Project SHOES: Secondary heat opportunities from electrical substations

Through the mechanism of stepping up and stepping down voltages with electrical power transformers, losses in the form of heat occur and are dissipated to the atmosphere. These losses have the opportunity to be recovered and upgraded to help support the thermal demands of buildings as allow carbon secondary heat source. The electrification of heat facilitates the uptake of electrically driven heat pumps that are efficient means of upgrading low temperature heat sources to commonly used temperatures and the employment of district heating networks enables the transition of these alternative heat sources into the economy. This paper describes the results discovered from an initial investigation on the contribution available from a transformer energy recovery scheme using the Southampton Bulk Supply Point substation and District Heating Scheme as a case study. Benefits to the heat sector and asset owner are analysed from the results considering the techno-economic, environmental and social performance with the aim to provide guidance to the engineering community for further in-depth feasibility studies on this waste energy recovery concep

Relationship between specific energy consumption and size of supermarket stores

© 2019 International Institute of Refrigeration. All rights reserved. Energy consumption data for 2017 were analysed for 190 retail (supermarket) stores from one retailer in the UK. The relationship between energy consumption and store size was investigated. The mean energy intensity defined by the ratio of electrical energy consumption across the sales floor area was 866 kWh.m-2.yr-1 for an average sales floor area of 469 m2. Plotting energy intensity against store size showed that smaller stores had a higher energy intensity. Measuring energy intensity using electrical energy consumption, total energy consumption, sales or gross floor area, perimeter area of the store and store volume all showed a similar trend. Electrical energy consumption is well correlated with refrigeration capacity (r2 = 0.779), however, it is has a slightly better correlation with sales floor area (r2 = 0.883). . When including these data with other data from previous studies, it can be seen that large stores (supermarkets) had an approximately constant energy intensity (decreasing slightly with increased floor area) and smaller stores (convenience) had a much higher energy intensity which increases strongly with decreasing floor area. Therefore to represent stores ranging from small to large a power law relationship is required

Evaluation of Supermarket Energy Use and Emissions with Various Technology Options

In this paper, an operational supermarket in the UK has been selected to be modelled by the previously developed supermarket energy simulation software ‘SuperSIM’. Detailed information of the supermarket and model development procedures are explained. The model was previously validated through comparisons with site measurements of space air temperature and humidity and energy consumptions. It is therefore used to simulate, quantify and evaluate supermarket energy performance at various technology options in terms of heat recovery from refrigerant discharge, high efficiency condensers and evaporators and store locations etc

Performance Enhancement of Urban Ground Source Heat Pumps through Interactions with Underground Railway Tunnels

Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) can provide an efficient way of heating and cooling buildings due to their high operating efficiencies. The implementation of these systems in urban environments could have further benefits. In such locations the ground source heat is potentially more accessible via alternative sources such as through underground railways (URs). This paper investigates to what extent the heat in the soil surrounding an UR tunnel could enhance the operation of urban GSHPs installations. To address this, a numerical investigation was set out which included a parametric study considering a number of geometrical options of the systems. The results showed that heat extraction rates of GSHPs installed near UR tunnels can be significantly improved by up to ~ 43%

District Heat Networks: Addressing Categorisation to Unlock Deployment Potential

District heating (DH) consists of substantial energy infrastructures in many urban areas around the world, which offer a significant opportunity for achieving economies of scale and increasing the energy efficiency of the built environment. Heat networks have been identified by the UK Government as an essential mechanism for decarbonising heat. However, different to other European countries, the UK heat network market is minimal, meeting only around 3% of overall heat demand. Many of these networks use Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies, often driven by carbon-intensive gas engines. If the UK is to achieve its netzero target, these CHP systems need to be modified or replaced with low-carbon alternatives such as heat pumps. One challenge to the growth of low-carbon heat networks in the UK relates to a lack of clarity when categorising them as either communal or district. These systems have different merits and peculiarities that affect their potential as scalable tools for decarbonisation. This paper aims to address this challenge by proposing new definitions that clearly separate district and communal concepts. This is achieved by analysing the status of heat networks in the UK and London, which is complemented by a review of current definitions available in the literature. The potential implications of misclassification to the development of DH in the UK are then discussed, with a focus on how policy needs to establish clear boundaries in order to guide the transition towards a low-carbon DH market in the UK. By addressing the issue of inconsistent categorisation and improving data accuracy, this paper serves as a foundation for future research and development efforts aimed at overcoming the barriers to the broader deployment of low-carbon heat networks in the UK

