Small power use and working practices in office buildings

This research aims to improve understanding of small power energy consumption in office buildings through an examination of the office work practices that give rise to it. Previous studies have mainly been based on quantitative approaches to show the contribution of small power use to total building energy consumption, and do not generally examine why small power energy is being used nor what it is used for. This deductive study takes a new approach, rooted in Social Practice Theory (SPT), by exploring how variations of small power use relate to the dynamic nature of office work practices. The research informs thinking about the nature and causes of small power energy use in offices and will ultimately be of interest to all those concerned with the design and operation of this building type. A mixed-methods approach is used to understand office workers’ work practices and how they give rise to electricity use in offices. Data were captured across three different office sites in Berkshire in the United Kingdom between September 2018 and April 2019. Each office worker participant in the study was observed and monitored over two different working days within a two-month period in each office site. The approach uses quantitative analysis of data from observations of activities performed and the devices and spaces used, as well as from monitoring of the energy consumption directly associated with them. This is combined with a qualitative exploration of office work through semi-structured interviews based on the elements of SPT. The research contributes to knowledge in four main ways. First, it develops a new definition of small power energy use by interrelating the use of office equipment and electric plug-in devices with office workers’ activities undertaken in different office spaces over a working day. Second, this study presents new data on small power energy use, showing its temporal distribution by different types of workers and suggests that variations in small power energy use in the office sites studied arise from the mobility of workers and their associated work practices. Further, the mobility of workers, determined mainly by their work role, is important in understanding small power energy use. The activities of ‘mainly-static’ workers account for more small power energy use than those of other types of worker (‘mainly-mobile’ workers). Third, by exploring the working practices of office workers through the elements of SPT, an improved understanding of the work giving rise to small power energy consumption is developed. This highlights how the meanings that office workers ascribe to their work activities and the organizational rules under which they operate influence energy use through the type of devices they use and where work is carried out. Finally, the research develops a new categorisation of energy-consuming work activities performed by office workers that relates their mobility and the devices they use in different office spaces. This categorisation includes work activities (‘desk-based’ activities; ‘communication’ activities; ‘extracting/organizing document’ activities) and also other activities not related to work (e.g. preparing coffee in the kitchen) that have energy-consuming impacts. This research develops an understanding of office work practices by considering what activities that involve energy-consuming devices and equipment are performed in different office spaces. Additionally, it identifies the nature of these activities, what are these devices and equipment, and their associated small power energy consumption to show how small power energy use can be explored and better understood through exploration of the work practices that give rise to it

ICT entertainment appliances’ impact on domestic electricity consumption

Increased electricity consumption and environmental impacts of Information Communication Technology (ICT) have been subjects of research since the 1990s. This paper focuses on consumer electronics in households, in particular TVs, computers and their peripherals. ICT accounts for almost 15% of global domestic electricity use, including waste energy from devices left on standby which is estimated in the EU-27 to contribute 6% of residential energy demand. In Europe, the household electricity consumption from small electronic appliances, including ICT, increased by 2.5 times in 2011 compared to 1990. Similarly, in the UK, energy demand from electronic devices accounted for 23% of total household electricity use in 2012, compared to 12% in 1990. This is an outcome of the market saturation of new, cheaper ICT entertainment devices, facilitated by marketing strategies which identify new needs for consumers, as charted by the review of market growth in this paper. New increasingly portable laptops, smart phones and tablets with wireless connectivity allow householders to perform a wider range of activities in a wider range of locations throughout the home, such as social networking while the television is active. We suggest that policies which consider how to increase the energy efficiency of ICT devices alone are unlikely to be successful since effective strategies need to address how the drivers which have developed around the use of ICT can be adapted in order to conserve electricity in households. A range of policy solutions are discussed, including feedback, public information campaigns, environmental education, energy labelling, bans of, or taxation on the least efficient products as well as the use of a TV as central hub to perform the existing functions of multiple devices

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from power generation in China's provinces in 2020

Carbon intensity of power generation is an important indicator to show the direct competitiveness of electricity against the combustion of fossil fuels. In this study, we estimate the carbon intensities of power generation in China's provinces. Most provinces are likely to have a carbon intensity per unit of power generation between 500 and 700 g CO2/kWh in 2020, which justifies the progress of electrification from the power generation perspective. With the growing share of low carbon power generation, most provinces show trends of decline in carbon intensity between 2015 and 2020. However, some provinces are expected to see increase in carbon intensity due to increasing share of coal power generation in their power mixes. Coal is still a major growth contributor in most provinces, despite significant growths of low carbon energy sources. Furthermore, renewable energy sources can help reduce the carbon intensity of power generation, but a better coordination among provinces is required, alongside with strong government support and direction

Reducing energy demand: a review of issues, challenges and approaches

Most commentators expect improved energy efficiency and reduced energy demand to provide the dominant contribution to tackling global climate change. But at the global level, the correlation between increased wealth and increased energy consumption is very strong and the impact of policies to reduce energy demand is both limited and contested. Different academic disciplines approach energy demand reduction in different ways: emphasising some mechanisms and neglecting others, being more or less optimistic about the potential for reducing energy demand and providing insights that are more or less useful for policymakers. This article provides an overview of the main issues and challenges associated with energy demand reduction, summarises how this challenge is ‘framed’ by key academic disciplines, indicates how these can provide complementary insights for policymakers and argues that a ‘sociotechnical’ perspective can provide a deeper understanding of the nature of this challenge and the processes through which it can be achieved. The article integrates ideas from the natural sciences, economics, psychology, innovation studies and sociology but does not give equal weight to each. It argues that reducing energy demand will prove more difficult than is commonly assumed and current approaches will be insufficient to deliver the transformation required

