AI project to empower households to help the drive to Net Zero

A pioneering two-year project is aiming to help households make better energy-related decisions.

The "AI: Justice, Energy, Demand flexibility and AI for Sustainability" (JED-AI) project will look at how different factors, households and communities all affect household participation in energy demand flexibility.

Green energy

It will also investigate how households use Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs) and take part in demand energy flexibility services (DFS), such as shifting time of use of energy-intensive activities when renewable generation is high and energy tariffs are low. DFS help balance demand and supply in the electricity network and encourage green energy use and limit energy generation from fossil fuels.

LCTs, including solar panels, electric vehicles, heat pumps, smart energy efficient appliances and AI-driven energy management solutions, are a key part of the transition to Net Zero. The slow pace of adoption is due to difficulties in devising LCTs that integrate into day-to-day household routines and households not using the technologies as intended.

The JED-AI project will integrate AI and social science analyses to generate more just and sustainable interventions in energy demand flexibility. Researchers will also monitor and evaluate both interdisciplinary processes and energy, justice and sustainability outcomes. It is hoped it will generate new understandings of and methods for interdisciplinarity along with insights into the development of AI for the transition to Net Zero.

Breakthrough projects

Co-led by Professors Vladimir Stankovic and Lina Stankovic from Electronic & Electrical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde, it is among 36 breakthrough interdisciplinary projects to receive a share of funding. The team, coordinated by Strathclyde, includes the University of Oxford and the University of East Anglia, as well as the Energy Systems Catapult and Hugo Technologies Limited.

The project is a result of cross-disciplinary co-creation, spanning more than a decade between the engineering team at Strathclyde and social science teams at University of Oxford and University of East Anglia, including joint research and student training as part of the European Commission MSCA ITN GECKO project.

Professor Lina Stankovic said, "Our research will investigate how to empower households, from those already having one or more LCTs, to those struggling to pay energy bills, to change how and when they use energy."

"A previous UK-wide DFS trial run by the National Grid showed an increasing divide in household smart energy capabilities across income, age, and home ownership groups, to adapt quickly to LCTs.

"While many householders benefitted from shifting their energy use to a lower tariff on short notice, people living with health conditions, those with financial stress, and smaller or larger than average households were less able to participate."

Inclusive approach

Professor Vladimir Stankovic added, "We are developing an inclusive approach to strengthening households' capabilities to take part in existing and emerging demand flexibility services.

"The research is exciting as it challenges perceptions of the benefits of research and practice across the disciplinary spectrum, bridging the gap between social science and engineering methodologies."

The pilot UKRI encourages new and unexpected types of interdisciplinary research not currently funded through existing UKRI responsive mode schemes and supports research that will be potentially transformative for the participating disciplines or lead to the creation of new disciplines.

Professor Alison Park, UKRI Cross Research Council Responsive Mode champion and Deputy Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) said, "The perspectives of different disciplines, working together in collaboration, are vital to solving some of the most pressing problems we face as a society. The UKRI cross research council responsive mode scheme is designed to break down silos and champion research that transcends, combines and significantly spans traditional discipline boundaries."

Provided by University of Strathclyde, Glasgow