Bridgend - Local Energy Markets
Background
Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) has actively pursued a decarbonisation agenda for several years. Through their involvement in the Smart System and Heat Programme BCBC they developed a Local Area Energy Plan creating a pathway for decarbonisation in Bridgend. The Local Area Energy Plan included funding a Local Energy Market competition within Bridgend to create projects that could build the tools necessary to accelerate the pathway to net zero carbon in Bridgend. The consortium of ICAX, Cambridge Energy, and the BSRIA LSBU Net Zero Building Centre were among the successful projects chosen to test innovative options for Local Energy Markets in Bridgend Council.
Low Energy Markets
The project partners contributed collaborative research into how the newly formed local energy market could operate optimally to further the delivery of a Net Zero Bridgend and offer a template for decarbonisation across Wales. Researchers investigated how heat pumps could fit into the local energy market and possibly connect to local wind energy generation. The overarching goal of the project was to define the circumstances for which heat pumps would be an optimal low carbon heating source for homes in Bridgend.
This was done through considering a variety of circumstances in different combinations, including, housing types, energy prices, and the package of technical measures accompanying the heat pump.
Cambridge Energy modelled the costs and benefits of different types of low-carbon heating in Bridgend. The BSRIA LSBU Net Zero Building Centre carried out a stock assessment that included archetyping, pricing, and monitoring options. And ICAX created a bespoke low carbon heating option by evolving their current heat pump product range.
Project Partners
Cost Optimisation (Cambridge Energy)
Part of this broader research was focussed on the investigation of what impact different forms of low-carbon heating had on cost, energy use and carbon emissions. Specialists from Cambridge Energy have developed the Cost-Effective Domestic Electrification (CODE) models on behalf of the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). CODE uses the EnergyPlus engine to perform dynamic simulations of 12 distinct house archetypes that represent ~90% of UK homes. Optimisation iterates 14 different heating systems and combinations of retrofit measures to enable those systems. CODE uses this information to establish the cost optimal combination of heating and efficiency measures for each archetype.
For this project, the CODE models were calibrated to the Bridgend housing stock, and updated to include a range of energy pricing options from local renewables generation. It was also updated to include the performance details of the bespoke heat pump developed by ICAX as part of this project.
Low Energy Markets
The project partners contributed collaborative research into how the newly formed local energy market could operate optimally to further the delivery of a Net Zero Bridgend and offer a template for decarbonisation across Wales. Researchers investigated how heat pumps could fit into the local energy market and possibly connect to local wind energy generation. The overarching goal of the project was to define the circumstances for which heat pumps would be an optimal low carbon heating source for homes in Bridgend.
This was done through considering a variety of circumstances in different combinations, including, housing types, energy prices, and the package of technical measures accompanying the heat pump.
Cambridge Energy modelled the costs and benefits of different types of low-carbon heating in Bridgend. The BSRIA LSBU Net Zero Building Centre carried out a stock assessment that included archetyping, pricing, and monitoring options. And ICAX created a bespoke low carbon heating option by evolving their current heat pump product range.
Cost Optimisation (Cambridge Energy)
Part of this broader research was focussed on the investigation of what impact different forms of low-carbon heating had on cost, energy use and carbon emissions. Specialists from Cambridge Energy have developed the Cost-Effective Domestic Electrification (CODE) models on behalf of the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). CODE uses the EnergyPlus engine to perform dynamic simulations of 12 distinct house archetypes that represent ~90% of UK homes. Optimisation iterates 14 different heating systems and combinations of retrofit measures to enable those systems. CODE uses this information to establish the cost optimal combination of heating and efficiency measures for each archetype.
For this project, the CODE models were calibrated to the Bridgend housing stock, and updated to include a range of energy pricing options from local renewables generation. It was also updated to include the performance details of the bespoke heat pump developed by ICAX as part of this project.
