The recovery and re-use of low-grade waste heat and effective utilisation of renewable resources for heat and power provision are essential components of a sustainable energy future. In the UK, for example, natural gas consumption for heating purposes is double that of electricity, while in the domestic sector the demand for heat is currently somewhere between 3 and 5 times that of electricity. Nevertheless, the energy debate focuses mainly on the latter. The availability of most alternative energy sources (e.g., solar, wind) exhibits significant fluctuations (caused by day-night cycles, weather, etc.), while the consumption also fluctuates considerably, according to users’ needs. The resulting mismatch between renewable energy supply and demand gives rise to a need for reliable and efficient energy storage systems to smooth out the imbalance. A disparity between supply and demand is also an important factor that arises when considering the opportunities for low-grade waste heat utilisation, which is abundantly available in the industrial and commercial sectors. A similar problem occurs in the domestic environment, especially when considering ‘over the fence’ solutions which offer an improved performance, both from an investment and an emission reduction perspective, over the self-contained re-use and/or conversion of heat within individual plants.
The research activities conducted by the Energy Division are:
- Waste heat recovery and thermodynamic conversion
- Solar heating, cooling and power
- High-temperature high-efficiency hybrid PV-thermal solar systems
- Low-carbon heating technologies
- Large-scale electricity storage
- Thermal energy storage
Energy Division Content
- 1. Waste heat recovery and thermodynamic conversion
- 2. Solar heating, cooling and power
- 3. High-performance hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) solar collectors and systems
- 4. Low-carbon heating technologies
- 5. Large-scale electricity storage
- 6. Thermal energy storage
Highlights
- Members of the CEP laboratory developed an open-access library consisting of extensive price and performance data of commercially available technologies for low-carbon energy systems on the UK market, including domestic and commercial applications. Download the library here.
- Dr. Huang et al. et al published a new study ‘Efficiency limits of concentrating spectral-splitting hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) solar collectors and systems’ in Light: Science & Applications in 2021. Download the article here.
- Olympios et al. published a review paper: "Progress and prospects of thermo-mechanical energy storage—a critical review' in Progress in Energy in 2021. Download the aritcle here.
- Dr. Sapin published a research highlight blog explaining how Project 2 of the Integrated Development of Low-carbon Energy Systems (IDLES) programme is building a collection of comprehensive thermodynamic and costing models for energy technologies to determine the role they might play in an integrated future energy system.
- Dr. Ing. Constanze Bongs and Axel Oliva from Fraunhofer ISE, Group Building Systems Technology visited the CEP group on 8 May 2017 and gave the Seminar “The German Fraunhofer Society and it´s pathway to energy efficient buildings “.
- Dr Alba Ramos et al published a briefing paper with the Grantham Institute: 'Solar-Thermal and Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Systems for Renewable Heating', Grantham Institute Briefing paper No 22, 2017. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10473.29280. Download the article here.
- The paper “A Framework for the Analysis of Thermal Losses in Reciprocating Compressors and Expanders” by Richard Mathie, Christos N. Markides and Alexander J. White is now the 8th all-time most downloaded paper published in journal Heat Transfer Engineering.
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On 12 October 2016, Michel De Paepe Professor of Thermodynamics & Heat Transfer in the Department of Flow, Heat and Combustion Mechanics of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at Ghent University visited the CEP group and gave a semirar "Waste heat recovery by ORC technology: How to make it happen".