Fabric integrated thermal storage: unlocking local energy systems

Following successful reduction in emissions intensity in the power sector, the decarbonisation of heat provision is seen as the next big challenge in the decarbonisation pathways of North-West European countries. There are a number of options which reduce reliance on fossil fuel sources, including electrification, use of biofuels/hydrogen, local heat networks involving low-carbon generation and fuels, thermal storage and a wide variety of other established and immature technologies. However, each of these options, when examined at a local level, entails substantial alteration to local networks, from entirely new infrastructure and major reinforcement of existing assets, through to options with self-sufficiency and implied stranded assets.

Fabric-integrated thermal storage provides a cost-effective mechanism towards offsetting these capital-intensive investments, providing increased energy security and a more consistent heat profile to house occupants. Using a detailed bottom-up model incorporating the thermal properties of housing stock, combined with simulated occupancy profiles based on national survey data, we construct a variety of futures for a set of present-day exemplar UK locations (representing urban, suburban and rural cases). We compare the infrastructure implications of each trajectory, and the implied impacts on existing and new actors in terms of projected cash flows. We then incorporate distributed thermal storage systems to illustrate novel local energy concepts which unlocks many of the touted benefits of Energy Systems Integration within the context of alternative heat sources.