Project Summary
SHIELD addresses Challenge 1: Supporting a just energy transition. Covid-19 pandemic and the 'cost of living crises has exacerbated consumer vulnerability recently, with implications for driving a fair net zero transition. This requires decarbonisation approaches that embed a range of consumer needs at the core of new product and service development. SHIELD replaces existing heating solutions with innovative low carbon heating solutions in conjunction with novel energy generation and storage technologies that will balance demand and supply so that heat becomes affordable and scalable. In addition, SHIELD better identifies and understands vulnerable and low-income households needs to enable better adoption of low carbon technologies for heat and energy generation.
SHIELD requires strong network innovation as it brings multiple parties together to collaborate to embed new technologies, systems, and business models. The deployment of LCTs and onsite generation impacts the network and their assets and often requires work to be completed by the DNOs which can be costly and/or time consuming. SHIELD develops an innovative business model that enables affordable scalability given stakeholder capacity constraints. Existing stakeholder capacity constraints, addressed by this model, that hinder scalability include: i) funds for initial capital costs (ii) time and energy (iii) risk appetite (iv) trust in third party solutions (v) network capacity investment timelines.
This project includes a wide range of project partners to support the successful delivery of discovery phase:
- UK Power Networks: Owns and maintains the electricity network, from substations to cables and overhead lines that are required for the installation of low carbon technologies
- Essex County Council: Have a duty of care and understanding of their residents needs
- Power Circle Projects Limited: They are a social enterprise dedicated to supporting social housing providers, private house owners, communities
- Citizens Advice Essex: Expertise and engagement with vulnerable customers on their needs relating to energy and heat
- Eastlight Community Homes Limited: Experience working with communities to create affordable homes and great neighbourhoods
- UK Community Works: Experience supporting activities that help to build stronger, more cohesive local communities
- Thermify Holdings Limited: Technology Provider for distributed data centres
- Kensa Contracting Ltd: Technology Provider for ground source heat pump systems
Key innovation users are:
- Households and consumers, initial focus on social tenants requiring affordable solutions to decarbonising their homes;
- Registered Social Landlords who need innovative affordable solutions to decarbonising their stock
- Communities that need access to solutions that address the need for affordable decarbonisation of their residents.
Innovation Justification
Decarbonisation is costly with upfront capital, and not everyone is an owner of the property where they live. SHIELD is designed to support and initiate decarbonisation of mobility and heat for vulnerable customers, who are usually less likely to have access, and are more likely to be digitally excluded which complicates their transition.
SHIELD will apply new whole system thinking to converge existing technologies with innovative heat and energy generation technologies that balance their generation so that, heat becomes affordable, inclusive, scalable, and sustainable. Innovative business models and mechanisms as well as strong cross-industry collaboration will need to be designed to enable vulnerable customers to take up these solutions. This is currently complex, un-tested and risky for consumers at scale. Two examples of potential new technologies SHIELD will deploy to decarbonise heat and reduce energy costs are:
- Distributed Data Centre - Thermify, will provide safe and secure distributed data centres in homes to generate heat at low cost, since heat is a by-product and data services are the primary source of revenue. SHIELD will demonstrate the efficiency from applying Thermify's solution in individual houses and the integration of Thermify with heat pump systems in blocks of flats.
- Rooftop wind -- Rooftop wind energy has been avoided because of noise and vibration concerns, however new wind technologies have been identified which address these concerns. Energy from wind generation is well matched to electric heat load, so can effectively reduce energy costs.
Related projects that we will apply learnings from: CommuniHeat - this NIA project established a cost-effective way to deliver rural low carbon heat, through a community-led planned approach. Unlike CommuniHeat, SHIELD is focused on designing propositions for vulnerable consumers specifically and will be responsible for testing and installation these solutions directly with consumers in collaboration with industry and the community.
The main counterfactual for delivering net zero heat is ground or air source heat pump provision. In isolation, such provision can be expected both to add to householder bills and to add to electricity network pressures when replacing a non-electric heating solution.
SHIELD cannot be funded elsewhere within the price control or considered as part of business-as-usual activities given the complexity and risk in approach, integration of technologies and business model. Therefore, the SIF provides the right approach, funding, and ecosystem for the project to develop in an agile way.
Project Benefits
Cost savings per annum on energy bills for consumers
Metrics: Projected £/year energy bills for households: with and without SHIELD
Outputs and assumptions: SHIELD will provide end consumers with lower energy bills due to reduced energy consumption against households with low carbon heating solutions without any other complimentary technology. Electricity consumption of data centres is paid by Thermify.(a) Heating. Indicative Saving per home: £752 or 56%. Calculation: Indicative annual cost for heat and hot water with SHIELD: £600. Without SHIELD: In a gas area: average gas consumption 13124 (Ofgem average gas consumption for SE England) x 10.3p (gas price) = £1352. Saving: £752 or 56%.(b) PV and Battery. Indicative saving: £439 or 37% Calculation: from data from a current social landlord study
Carbon reduction
Metrics: Tonnes CO2e saved per annum with and without SHIELD
Outputs and assumptions: Savings at household level via onsite clean energy generation and savings at network level by battery storage enabling household demand to shift to when there is less grid carbon intensity.
Indicative quantitative measurement:(a) PV and battery: 1.74 CO2e tonnes/year saved per home (Based on a social landlord project). CO2e tonnes/year saved per home calculated by multiplying saving in energy consumption multiplied by the emissions factor of the energy used.(b) Thermify distributed data centre 75% reduction in emissions compared with centralised data centre. Thermify's solution does not require cooling equipment lowering the electricity consumption of the data centre. CO2e tonnes/year saved per home calculated by multiplying saving in energy consumption multiplied by the emissions factor of the energy used.
Improved access to revenues for users of network services
Metrics: £/year revenue to the project
Outputs and assumptions: - The social ESCo model allows for users to benefit from grid services revenues These are revenues from system operators paid to grid services providers and which, under the social ESCo model, provides benefit for users. Indicative quantitative measurement. £257 per home per year comprising £145 per home per year from grid services and £112 from enhanced income from export.
New to market
Metrics. £/year revenue per home. This is revenue to Thermify for heating and hot water.
Outputs and assumptions: New distributed data centre services will be deployed.
Non-financial benefits:
SHIELD will enable vulnerable and low-income households to adopt LCTs.
Metrics: Number of consumers that form part of the SHIELD trials.
Timeline to achieve all target outputs: Following deployment in Alpha/Beta.
