Demand Side Management And Distributed Generation For Energy Efficiency In The UK Essay.

1. Identify and explain the factors affecting energy resources availability and management and the impact of the rising energy demand.

2. Critically analyse the influence of current and new policies and regulation on energy availability and management.

3. Appraise the impact of technological advancement on the energy sector.

The Need for Energy Conservation

The Demand side management is a process that has been implemented by producers in the electrical industry to reduce the use of energy in from the end consumers (Singh, Doolla and Banerjee 2017). The World is at a dearth of energy resources and it is essential to make sure that the energy resources are not over utilized (Friedrichs 2013). The prevention of the use will keep the energy resources intact for the future generations. The sustainable use of the energy sources will pave the way for a brighter and better future (Charles Jr, Schmidheiny and Watts 2017). Such a step and idea for making sure that the energy is preserved is essential in this modern day as the huge growth in population has already lead to serious pressure on the energy resources of the world. The businesses look towards increasing sales but they also try to incorporate the practice of saving the energy so as to make sure that they contributing positively to the world environmental crisis. The various practices such as replacing the fuel woods with some advanced stoves and more such activities are part of the DSM methods. The report will focus the various areas of energy consumption and the relevant issues that are prevalent in the society. DSM strategies are a subject to many objections and rules from the authorities and their implementation has many further implications that will be discussed in the report.

The implementation strategies by various companies in the United Kingdom haven’t always lead to results that are encouraging for the company and hence it is believed that the profit is always a secondary motive when it comes to the practice of DSM strategies. It is not always seen that the DSM practices may lead to glory for an organization but it is seen that such practices may lead to better results for the entire environment in totality.

The DSR process is known as the intelligent use of the energy sources (Fell et al. 2015). The country of UK has a huge demand for energy and hence it is seen that the country at times faces situations where they cannot meet the existing needs for the electricity. It is advised that the people use the energy sources in a sustainable way. The DSR practicing does not really mean the uses are to be reduced or the uses will face any obligation. The main difference that the DSR wishes to put forward is the ideas of creating a situation where people use energy in a responsible way. The energy usage pattern is the one that is to be addressed through the DSR program. UK is a country that has a huge population and the requirement for electricity often exceeds the amount of electricity that is being produced in the country (Gruenewald and Torriti 2014). While it can be said that the production of the energy cannot be started off every time there is a dearth of energy resources hence it is advised the present energy sources should be used in a way that the energy utilized by everyone. The changes that the DSR methods suggest are like reducing the time for the refrigerators to be kept turned on in the day time. Other practices that are suggested are the reduction in the hours of keeping the AC turned on in various malls and huge stores. The reduction will lead to be subsequent saving in the energy usage pattern and hence leave a lot of energy behind to be used up by others who essentially need it. The energy intensive process can be left to be done after the rush hour is over in the city so that the place can have access to energy constantly without any drop in the voltage or the flow of electricity. The large manufacturing units can keep the power intensive process to be done in the late nights when the rest of the area consumes less energy. In this way the DSR policy wishes to maintain a balance in the energy usage pattern around the world. The DSR also has an impact on the price of the electricity. The price of the electricity is highest in the peak hours of the day and hence using less energy in those hours will lead to a substantial lowering of the cost of energy and will benefit the bulk users of electricity immensely (Torriti 2015). The DSR allows the large consumers to effectively reduce their carbon footprints so that they also enjoy the advantages of being a low carbon emitting sector of the society. Given the situation of the world energy resources it is essential that the people start using up these tools of DSR so that a responsibility towards the environment is shown from their end. The barriers that appear in the implantation of the DSR are –

• The low financial incentive for people to take it up is one of the major barriers. The people resent from taking up DSR as the amount of profit and savings that can be ensured by DSR tools are very low and people do not wish change a pattern and system for such a low cost.
• The big industries of UK have had a fixed habit of planning for their electricity and they show reluctance in shifting their habit. The companies have a team of experts that guide them in their industrial and processing consumptions. Hence it is seen that the desire to change is very low (Griffin, Hammond and Norman 2016).
• The usage pattern that is to be implemented by the DSR policies have to be monitored in order to make sure that the people find the process interesting and can see the results from the process. The lack of technology to do so further creates disinterest among people to take up DSR methods.