Decarbonisation pathways for fossil fuel-based district heating networks using heat pumps

Decarbonising the energy sector is crucial for addressing climate change concerns. Traditional UK district heating networks heavily rely on large, centralised gas-fired plants driven by economies of scale. However, the changing energy landscape necessitates a shift towards low-carbon alternatives in existing heating systems. This study fills a significant knowledge gap by examining strategies to decarbonise district heating networks (HN) through the integration of heat pumps (HPs) at different temperatures. It comprehensively assesses cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and operational carbon emissions. The findings emphasize the seamless integration of HPs into diverse settings, enabling them to extract heat from air, ground, or water sources and resulting in substantial carbon savings. Moreover, harnessing waste heat from the London Underground presents a substantial opportunity for emission reductions. Nevertheless, the viability of biogas is limited in densely populated areas like London. This research makes a noteworthy contribution to UK decarbonisation efforts, offering a practical roadmap for widespread adoption of HPs and a sustainable future

Crafting communities: promoting inclusion, empowerment, and learning between older women

While social policy and planning documents are replete with ominous warnings about the cost of an ageing population, this article tells a different story about the productive and self-sustaining networks that exist among older women in the community who do craftwork. From our research conducted in Victoria, Australia during 2007&ndash;2008 we discovered a resilient and committed group of older women quietly and steadily contributing to community fundraising, building social networks, and providing learning opportunities to each other in diverse ways. Through our conversations with nine craftswomen we have been able to articulate clear links between the theory and models commonly espoused in the community development literature and the life-enriching practices used in organising informal community craft group activities. From our interviews with the older women we provide evidence of sustained participation, the generation of social capital, and the fostering of life-long learning. While none of the women we spoke to were trained in community development and did not use language commonly associated with feminist ideology, the relationship between the informal group work with principles of empowerment and self-efficacy were unmistakeable. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for critical social work practice.<br /

Waste heat recovery from urban electrical cable tunnels

Electrical power distribution within cities is most often distributed through underground cables located just below the road surface. Due to steadily increasing electricity demands, many power suppliers are making large investments in housing these cables in underground tunnels. These urban cable tunnels often extend to many kilometres in length. Through the electrical loading of the cables a significant amount of heat is generated. Often this heat has to be removed through ventilation in order to avoid overheating the cables and to provide safe conditions for access. As opposed to rejecting the heat to the atmosphere, this low grade energy could potentially be recovered, upgraded if necessary, and distributed to nearby heat users above ground. This paper discusses possible heat recovery methods applicable for urban electricity distribution networks, i.e. transformers and cable tunnels. It also presents results from a modelling-based preliminary feasibility study which used cable tunnels in London as a case study

The impact of emotions on practicum learning

Nine mature aged, experienced practitioners enrolled to gain a BSW qualification in social work were interviewed regarding a course requirement to complete the first placement. At the time of interview no recognition of prior learning for previous experience in the field was made possible for these students. As educators we had experienced considerable hostility from students who believed they should be exempt from completing this course requirement. This paper reports on interviews with the nine students, where we consider how student sentiment about completing the practice learning component might impact upon their learning experience. As anticipated, some students expressed strong negative views about being on placement. However, others were much more positive about the experience. These mixed views prompted us to explore further the relationship between emotion and practice learning. The article begins with a review of the literature concerning mature student engagement with tertiary education, followed by an overview of theory and research related to the ways feelings and emotion influence learning. Using passages from the interviews, expressions of participant anxiety, anger and excitement about the practicum are discussed with the view to extending discourse about practicum learning to include consideration of emotional intelligence and investment.<br /

Human hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone levels are linked to emotion and social interaction.

The neurochemical changes underlying human emotions and social behaviour are largely unknown. Here we report on the changes in the levels of two hypothalamic neuropeptides, hypocretin-1 and melanin-concentrating hormone, measured in the human amygdala. We show that hypocretin-1 levels are maximal during positive emotion, social interaction and anger, behaviours that induce cataplexy in human narcoleptics. In contrast, melanin-concentrating hormone levels are minimal during social interaction, but are increased after eating. Both peptides are at minimal levels during periods of postoperative pain despite high levels of arousal. Melanin-concentrating hormone levels increase at sleep onset, consistent with a role in sleep induction, whereas hypocretin-1 levels increase at wake onset, consistent with a role in wake induction. Levels of these two peptides in humans are not simply linked to arousal, but rather to specific emotions and state transitions. Other arousal systems may be similarly emotionally specialized