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Portrait Katinka Johansen. Photo: Emma Lord.

Katinka Johansen

Postdoctoral fellow

Portrait Katinka Johansen. Photo: Emma Lord.

A niche technique overlooked in the Danish district heating sector? Exploring socio-technical perspectives of short-term thermal energy storage for building energy flexibility

Author

  • Katinka Johansen
  • Hicham Johra

Summary, in English

This research explores socio-technical perspectives of the demand-side management strategy of using the built environment for short term thermal energy storage. Here conceptualised as a niche innovation within the Danish socio-technical district heating landscapes, the research explores potentials and limitations of this building energy flexibility strategy from the perspective of district heating sector professionals, actors at the centre of the low-carbon energy transitions. Results of the mixed-methods abductive research enquiry suggest that this energy flexibility strategy facilitates (I) solving local network congestion challenges in smaller parts of existing networks and (II) reduces needed network capacity in new heat supply areas. Sector professionals assess this (III) energy flexibility strategy as most practicable in large-scale/commercial buildings and industries. Challenges include hardware balancing, service and maintenance, and the sometimes counterproductive incentive structures among stakeholders involved. Research evidence suggests that business models appealing to environmental values and priorities may incentivise sustainable heat-use behaviours more than economic benefit alone among some groups of end users. Building energy flexibility and demand-side management strategies may become integral to future ‘smart’ energy systems throughout the world. However, their successful implementation necessitates understanding the local socio-technical dynamics involved. Multidisciplinary research approaches as the one taken here facilitate these necessary insights.

Department/s

  • Department of Sociology

Publishing year

2022

Language

English

Publication/Series

Energy

Volume

256

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Energy Systems

Keywords

  • Demand-side management
  • District heating
  • Energy flexibility
  • Energy transition
  • Innovation
  • Socio-technical

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0360-5442