Avoiding “eco-bling” is a No. 1 priority for Neil Clapperton, Chief Executive of the Grampian Housing Association (GHA). To tackle energy poverty in a cost-effective manner, it’s time to get radical with technologies that address core problems in the current energy system - namely, boosting energy efficiency and then meeting remaining energy demand.
Holding responsibility for energy services to 3 600 social housing units in North-East Scotland, Clapperton is ready for radicalisation, to step away from the outdated systems that poorly reflect current consumer needs and damage the planet. GHA, established in 1975, has witnessed a vast change in demographics throughout its 40 years in the sector. Ready to ditch ‘business-as-usual’, GHA is already paving the way for energy solutions more fitting for the realities of social housing residents in 2019.
Initially, GHA’s role was primarily about the traditional provision of homes; there were relatively few tenancy issues. Today, says Clapperton, “We are housing more people who require that extra level of support to sustain their tenancies, many of whom have challenging financial circumstances – and within that, whatever the reasons, energy poverty has become much more of an issue.”
Providing energy solutions to both rural and urban households is paramount for GHA. Energy poverty affects 25% of households in Scotland, with 7% of total Scottish households in extreme energy poverty.[1] Rural households are largely dependent on expensive forms of heating; 65% of rural dwellings are not connected to gas grids.[2]
GHA’s strong preference is to find affordable energy solutions that encourage the transition away from gas and its associated harmful environmental effects; unfortunately, the reality is that gas is currently the cheapest option.
“This is the energy paradox we can expect to see more of in the future,” says Clapperton. “In the midst of a climate change emergency, we have to think out of the box and we have to be quite radical about how we address that and keep tenants warm.”
A radical suite of technologies
Recently, GHA has adopted four technologies that Clapperton sees as supporting that goal by combining ways to generate energy and make it available on demand: solar PV, power batteries, ground-source heat pumps and heat batteries.
Solar PV
Solar panels convert energy from the sun into electricity; their modular nature makes the technology easy to deploy on small scales (ideal for housing).[3] With 500 solar panels (4 kW each) installed across its holdings, GHA currently has 2 000 kW of capacity – the approximate size of a small wind turbine.
GHA holding equipped with solar PV. Photo: Grampian Housing Association
GHA aims to make solar PV universal across all its households and to aggregate generation. This will result in a virtual power station (similar to solar generation models) through which it can sell low-cost electricity directly to tenants, reducing the level of energy poverty currently experienced.
Solar PV’s primary limitation is the need to use the electricity generated in real time. With winter delivering shorter days and more hours of darkness, solar PV may seem an unlikely step forward in North-East Scotland. Ergo, the next tool in the GHA ‘suite’ of solutions.
Power batteries
Power batteries store energy in the form of chemicals – and can be connected directly to rooftop solar panels. With the flip of a switch, tenants (or homeowners) can prompt the battery to convert energy captured during into electricity to run lights, appliances and electric heating devices.
GHA is in the early phases of piloting the Tesla Power Wall, a lithium-based battery. When combined with solar, these are 100% self-powered. In the event of a power outage, they can deliver 7+ days continuous electricity (depending on the household’s actual usage).[4] As most GHA tenants are out working during the day, the power batteries offer a reliable mechanism for capture and release of clean energy.
Experimenting with the Tesla Power Wall battery. From left: Jamie Di Sotto (AES Solar), Neil Clapperton (GHA), Kevin Stewart (MSP Housing Minister), and Chris Hunt (GHA). Photo: Grampian Housing Association
Ground-source heat pumps
Heat pumps go underground to tap into naturally occurring differences in temperatures between the air and the ground. Via network of pipes, the technology effectively exchanges cool and hot air to achieve thermal comfort inside the home. In the winter, the pipes send cool air underground, thereby pushing up warm air. In summer, the process is reversed: hot air is sent downward for cooling.[5] Unlike solar panels, heat pumps generally operate without intermittency issues, offering an efficient heating/cooling system that can be used all year round.
To date, GHA has installed heat pumps at 400 of its households with positive results.
