest Strathclyde R,D&D on responsive demand in buildings. The presentations covered recent and ongoing projects (including FITS-LCD), providing information on the potential and limitations of responsive load, highlighting areas where technology development is urgently required and revealing end-users views on automated management of energy systems. The event attracted ~40 participants including facilities managers, community energy groups, energy services providers, controls and energy technology developers, energy managers and building owners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | https://www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/333 |