ICEPT Working Paper

Energy efficiency is likely to influence the characteristics and magnitude of residential energy demand in the future. In particular, improved thermal insulation, patterns of appliance ownership, and turnover of housing stock will change the residential energy landscape. The economics of residential micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP) a technology to provide heat and some electricity to individual residential dwellings are generally highly dependent on the magnitude of residential energy demand. Particularly dwellings with larger and more consistent thermal consumption perform well and also achieve substantial greenhouse gas emissions savings. This creates a tension between desirable demand-side energy efficiency and supply-side energy conversion efficiency, which both serve to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the sector. This tension exists because reduction in energy demand may discourage investment in efficient supply side technology. This paper examines the changes in economic and environmental parameters that are likely to occur for three micro-CHP technologies under scenarios for future residential energy use in the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on comparison of fuel cell based systems with their combustion based system counterparts. A variety of UK residential dwelling types and associated energy demand profiles are considered in this context.