The threat of blackouts across London this winter is real. We’re already seeing sub zero temperatures this week across the capital and UK as the cold snap brought on by the so-called 'Troll from Trondheim' sets in. While politicians may be underplaying the comments from the National Grid’s chief executive stating that we could see power outages during peak times, if we do end up in the dark this winter it would constitute the first planned blackout in the UK in over 50 years. But how has it come to be that blackouts are being considered a genuine first choice solution to handling our energy needs in modern day Britain?
The fact we are even discussing blackouts as a factor this winter is not just shocking, it’s unnecessary. It boils down to the simple point that we do not have enough energy supply to keep up with demand at peak times. What is even more surprising is that very little political or public attention has been given to the demand side of the equation, and the role energy efficiency can play in reducing energy demand. We have solutions that can make a real difference to lowering energy demand and that can be employed immediately. This crisis further illustrates just how urgent it is for the UK to invest in energy efficiency solutions.
Energy efficiency is simply getting more from each unit of energy we use, by either reducing the amount of energy needed to perform the same task, or by re-using energy or heat that is already being produced. Heat is a waste product from many daily processes, and it can be reused or sold instead of simply being released into the atmosphere.
While recycling materials such as our soft drink cans or our cardboard boxes has become the norm, it wasn’t always that way. With the energy squeeze facing London and the rest of the nation, this should be the moment that recycling of waste heat becomes normalised.
However, it’s not just about eliminating blackouts from our lexicon this winter. A more systematic use of wasted energy across all sectors presents a huge, unharnessed energy efficiency potential and constitutes a major opportunity for industry, governments, and citizens to save money, enhance competitiveness and reduce the volatility of the energy system.
With the arrival of winter, Londoners may be discouraged from turning their kettles and washing machines on at peak times. Of course, reducing domestic demand is crucial, but we must also look at the potential energy savings and heat reuse possibilities that exist in industrial processes.
Supermarkets, data centres, wastewater facilities and industries all produce excess heat. In fact, London is one of Europe’s largest hotspots for data centers with around 82 based in the capital all producing large amounts of excess heat. Take a moment to notice the heat generated from your laptop and then imagine this on the scale of a data centre. They operate as the internet’s connective nerve tissue by storing and relaying billions of bytes of data every second. This consumes vast sums of energy, with up to 90% of this electricity wasted through excess heat. Instead of just letting that heat release into the air, it can be captured and used for heating surrounding buildings and the local community.
We should be treating this excess heat energy as the valuable resource it is. Technology already exists that allows us to capture much of this energy and use it to warm our commercial and domestic buildings. When faced with soaring prices and the prospect of blackouts, allowing this energy to go to waste seems absurd.
Similarly, supermarkets use a lot of energy for cooling, and much of the heat generated in the cooling process can be captured and reused. By reusing this excess heat, we can lower the cost of our energy, reduce our emissions, and limit the strain on the national grid.
Just take a look at the small Danish town of Høruphav, where the SuperBrugsen store covers 78% of their heating bill by reusing heat from its cooling displays. In addition, the supermarket has also sold 133.7 MWh of energy to other local buildings through a district heating grid since 2019. For context, 1 MWh is enough to provide 330 homes electricity for one hour. This is not a Danish fairytale – this technology can and should be employed in London’s supermarkets and beyond to achieve similar results.
We must also remember the energy crisis is not something simply to overcome this winter. The Office of Budget Responsibility predicts that natural gas is likely to remain at least three times the average pre-February-2022 price until 2027. We need to be planning for the future and sowing the seeds for future generations to come.
We need to use every tax and policy lever at our disposal in order to incentivise London’s consumers and businesses to make the most of every valuable unit of energy we have. We should invest in solutions that allow us to get more power out of less energy, not only to get us through the current crisis, but to lay the foundations of a fully renewable, net-zero energy system.
Improving our energy efficiency isn't an economic hindrance, but an opportunity. The International Energy Agency forecasts that for households alone, greater energy efficiency measures could reduce global household energy bills by USD 650 billion a year by 2030.
If governments really want to fight energy inflation, improving efficiency is thus by far the best remedy. The threat of blackouts should serve as a wakeup call. If we fail to prioritise energy efficiency today, blackouts could become a more regular feature of London life.
Daniel Scott, is Vice President, Danfoss Climate Solutions, Northern Europe Region
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