Branding instead of product innovation: a study on the brand personalities of the UK’s electricity market

This study extends understanding of and demonstrates the importance of corporate branding in the energy sector. We analyse the relationship between branding and consumer switching behaviour among the UK’s Big Six electricity providers. Since privatisation companies have competed against each other, but to the consumer they often appear to have very similar product offerings; firms also face criticism from consumer groups regarding confusing and difficult to compare pricing schemes. This study examines the use of corporate branding to enhance differentiation and specifically examines the influence of brand consistency and brand personality on the retention of customers. Consumers, who find it difficult to compare tariffs, may be influenced by more demonstrable factors like branding. We demonstrate the importance of longitudinal brand consistency, as well as the personality dimension Excitement, which when communicated strongly has the greatest influence on customer retention levels. This work contributes to branding theory, demonstrating that brand personality does differentiate otherwise homogeneous (and low-contact) services. Managerial implications are presented for brands seeking to improve consumer retention

Understanding the energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and the implication for achieving climate change mitigation targets

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The fate and behavior of selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in full scale wastewater and sludge treatment unit processes

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are discharged into the environment mainly through wastewater treatment processes. There is a need for better understanding of the fate of these compounds in the unit processes of treatment plant to optimize their removal. The fate of oestrone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethinyestradiol and nonylphenol in the unit processes of full scale wastewater treatment plants in the UK, including activated sludge plant, oxidation ditch, biofilter and rotating biological contractor were investigated. The overall removal efficiencies of all the compounds ranged from 41 % to 100 %. The removals were predominantly during the secondary biological treatment with the rates of removal related to the nitrification rates and the sludge age. The removal efficiency of the treatment processes were in the order activated sludge > oxidation ditch > biofilter > rotating biological contractors. Activated sludge plant configured for biological nutrient removal showed better removal of the endocrine disrupting chemicals compared to conventional activated sludge plant effluents. Tertiary treatment was also significant in the removal process through solids removal. Overall mechanisms of removal were biodegradation and sorption unto sludge biomass. Phytoremediation was also significant in the removal processes. The endocrine disrupting chemicals persisted in the anaerobic sludge digestion process with percentage removals ranging fro 10-48 %. Sorption of the endocrine disrupting chemicals onto the sludge increased with increasing values for the partitioning coefficients and the organic carbon contents of the sludge

Branding Instead of Product Innovation: A Study on the Brand Personalities of the UK's Electricity Market

This study extends understanding of and demonstrates the importance of corporate branding in the energy sector. We analyse the relationship between branding and consumer switching behaviour among the UK’s Big Six electricity providers. Since privatisation companies have competed against each other, but to the consumer they often appear to have very similar product offerings; firms also face criticism from consumer groups regarding confusing and difficult to compare pricing schemes. This study examines the use of corporate branding to enhance differentiation and specifically examines the influence of brand consistency and brand personality on the retention of customers. Consumers, who find it difficult to compare tariffs, may be influenced by more demonstrable factors like branding. We demonstrate the importance of longitudinal brand consistency, as well as the personality dimension Excitement, which when communicated strongly has the greatest influence on customer retention levels. This work contributes to branding theory, demonstrating that brand personality does differentiate otherwise homogeneous (and low-contact) services. Managerial implications are presented for brands seeking to improve consumer retention

Linking energy behaviour, attitude and habits, and social practices with environmental predisposition and knowledge:what are the factors with influence on environmental behaviour?

This research aims to understand which factors influence environmental behaviour in order to contribute to the existing theory and practice which is focused on individuals' energy consuming behaviour. As a first step, this thesis reviews existing up-to-date literature related to individual household energy consumption. The how and why individual behaviour affects the energy use are discussed, together with the principles and perspectives which have so far been considered in order to explain the habitual consuming behaviour. The research gaps, which are revealed from previous studies in terms of the limitations or assumptions of the methodology with respect to altering individuals’ energy usage, give insights for a conceptual framework to define a comprehensive approach which attempts to contribute to existing theory. The proposed framework suggests that the individual energy perception gaps are affected by psychological, habitual, structural and cultural variables in a wider-contextual (i.e. national scale), meso-societal and micro-individual spectrum. All these factors need to be considered in order for a variety of combined intervention methods, which are discussed and recommended, to introduce a more effective shift of the conventional energy consuming behaviour, advancing insights for successful energy policies. Furthermore, this thesis presents and discusses the findings of an empirical study which compares individuals’ environmental predisposition and knowledge with their: (a) energy behaviour, attitude and habits; and (b) social practices related to the use and ownership of appliances. This study also attempts to correlate education level and household income with the above variables. The investigation is based on a survey of 68 employees of an educational institution, corresponding to a medium-sized enterprise, which was selected as the first phase of research aiming to compare energy saving behaviour at home and in the workplace. The current study relates only to the domestic aspects of this work attempting to contribute to existing practice by presenting a detailed evaluation of pro-environmental behaviour which can be applied to similar studies while considering different demographics. In particular, the sample of this study is composed of a relatively highly educated and professional population. The statistical analysis reveals significant correlations between environmental value and knowledge and elements of individuals’ energy attitudes, habits and behaviour. The respondents’ predisposition and attitudes is further correlated with social practices associated with domestic appliances. No significant correlations were established to demonstrate that education level may influence environmental predisposition and knowledge, energy saving attitudes, habits and behaviours however, given the nature of the population sample, this is not surprising. An unanticipated outcome from the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was that household income, and to a lesser extent gender, are associated with energy saving habits and behaviours. On further investigation, household income was found to be correlated with knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions and the number of laptops and electric showers owned per household. Conversely, a relationship between individuals’ energy habits and household consumption practices was not indicated by significant correlations