The e-vocabulary
Carbon capture
Capturing and storing the CO2 produced when we burn fossil fuels in electricity generation and other industrial processes could be the next big thing in the battle against the climate crisis. By collecting the gas, we can lock it away deep underground in cavities such as disused oil fields, preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.
Decarbonisation
In the energy sector, decarbonisation means reducing the amount of carbon produced when we generate power by replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources. It’s one method by which the UK aims to hit the targets for 2050 set out in the UK Climate Change Act – which states that emissions should be 80% down on those recorded in 1990.
Demand-side response (DSR)
DSR is about using energy intelligently. Although domestic users can benefit from lower tarrifs, it’s especially relevant for businesses, which are not only paid to help smooth out peaks in demand [see peak demand, below] by turning off anything that’s non-essential when demand on the grid is high.
Distributed generation
This covers power that’s been generated locally or on-site – think solar panels on your roof, or a single wind turbine in a factory car park – rather than a centralised power station.
EV charging
Transport accounts for 33% of all greenhouse gases in the UK. Electric vehicles (EV) offer a solution to this by eliminating the use of petrol and diesel in transport, but to support this revolution in green travel, we’ll need to develop a more robust EV charging system that can cope with the demand of an increased need for electricity in the home.
Flexible energy system
Having a more robust and flexible energy system can help Britain deliver its carbon commitments by making it easier to harness renewable power. The flexibility comes through ideas such as demand-side response, better energy storage and distributed generation.
Geothermal
This type of energy is heat that comes from deep underground, usually in the form of steam or hot water. In a power plant it is used to spin a turbine and generate electricity, but it can also be combined with a heat pump to provide domestic heating.
Heat pumps
Heat pumps are a more efficient way of moving heat, or cool air, around a home. They are a much greener way of controlling the temperature of a house than a system that relies on electricity or gas.
Hornsea Zone
The UK is a world leader when it comes to offshore wind – with more installed capacity than any other country – and this area of the North Sea is the new frontier. Made up of a series of windfarms, once completed it could produce 4% of all the UK’s power, with the Hornsea 2 array alone set to provide clean energy to up to 1.3m homes.
Kilowatt hour (kWh)
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a measure of how much power you’re using and equals the amount of energy you would use if you kept a 1,000-watt appliance running for an hour.
National Grid
This network of pylons and high-voltage power lines, which takes power to all corners of the UK, first began operating in 1933.
Peak demand
This is the maximum energy demand or load in a specified time period; it’s that classic moment when everyone puts the kettle on at half-time during a big football match.
Photovoltaic cell
A photovoltaic or PV cell is the clever part of a solar panel, a small electronic device that can convert light directly into electricity. Increasingly, photovoltaics are being included in the fabric of buildings, such as the walls and windows, to provide an additional source of energy.
Renewable energy
Renewable electricity accounted for 29.3% of electricity generated in the UK during 2017, coming from sources that are naturally replenished, such as the wind, sun or waves, as opposed to fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, which will eventually run out.
Smarter grid
The smarter grid is a digitised electricity network, using technology to make our grid more responsive. Pulling data on our domestic energy use through smart meters [below], our network can better understand, plan for and balance out peaks and troughs in demand, making sure the right amount of power goes in the right direction, at the right time, thus making it easier to integrate renewable energy sources.
Smart home
A smart home incorporates systems and sensors that give you much greater control over how much energy your home uses. For instance, you could have a fridge that automatically reduces its temperature depending on how full it is, or a heating system that you can control remotely using a smart phone. Using smart switches, connected to smart meters, we will in future be able to set our EVs to charge automatically when supply from renewables is high.
Smart meter
Smart meters are the new generation of gas and electricity meters, with an in-home display showing a user’s energy consumption in near real-time. These meters communicate directly with energy suppliers, sending automatic meter readings that help the energy network understand supply and demand, thus enabling a smarter grid.
Storage
Advances in how we store energy allow operators to use electricity when it is needed and not when it is produced. This is important when it comes to renewables as it means we can store energy when there is an excess of supply, such as when it’s very windy or sunny, and then add this energy to the grid when there is high demand.
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
This game-changing technology harnesses the potential of EVs as “batteries on wheels” by allowing you to make money by selling the power stored in EV batteries to the grid when you’re not using them – or use it to power your home.
Energy FAQs
What does the term ‘balancing the grid’ mean?
This is about managing supply and demand and is something that we are likely to hear a lot more about as the demand for electricity grows with the electrification of heat and transport. It is about efficiently integrating renewable power into the grid, rather than resorting to non-renewable sources during peak demands. Plans for a smarter grid [above] are intended to facilitate this.
In May, the UK went two weeks without burning any coal. Why was this so significant?
During May, for the first time since Queen Victoria was on the throne, the UK went two weeks without burning a single piece of coal to meet its energy needs. Grid operators were able to use a mix of natural gas and renewable sources to meet all our energy needs, leading to a significant reduction in CO2 emissions.
So is natural gas a green energy?
It is greener than dirty fuels such as coal, but it does still lead to CO2 emissions. During the first historic week in May, it made up 46% of the energy mix.
What’s the situation with nuclear power – can it really be considered part of the sustainable energy mix?
Some people argue that because nuclear energy doesn’t use fossil fuels directly, it can be classed as a low-carbon and sustainable form of energy. However, not everyone agrees. Carbon emissions are produced during the mining and processing of the nuclear fuel, for instance, and controversy still surrounds the safe disposal of nuclear waste.
As a bill payer, will renewable energy cost me more?
While it used to be true that the greener your energy bill, the more you would pay, today it’s a question of shopping around for the best tariffs, with some purely green deals actually cheaper than conventional ones. In fact, if we all had smart meters, energy suppliers could develop even more innovative tariffs. In Texas, for example, suppliers have been known to dole out free energy when the wind is blowing too much and they have an oversupply of electricity.
We all want to make big changes to help our planet, but sometimes to make big changes, we have to start small. Smart meters can’t solve the climate crisis on their own but with the smarter, more energy efficient grid they help to create, they’re a start. To find out more about installing a smart meter in your home, search “I want a smart meter” or call 0300 131 8000*.
This article was paid for by Smart Energy GB, a government-backed organisation tasked with informing Great Britain about the smart meter rollout.
* Eligibility may vary. Available in England, Scotland and Wales by 2020. Calls to this number from UK landlines and mobiles are charged at the standard rate (i.e. the same as calls to 01 and 02 numbers), and may be included in your usual call allowance. Please check with your provider.
