Information about research study
Background
The heat pump lab is part the UK Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory, which seeks to move us towards a fair and successful zero-carbon future by collecting and sharing energy use data for research and policy.
Heat pumps are likely to be an important technology for reducing carbon emissions in the UK. We would like to understand the energy use of heat pumps, how they are used by households, and whether households are happy with them. We would also like to understand how these things change over time.
What we are looking for
We are looking for several hundred households with heat pumps to collect operational data for up to 3 years.
Detail about the data collection
There are four parts to the data collection:
Collecting heat pump data over the internet
Collecting heat pump data by from your home
Collecting other data from your home
Interviewing you about your experiences
You can read more about the different kinds of data collection below.
You can tell us how much you would like to get involved. We’ll give you shopping vouchers to say thank you, depending on the kinds of data we collect:
- Heat pump data collected over the internet
Many heat pumps are internet connected and share information about how they’re operating with the heat pump manufacturer. With your consent, the manufacturer will give us access to this data remotely: - Electricity consumption - Heat generated and temperatures - Operating conditions (for example, when the heat pump is heating hot water or radiators) This level of participation can be completed remotely. You would not need to do anything other than consent, and we would not need to visit you at home.
- Heat pump data collected from your home
In households where it is not possible to collect heat pump data via the internet, we will ask to put in our own equipment to measure:
- Electricity consumption of the heat pump (measured every 2 minutes).
- We will measure this using a device clamped onto the cable which supplies electricity to your heat pump. The device will most likely be located near your fuse box and will be out of your way.
- Temperature of the water in four of the pipes in your heating system.
- We will measure this by strapping some temperature sensors onto your pipes. Again, this will be out of your way
All of this data will be stored in a datalogger plugged into a normal plug socket in your home. The temperature data can be sent wirelessly to this box. The electricity data needs to be sent over a short cable. We will make sure this cable is strapped to the wall, out of your way, and that this process does not leave any marks on your wall. We would need to visit your home with a qualified electrician to safely install this monitoring equipment.
- Other data collected from your home
As well as sharing your heat pump data, you can choose to allow us to collect additional data from your home:
Indoor air temperature and relative humidity in one room (measured every 10 minutes)
Smart meter data from your whole home (measured every 1 minute)
The indoor air temperature/humidity and smart meter data will be collected using the same device, which will be plugged into a plug socket and have around 1 metre of cable from the plug socket to the device.
- Interviewing you about your experiences
In a small number of households, we will carry out two interviews with one or more adult household members. You can tell us whether you would like to take part. The first interview will be carried out at the start of the project, in your home.
One year later, we would like to carry out a second interview via video call, or in your homes if video calls are difficult for you. Both interviews will focus on your experience of living with a heat pump – for example,how well it meets your needs, how you use it, and how you found the transition from your previous heating system. Each interview will last around one hour and will be recorded. When we visit your home in the first interview, you can choose to show us around different rooms if you are comfortable with this.
What are the benefits of taking part?
We’ll give you shopping vouchers to say thank you, depending on the kinds of data we collect:
Heat pump data collected over the internet: £10
Heat pump data collected over the internet, plus other data collected from your home: £40
Heat pump data collected from your home, plus other data collected from your home: £60
Heat pump data collected from your home, , plus other data collected from your home, plus two interviews with you: £100
The different values of the shopping vouchers reflect how much effort we expect it would take you to help us with each type of data collection.
As well as the shopping vouchers you will receive, the benefit of participating is to inform research which will shape heat pump deployment in other homes, through policy and heat pump system design.
Where will the data from my home be stored and how will it be used?
Your data will be securely stored by UCL and the University of Oxford for 5 years, and will only be accessible by the EDOL research team. Following this, name and address files will be deleted and heat pump data will be retained anonymously. This study has been registered with and approved by the UCL Data Protection Office to ensure that it meets the university’s standards on data protection. This research will be published in academic papers which are “open source” (meaning anyone can download and read them), and used in presentations. All data will be anonymised and no participants will be identifiable in any research outputs. If we have photographed the outside of your property we will check with you before using the photo in any outputs and we will edit out any house numbers or locational information such as street signs.
How do I sign up?
To register your interest please leave your details here and we will contact you. Note that you will not be formally signed up before you have signed a consent form.
What if I have questions?
Please feel free to get in touch at: heatpumplab@edol.ac.uk
