motivation
“Meeting the needs of the present whilst maintaining the resources required for future generations”.
This definition of sustainability applies to all aspects of human life, from the space we live in to the land we use for agriculture, and most pertinently the land we manipulate to our energy needs. There is a pressing need for mankind to address its common sustainable behaviours and methodologies, to migrate away from the conventional fossil fuels to replenishing renewable energy which may be used for generations to come, and without the topically associated pollutant emissions. The acceleration of these emissions in recent years has motivated legislation such as the Kyoto Protocol mandating all participants minimise greenhouse gas emissions and seek "cleaner" alternatives to meeting their energy demand. This has led to a dramatic increase in the spread of renewable energy generation over the last few decades, and particularly small scale distributed generation taking advantage of local government financial incentives improving the financial feasibility of fossil fuel conversion. The rapid growth of this area means that an understanding of its optimal utilisation is still fairly immature, and scoping studies such as our own are required to provide insight and communicate progressive lessons for more effective use.
aims & objectives
- To complete an accurate sizing methodology for integrated biomass-solar thermal district heating schemes
- To develop a conceptual control scheme to maximise solar thermal contributions in the interest of sustainability
- To provide a retrospective feasibility analysis of a current system, examining key environmental and financial parameters
key deliverables
- Solar Calculator to provide the common consumer a professional representation of accurately sizing solar thermal panels specific to their regional solar output, and provide calculations of financial feasibility based on equivalent projected RHI returns.
- Conceptual biomass-solar thermal control scheme to maximise solar thermal gains in the combined relationship with biomass heat.
- Solar thermal forecaster to enable either manual users to input local weather forecast data and project periodic solar thermal gains, or intelligently interface with control schemes and perhaps orchestrate some form of demand management.
- Transportation emissions tool to show the carbon footprint involved in transporting biomass, enabling an "eyes wide open" approach to the extensive use of biomass and its actual sustainability credentials.