Heat batteries
Something of a cross between a hand-warmer and a power battery, heat batteries also use chemicals to store energy. In this case, the use of phase-change materials to allow heat to be stored between a liquid and a solid.[6]
Heat batteries, whether for home or commercial use, have the advantages of being compact and cost-effective. Somewhat surprisingly, they have a life cycle of ~50 years with average use (which is greater than the average lifespan of a coal plant[7]).
GHA is experimenting with the innovative heat batteries created by East Lothian-based Sunamp.
From energy provider to energy producer
With tackling energy poverty now high on its agenda, GHA seeks to be more than a traditional landlord. In fact, the technology solutions described above offer a platform for GHA to negotiate with other suppliers and deliver multiple ‘wins’ for all involved. The solar energy companies partnering with GHA can make money from buying and selling of electricity and can also use the batteries provided by GHA as storage for intermittent power. In turn, the GHA negotiates delivery of low-cost electricity to its tenants.
Clapperton explains the concept: “This suite of technologies makes it possible for people to buy electricity at 2 or 3am, when it costs virtually nothing – let’s say a couple of pence (€0.03) per kilowatt hour – and store it for when they need it during the day. Whatever tenants don’t use of what was purchased at the cheap rate, GHA can sell back to the grid at 20 pence (€0.23).”
Is this the beginning of something radical – as in decentralisation and democratisation within a traditionally centralised national energy system?
Local ownership of energy generation will play a pivotal role in the future of Scottish energy, according to GHA. But it faces a key obstacle: the rigidity of the system, currently fore fronted by the UK’s ‘Big Six’ energy providers (British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, Scottish Power, and SSE), deters many households from taking up both energy generation and energy efficient technologies.
Whether this is radical – actually just rational – is open to debate.
“Before the national grid, there was locally-owned generation, which meant more flexibility around who used the power and how it was distributed,” says Clapperton.
Energy democratisation has the potential to benefit both communities and businesses. While many efforts from organisations across Scotland have begun creating or implementing technology that enables this, GHA are leading the way in integrating many of the elements necessary to achieve efficient, effective energy democratisation. Perceptions of risk have sometimes undermined the success of prior GHA energy democratisation projects, but times are changing.
“As the association and the sector have become more used to the idea of energy generation and renewables as part of the mix, I think it will get increasingly easier to deliver innovative projects around energy,” says Clapperton.
Additionally, innovation in the industry is becoming increasingly omni-present, promising huge future potential for a variety of stakeholders.
Seeing the need to adapt to changing circumstances, GHA is taking calculated risks to change its mode of operation. In doing so, we bear witness to the return of energy democratisation as the self-organisation of communities around their individual energy needs becomes possible. After decades of disempowerment as energy generation and distribution became concentrated under the control of big corporations, the radical – yet also rational – move is enabling local energy democracy once again.
Neil Clapperton, Chief Executive of Grampian Housing Association. Photo: Grampian Housing Association
Neil Clapperton has been Chief Executive of Grampian Housing Association for over six years and joined the Association in 2005 as Director of Housing and Property Services. Neil’s ambition is to see the Grampian group provide a sustainable housing solution for the North East. He encourages pro-active thinking across the political spectrum on the importance of affordable housing and tenancy sustainment services to a range of client groups, employers, commerce and public services in support of the economy.
Post by Sophie Ranson, EnAct
[1] Scottish House Condition Survey Team (2018) Scottish House Condition Survey: 2017 Key Findings. Available at: www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-house-condition-survey-2017-key-findings/.
[2] Scottish House Condition Survey Team (2018) Scottish House Condition Survey: 2017 Key Findings. Available at: www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-house-condition-survey-2017-key-findings/.
[3] IEA (2019) Solar. Available at: https://www.iea.org/topics/renewables/solar/
[4] Tesla (2019) Powerwall. Available at: www.tesla.com/en_GB/powerwall?redirect=no
[5] Energy Saving Trust (2019) Ground Source Heat Pumps. Available at: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-energy/heat/ground-source-heat-pumps
[6] SunAmp (2019) Available at: www.sunamp.com/
[7] Todd, W. (2019) Most coal-fired power plants in the US are nearing retirement age, Quartz. Available at: https://qz.com/61423/coal-fired-power-plants-near-retirement/