How would a carbon flexing service work in practice and how would it be experienced by tenants, landlords and system operators?
SOCIALLY-INCLUSIVE CARBON FLEX - LONDON PILOT - TRELLICK TOWER
Research indicates that aligning flexible energy uses with periods of lowest grid carbon intensity (carbon flexing) can produce immediate carbon savings, without requiring additional network spending. In the UK’s first carbon flexing trial, we set out to test our previous 24/7 CFE London modelling results in the real world, with a London borough and social housing tenants.
Who was involved?
Energy Unlocked partnered with Connected Response, PeerCo, UK Power Networks (UKPN) and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to design and deliver a real-world carbon flexing pilot, in March-May 2024.
What did we do?
We used smart controls and a specially designed CarbonFlex Service Design methodology to remotely manage electric storage heating and hot water demand in a sample group of flats in RBKC’s West London housing block, Trellick Tower. We also compared the CarbonFlex signals with local UKPN demand flexibility calls to assess alignment.
How did we engage with and support participants?
We engaged with with residents - mostly social tenants - who agreed to have their charging schedules optimised for carbon avoidance over a two-week period, within pre-agreed temperature and service boundaries. A telephone helpline, onsite support and face-to-face onboarding and debriefing events were also provided. Participants received a £50 supermarket voucher as a thank you for completing a feedback survey at the end of the trial.
How much carbon was saved?
15% carbon savings were achieved during the trial, hitting the top end of estimated savings. If appraised at the Green Book recommended carbon value (May 2024), the annual Trellick Tower-wide estimated savings would be worth £7,500. If scaled to the 80,000 social housing flats within UKPN’s area, carbon savings would be 10,000 tonnes annually, worth an appraised carbon value of £2.68 million.
How did participants experience carbon flexing?
Participants provided generally positive feedback, reporting little to no impact on their heating or hot water experience. This was as expected, since the CarbonFlex signals impacted heating and hot water charging times - and therefore grid demand - rather than use. Participants and RBKC also noted further benefits such as social cohesion through working as a community.
How did the signals interact with grid actions?
There were no major conflicts with local demand flexibility calls. A comparison of the CarbonFlex service signals with UKPN system data showed that trial turn-down times were aligned with peak times. This could be valuable to a system operator in a grid-constrained area.
FLEXING HEATING AND HOT WATER CHARGING USING SMART CONTROLS
Connected Response has been working with RBKC in Trellick Tower since 2020, to reduce carbon emissions and improve comfort levels and efficiency. Smart controls and had been installed but not yet used dynamically.
PeerCo designed a CarbonFlex service using grid carbon intensity data and predictions. Connected Response used the smart controls to activate the CarbonFlex signals, while monitoring flat temperature.
Energy Unlocked advised on pilot design and analysed energy policy, social inclusivity and grid implications.
Source: Connected Response
A CLOSER LOOK AT CUMULATIVE CARBON SAVINGS
15% savings across 24 participating flats amounts to 20kg CO2e cumulative savings.
Scaled to all 217 flats in Trellick Tower would achieve 28 tonnes annual savings, with more possible with an improved future service design.
Flexing the 24 flats in the pilot all year round could save 3.1 tonnes, worth £831 annually (Green Book value), not including savings from flexible retail tariffs.
Source: PeerCo
FURTHER INSIGHTS FROM PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
Source: Energy Unlocked
Cost savings were a priority for all participants but by no means the only motivating factor. Working together as a community, protecting the environment and the ability to customise services to their needs were also important.
Some participants were interested in pooling future savings into a hardship fund, to help neighbours struggling with bills.
Most participants did not notice any change in heating or hot water service.
Two participants reported feeling colder, though ambient flat temperature had not changed, compared with the weeks before the pilot. Two others ran out of hot water and had to press ‘boost’ or wait a few hours. These issues could be resolved by tweaking the service design.
All said they would want to participate in a follow up study.
The success of the pilot indicates that, by accurately pairing flexible demand with renewable energy in local grid areas, tenants and landlords could be rewarded for carbon savings alongside grid management services, without any effort on their part.
Such schemes could work, for example, in conjunction with 24/7 Carbon-free Energy targets for cities and local authorities, or carbon-matched Power Purchase Agreements.
The project did, however, confirm that there remain structural barriers to flexibility markets for low income and vulnerable households and local authority landlords. Retail market value flows are a particular challenge, especially for tenants paying for heat with rent.
Scaling up the pilot to the next phase could help the UK reach its goal of power decarbonisation by 2030, through a better understanding of:
How networks can best support participation of all energy users in flexibility opportunities.
What signals - alongside price - can align optimisation for environmental and social outcomes with the value flows in the energy market ('value stacking').
How to integrate the built environment stakeholder needs with grid decarbonisation needs. The two discussions often happen separately and stakeholders speak different languages.
CONCLUSIONS FROM THE PILOT
The pilot was a Discovery stage project, funded by energy network users and consumers through the Strategic Innovation Fund Round 3, a programme from the UK’s independent energy regulator Ofgem managed in partnership with Innovate UK.
Would you like to be involved in the next stage of the project? We are now engaging with energy retailers, local authorities and potential funders to co-design socially-inclusive CarbonFlex value propositions and pilot the CarbonFlex service design on a much larger scale. Contact us to find out more.
NEXT STEPS FOR CARBON FLEX