Demand Side Management Strategies

Distributed generation is known as the distribution of power to areas that are nearby to alternative power sources such as solar panels and batteries. These power sources take up much of the pressure from the conventional power sources and make it easier for the energy to be divided in the society. If a certain amount of pressure is taken up by the alternative power sources that fall in the category of distributed energy sources (DER) then the amount of electricity that is being used up from the mass production shall be reduced (Rao et al. 2013). The DERs allow the people to switch to a cheaper electricity service and the production is completely based on the individuals and their operation of the DER tools (Zhang, Gari and Hmurcik 2014). The solar panel, wind energy and batteries are cheaper and it makes sure that the people have access to energy all the time and can even use the excess energy to sell it to nearby households when needed. The practice will lead to the main electric grid to have a period when less pressure is put on them. The major issues with the energy system remains that there is excess dependence of too many people on a single grid line. The power grids are filled up with load from all around an area and hence it often leads to malfunctioning and power efficiency issues. The large organizations in UK must start acting to need to install the DERs so that the distributed generation is supported and the issue of power deficiency is reduced in the country. The DERs have the essential long term and short term profits that can ensure that the investment made will not go in vain for the companies.

There are various government policies that currently ensure that the distributed generation should be taken up. Some of them are-

• Zero carbon new homes-The government wishes to step forwards and delve into building a greener future for the country. In the mean process, the priority for DER generated electricity shall be highly valued and encouraged by the government (Williams 2013). The need for distributed energy is high due to the overall situation of the global environment and the energy resources.
• Support for microgeneration, CHP and renewable-The present government of UK has taken various steps to ensure that the DE tools are promoted and usage of such tools would add carbon savings (Balcombe, Rigby and Azapagic 2013). Defra’s Waste Strategy which was published in the year 2007 sets out there should be improvements in the area energy efficiency and recovery from various sources that will further boost the practice of DE in the country (Zorpas and Lasaridi 2013).

The overall rise in the global temperature has been high and Britain is a country that has involved itself and already committed a 34 percent cut in its carbon emission from the previous quarters (Fujimori et al. 2014). The reduction of the energy wastage should be checked, it is a misconception that reducing the use of energy will lead to a losing the quality of life. In daily life it is seen that the people waste enough energy to fuel a small village in the rural area that may have no access to electricity. The power grids produce a lot of energy out of which I is estimated that a third of the energy produced is being wasted and hence it leads to giving out no results to the people in terms of energy efficiency. The appliances that people use at home consume power even when it is in standby mode and so does the huge machineries that are installed in the various industries and production units of the country. It is estimated by the UK government that a 30 percent of the energy is being wasted and it can be reduced by the people and some effort from each of the individuals in the country for a better tomorrow (Kern, Kuzemko and Mitchell 2014). It is to be noted that the energy usage pattern should be checked even in the smallest unit of the society. Each house needs to stick to the idea of saving energy and then only can the approach to cut down the energy usage can be achieved in the country.

Barriers to Energy Demand Reduction

The barriers to energy demand reduction are-

• The people of the country do not adhere to the various ideas that the government is bringing to the public front. The people of the country need to understand the serious issue regarding the energy usage and the deficiency that has been in the grid power lines.
• The people are not sufficiently motivated to take up the reduction policies and hence the people do not find the aspect of reducing energy usage interesting enough. The barrier remains the mind set up that people hold for such policies are programs.
• The people need to be informed about the global scenario and enough of education has to be provide to them to make them realize the smallest of their efforts can lead to the biggest of the impacts in the environment. UK is a developed country and hence the businesses of the land have to be behaving responsibly to the rising trends in the society. They are yet in a approach of profit making and they wish to ignore the various policies of energy conservation or the demand side management. This approach has to be dropped and they should come together to enable the country achieve a suitable place in terms of the impending energy crisis in the country. The neglecting attitude and the pursuance of profits remains a big barrier for such programs to be successfully implemented in the country.

Conclusion

The demand side management is such a issue that needs to be taken up seriously by the entire population so that they are able to deliver according to the rising needs of the country. The energy resources are reducing every passing day and hence the needs for alternatives are rising. The alternatives such as the DERs should be well accepted in the society so that the best of the motives are achieved for the country. UK is a country that needs to work with the energy usage patter it has in the country. The cost of electricity is shooting up and it is becoming difficult to serve to the entire population at a regular basis without any interruptions. The electricity is a costly resource and hence such a costly resource needs to be well managed and the usage pattern should be kept in check. The government has various policies for the implementation of the DSM and the various toold of DER so that the complete dependency on the traditional electrical source is somewhat reduced. The people of the country need to come together so that they can make sure the impending crisis is dealt with in a matured way and the country keeps prospering. The people have a prejudiced thought that the change in the usage pattern of electricity will lead to a downfall in the lifestyle they have been living with. This is a wrong idea and should be dealt away with so that the people can practice the DSM and reduce their demands in terms of energy. Electricity and energy are non-renewable form of energy and hence their usage has to be regulated so that the future generations can use it. The government policies and the citizens need to work together to make sure that a common goal of energy preservation is achieved in the country.

Reference

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Friedrichs, J., 2013. The future is not what it used to be: Climate change and energy scarcity. MIT Press.

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