Downloads
A number of publications are available on this site for you to download and read. A full list is provided on the right. All files are in .pdf format and will require Adobe Acrobat to read them.
The primary reading material is the PhD thesis by P. Boait. This thesis includes a comprehensive background to the field as well as the development of the Exergy Devices concept. The thesis is available to download or view online in .pdf format [1.4 MB].
A paper entitled "Management of Demand and Microgeneration Using a Radio Broadcast of Bulk Generation Efficiency" was presented at the 20th International Conference and Exhibition of Energy Generation. The biannual conference is organised by CIRED and was held in Prague in June 2009. This paper is also available to download or view online [0.1 MB].
Publications
Three other articles have been published in the Elsevier journal. If you have an Athens account then you can view these online by following the links. The abstracts for each paper are listed below.
A method for fully automatic operation of domestic heating
Complex, inconvenient and badly arranged push buttons and menus on domestic heating controls often cause users to enter unsuitable settings that result in impaired comfort and poor operating efficiency. This paper proposes a novel approach to the human interface of home heating systems that greatly simplifies the input required from the user. Time settings are derived automatically from electricity consumption and hot water use, also a temperature set point is provided that adapts to user activity levels and external temperature. Practical results from a prototype control system incorporating these methods are reported, showing useful energy savings. It is argued that this increased automation of control allows the benefits of low carbon technologies such as micro-combined heat and power, and solar hot water heating, to be fully exploited.
Unpublished.
Exergy-based control of electricity demand and microgeneration
As the penetration of weather-dependent embedded generation grows, the variations in apparent demand experienced by distribution network operators will become more extreme. A method for the autonomous control of domestic electricity demand and microgeneration is proposed using the established, but underdeveloped, radio teleswitch technology. The disadvantages of cost or carbon-emission based optimisation using this method are discussed and an alternative approach based on minimisation of exergy loss is described. Results obtained from a computer model demonstrate its potential contribution to the balancing of electricity supply and demand.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2006.09.001
Optimisation of consumer benefits from microCHP
Despite government targets that imply 400,000 installed microCombined Heat and Power (microCHP) units by 2010, market penetration is as yet negligible in the UK. This paper reports new experimental data to underpin decisions affecting the uptake of this technology. A simple computer model of the time distribution and use of the electricity output from microCHP, based on trials with a real installation in a UK dwelling, is coupled with a stochastic model of domestic electrical load. It predicts the proportion of output that would be consumed locally, for six household scenarios comprising three different types of house and two levels of occupation and appliance use. The results show that the proportion of microCHP electrical output exported to the electricity distribution network (up to 62%) will be higher than has been estimated by previous studies, and that this is sensitive to the thermal properties of the house and the lifestyle of the occupants. The significance of these results is examined to suggest how careful marketing and the use of half-hourly metering may be used to maximise the benefits of this technology to consumers and the environment.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.11.008