The diversity of residential electricity demand – a comparative analysis of metered and simulated data

A comparative study between simulated residential electricity demand data and metered data from theUK Household Electricity Survey is presented. For this study, a high-resolution probabilistic model wasused to test whether this increasingly widely used modelling approach provides an adequate represen-tation of the statistical characteristics the most comprehensive dataset of metered electricity demandavailable in the UK. Both the empirical and simulated electricity consumption data have been analysedon an aggregated level, paying special attention to the mean daily load profiles, the distribution of house-holds with respect to the total annual demands, and the distributions of the annual demands of particularappliances. A thorough comparison making use of both qualitative and quantitative methods was madebetween simulated datasets and it’s metered counterparts. Significant discrepancies were found in thedistribution of households with respect to both overall electricity consumption and consumption ofindividual appliances. Parametric estimates of the distributions of metered data were obtained, and theanalytic expressions for both the density function and cumulative distribution are given. These can beincorporated into new and existent modelling frameworks, as well as used as tools for further analysis

The potential for peak shaving on low voltage distribution networks using electricity storage

Co-location of energy storage with demand provides several benefits over other locations, while still being able to provide balancing services to the grid. One of these additional benefits is deferral of distribution infrastructure reinforcement, allowing increased load growth. This paper considers the potential of electricity storage for peak shaving on distribution networks, focusing on residential areas. A demand model is used to synthesise high resolution domestic load profiles, and these are used within Monte Carlo analysis to determine how much peak shaving could be achieved with storage. An efficient method of finding the potential peak shaving using electricity storage is developed for this purpose. It is shown that moderate levels of storage capacity can deliver significant demand reductions, if suitably coordinated and incentivised. With 2 kWh of battery storage per household, the peak demand at low voltage substations could potentially be halved. The effects of PV capacity, household size and C rates are considered. With 3 kW PV per house, 4.5 kWh of batteries could keep peak flows at the same level as before the addition of PV. It is also shown that 3 kWh of battery storage per household could allow provision of all heating from heat pumps without increasing t he peak demand

"Back the Bid": the London Olympic Bid Committee and the Sun newspaper

This article explores how the London Olympic Bid Committee (LOBC) sought to gain the popular support required for London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games by attempting to influence the journalists of the U.K. newspaper with the greatest readership to communicate their discourse to the host urban population. The research draws on Michel Foucault’s concept of discourse to investigate whether and, more importantly, how the journalists of the Sun articulated the key statements that the LOBC sought to convey to the U.K. public in their coverage of London’s bid for the 2012 Games in order to discover how collusion and tension between the discourses and practices of bid committees and those of journalists affect the statements articulated to the reader

Spatio-temporal population modelling for enhanced assessment of urban exposure to flood risk

There is a growing need for high resolution spatio-temporal population estimates which allow accurate assessment of population exposure to natural hazards. Current approaches to population estimation are usually limited either by the use of arbitrary administrative boundaries or insufficient resolution in the temporal dimension. The innovative approach proposed here combines the use of a spatio-temporal gridded population model with flood inundation data to estimate time-specific variations in population exposed to natural hazards. The approach is exemplified through an application centred on Southampton (UK) using Environment Agency flood map inundation data. Results demonstrate that large fluctuations occur over time in the population distribution within flood risk zones. Variations in the spatio-temporal distribution of population subgroups are explored. Analysis using GIS indicates a diurnal shift in exposure between fluvial and tidal flooding, particularly attributable to the movement of the working age population. This illustrates the improvements achievable to flood risk management as well as potential application to other natural hazard scenarios both within the UK and globally