The joys of energy
As part of Energy Futures Lab‘s daytime seminar series Dr Philipp Grunewald of the University of Oxford discusses the value of energy to people.
Abstract
Much attention focuses on the economic and environmental *cost* energy use. In this seminar we will explore instead how *valuable* energy is to people.
A healthy appreciation of the benefits of energy use may help us understand why some demand reduction approaches fail to deliver, while seemingly benign interventions can have dramatic impacts. High resolution data from hundreds of UK households shine a light on the diversity of electricity uses, the activity patterns underlying them and the enjoyment perceived at the time. We also present how households respond to interventions.
For new business models and demand response initiatives to have the desired effect, understanding the changing value of energy in time could itself have great value for the wider system.
Biography
Dr Philipp Grunewald, FICE, leads the Energy Flexibility Theme at the Environmental Change Institute, and is Deputy Director of Energy Research at the University of Oxford. He holds an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Fellowship and is PI of the METER project on the understanding of household electricity use dynamics.
He was part of the second cohort of Energy Futures Lab’s MSc in Sustainable Energy Futures students in 2008. His PhD at Imperial explored the future role of electricity storage in low carbon energy systems.
Since 2013 he has worked at Oxford on the integration of renewables through storage and demand response. He is an engineer by background. Phil obtained his first degree in Business Engineering from Wedel, Germany. For 10 years Phil worked on advanced laser processes for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industry.
Venue
The talk will be held in Room 611 of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (building 16 On the campus map). The room is known as the Gabor Suite.
If you are entering the building from Dalby Court/through the building’s main entrance take the lift to the sixth floor, turn right through the double doors and it is near the end on your left hand side.