Acceptability of a heat deferral approach for UK residential heating: impacts from an online focus group approach

The UK’s carbon targets, as defined by the Climate Change Act of 2008, specify an emissions reduction of 80% by 2050, which in 2019 the government has revised down to ‘net zero’ carbon by 2050. In 2017, 17% (64.1 Mt CO2), of the UK’s carbon emissions were associated with non-electric use in the residential sector. The majority of these emissions are associated with natural gas space heating, cooking and domestic hot water. In order to meet UK ‘net zero’ objectives the UK will aim to decarbonise residential heat (currently through electricity and energy efficiency measures), which in combination with electric vehicles could lead to a 200-300% increase in the UK’s annual electricity demand introducing serious capacity issues for the electricity system. In the future residential electrical heating or EV charging loads may need to be remotely adjusted to better suit the capacity of the electricity network and maintain substations and feeders within their technical and regulatory limits.

Here we present the findings from an online survey with a UK energy provider’s household customers (N=4,100) and online focus group discussion (N=120) which asks whether household would approve of such a scheme and what levels of heat deferral they would be willing to accept at various times of day. The survey also gathers information on the occupier’s energy literacy levels personality traits, trust in energy companies, social demographics, thermal comfort and general dwelling information. The results were analysed with reference to these topics providing evidence describing if and how these factors influence stated acceptance of heat deferral. These results helped to identify potential pathways for future research, guiding follow-up online focus group interactions to further understand the influencing factors whilst identifying ways to enhance household acceptance. Moreover, these results could be used to inform national energy reduction policies to aid sustainable development.

energy, heat deferral, Focus groups, residential heating, heat pumps

Turner, Philip

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James, Patrick

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15 July 2022

Turner, Philip

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James, Patrick

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Turner, Philip and James, Patrick (2022) Acceptability of a heat deferral approach for UK residential heating: impacts from an online focus group approach. International Conference on Evolving Cities 2022, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom. 13 - 15 Jul 2022.