The Trilemma of Electricity Users
2015
Ilze Laicāne

Defending
02.07.2015. 14:00, Rīgas Tehniskās universitātes Enerģētikas un elektrotehnikas fakultātē, Rīgā, Āzenes ielā 12/1 115. auditorijā.

Supervisor
Dagnija Blumberga, Andra Blumberga

Reviewers
Ivars Veidenbergs, Ritvars Sudārs, Irrek Wolfgang

In the recent years electricity consumption in the household sector has significantly increased leading to global environmental problems – climate change, increase of the CO2 emissions, etc. environmental problems. Electricity consumption in the household sector constitutes 28 – 30% of total final electricity consumption. Household sector accounts for 27 – 28% of total final electricity consumption in Latvia, resulting in 7% of the total GHG emissions. Sustainable electricity consumption and promotion of energy efficiency is one of the main principles of energy and climate policy in Europe and in Latvia. The European Union's objectives envisage to increase energy efficiency by 20% by 2020 in comparison to 1990 levels. It has been estimated that the household sector has a great reduction potential. Various studies suggest that the largest benefits can be achieved through implementation of various energy efficiency measures, the increase of the level of awareness and behavior change, therefore promoting practice of efficient use of energy. To implement the „20-20-20” targets, a great emphasis is placed on involving each end user in promotion of end-use efficiency. Consumer involvement can be promoted through implementation of energy management system (i.e., Demand management system – DSM), which is based on various consumption monitoring programms and smart metering systems. The aim of Doctoral Thesis is to develop and approve methods for analysis of households’ electricity consumption data. The evaluation of energy efficiency improvements in the context of electricity consumption reduction, climate change reduction and cost reduction is also the goal of this research. The data analysis is based on the preconditions for the implementation of DSM in households. To achieve these aims, the corresponding laws or regulations have been analyzed, the evaluation of the existing situation has been performed, various data analysis methods have been examined (correlation and regression analysis and Markov chain method), the factors affecting electricity consumption have been determined, the household behavior aspects have been investigated, household electricity consumption profiles have been developed and analyzed, the benchmarks for household sector have been set, the energy efficiency modeling has been performed, as well as the evaluation of consumption and CO2 emission reduction have been carried out. The research is based on the case study analysis and approbation of models within the JSC „Latvenergo” pilot project „Promotion of energy efficiency in households using smart technologies”. The results of Doctoral Thesis can be of interest to different target groups at different levels: policy makers, electricity supply companies, households, scientific level. The research approach that is examined within this Thesis provides an insight into the analysis of household electricity consumption and energy efficiency improvement modeling. This approach provides insight into the electricity consumption sector, which serves as the basis for the development and implementation of DSM for households. The results of the modeling can be used to promote various programs for implementing energy efficiency policy instruments for households. The developed analytical models can be used to predict electricity consumption changes in the sector and to establish new consumption reduction and energy efficiency targets for the sector. The results and proposals of the Thesis can serve as a basis for further scientific studies into household electricity consumption and energy efficiency area.


Keywords
Elektroenerģijas patēriņš, energoefektivitāte,CO2 emisiju samaināšana, energopārvaldības sistēmas, viedās sistēmas, viedie skaitītāji, regresijas analīze, Markova ķēde, elektroenerģijas patēriņa modelēšana

Laicāne, Ilze. The Trilemma of Electricity Users. PhD Thesis. Rīga: [RTU], 2015. 183 p.

Publication language
Latvian (lv)
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