What if electricity, heat and water could be almost free? The NCBR wants to prove that it is possible. Part 2
Prices for electricity and gas have increased significantly for many reasons. If we take a closer look at this situation, we can come to the conclusion that a large part of the costs is completely unnecessary. And if we look at it really closely, it will turn out that the future may be quite different.
The 9 projects of the NCBR can solve the problem
How? Great potential lies dormant even in the construction industry. On the one hand, it is necessary to significantly reduce the demand for energy in buildings and, on the other hand, not to waste the energy that has to be used.
“A house that cuts down the energy demand to a minimum, does not waste energy, stores it and uses it in an optimal way, is a house that should be a standard in the future. A modern and rational approach not only to the management of electricity, but also to heat, cold and water, will get a building that is almost cost-free in operation and self-sufficient. This is not so much a dream from the distant future as a real goal for the coming years. The goal that the NCBR intends to achieve,” said Dr. Remigiusz Kopoczek, acting director of the NCBR. “Thanks to the European Funds and their ‘Smart Growth’ Program, we support 9 large research projects. Many of them can significantly cut down the bills of households, enterprises and public buildings, such as schools. Modern technologies in the construction industry also mean greater independence and energy security. In the long term, this is one of the key tasks dictated by the concern for the climate, because the heating and powering of buildings are among the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.”
Wojciech Racięcki, Director of the Department of Development of Innovative Methods of Program Management at the NCBR, responsible for the implementation of the innovative formula of pre-commercial procurement, added: “When planning our projects, we had a vision of supporting activities for climate protection. We now see that their implementation has become even more important. We all see that the political and economic situation has changed in recent weeks. Today, it is even clearer how important energy security and independence from foreign suppliers is for Poland. The more modern and intelligent technologies in the energy sector, transport, construction and other industries, the greater the odds for breaking free from the imports of energy media. And the greater the chance to avoid other potential shocks, related, for example, to the supply chain.”
A low-carbon economy, limited consumption of resources, reduced demand for energy and, finally, supporting the development of Polish technologies are priorities that will increase our independence and our security.
How can the expected changes be implemented? It is necessary to meet several conditions simultaneously.
Thermal modernization
To be successful, we must start from a reduction of the energy demand. The best way to do this is to upgrade the thermal insulation.
“The cheapest and cleanest energy is the energy that has not been consumed owing to energy efficiency. In the context of a zero-emission future, energy efficiency is one of the most important means of achieving this goal,” wrote the Center for Climate and Energy Analysis in the energy transformation guide for local governments. And the Center refers to estimates according to which over 70% of single-family buildings in Poland are uninsulated or insulated far too lightly.
“Energy modernization of a building should not settle for the replacement of heat sources. The contemporary Polish buildings are energy vampires. They consume huge amounts of energy which escapes through leaky walls or windows instead of serving heating purposes,” noted Andrzej Guła, co-founder of the Polish Smog Alert and member of the NCBR’s committee monitoring European Green Deal projects.
Energy storage
“A fundamental change in the energy and energy media markets is required. However, in order to use renewable sources which are dependent on the elements, such as sunlight and wind, energy storage is needed. Ideally, the storage should be located as close as possible to the consumer and to the source of energy,” explained Wojciech Racięcki, Director of the Department for the Development of Innovative Methods of Program Management at the NCBR.
Therefore, there are projects involving the storage among those being implemented by the NCBR’s: “The Heat and Cold Storage” and “The Electricity Storage”.
“There is no technology allowing to store heat and cold ‘taken’ directly from the air. This does not mean, however, that storing heat and cold is impossible. Waste heat or cold can be stored. It is possible to generate heat in summer thanks to photovoltaics. You can also generate heat when electricity is the cheapest, for example in the middle of the day, and use it a few hours later, when electricity is expensive,” said Dr. Tomasz Rożek from the “Science. I like it.” social media channel.
Marcin Popkiewicz, physicist, megatrend researcher and chairman of the already mentioned NCBR’s committee monitoring European Green Deal projects, believes that short-time storage of energy, e.g. for a few weeks, is much more cost-effective. Therefore, it is worth using various sources of renewable energy. “There will always be energy; if not from the sun, then from the wind. Investing in just one seasonal source is therefore not the best solution. It is much better to have two mutually complementary sources. Then, the storage and the entire infrastructure will be cheaper.”
As explained by Dr. Łukasz Adrian from the NCBR, head of “The Heat and Cold Storage” project, tanks installed in a boiler room or containers set up, for example, at an office building could do the job. Heat can be stored in water, brine or phase-change materials. The latter option is the most promising because it can store several times more heat in the same volume. “The advantage of the heat and cold storage is it can be used both in new energy-efficient buildings and in old ones,” added Łukasz Adrian.
The effects can be really surprising: some contractors declared that the cost of heat and cold storage using their technologies could amount to just PLN 350 per year. So, this can be the cost of keeping you warm on cold days, cool on hot days and supplied with hot water every day. “According to many contractors, the annual thermal cycle should consist in storing heat in an underground tank, for example, during summer and recovering it in winter,” said Dr. Engineer Łukasz Adrian. And all this in a container of the size of a backyard septic tank.
However, it is worth adding that such low costs apply to seasonal storage, for example for six months. The price for such a system is therefore high. Based on the available knowledge base, short-term storage, e.g. over a day or week, could be a better solution. Then the tank may be much smaller: about 100 x 50 x 80 cm. “In this case, the annual cost of heat and cold storage will be three or four times higher than in the seasonal storage scenario but the system is much cheaper, simpler and smaller,” explained Wojciech Racięcki.
He added that the most important thing in the whole project is a paradigm shift: the idea is to generate heat and cold when it is the cheapest (i.e. there is an excess of energy, for example from wind) and not only when we need it. “This is why it is so important to store heat and cold.”
A complement to the foregoing is “The Electricity Storage” project. It assumes the building of an electricity storage based almost entirely on materials available in Poland, which will accommodate 15 kilowatt hours. This energy should be enough for a traditional household for at least a day.
“We do not want to use the battery all the time and cut ourselves off from the grid. This may become possible in the future. For now, our goal is to connect the battery to the power system on the user side. That is, just like in the case of photovoltaics. First, we use energy locally, on site, then we store its excess and, finally, we send it to the grid when the battery is full,” explained Dr. Maciej Chmieliński from the NCBR, head of “The Electricity Storage” project.
The best formula
Of course, these solutions are not perfect at the moment. Some of them are much easier to use in new buildings than in old tenement houses in city centers. In addition, photovoltaic panels, solar collectors, energy stores or heat pumps are products that are still under development. Innovation is needed to make them more efficient and affordable. However, photovoltaics prices, which have dropped by more than 90% in recent decades, show that economies of scale are possible.
The NCBR’s experts are aware that contractors are working on prototype solutions. At the same time, however, they know that the costs of such solutions will be much lower in the future and, in addition, we will have better technical capabilities. The projects developed by the NCBR with support from the European Funds are to promote the best and most affordable solutions for protection of both the climate and home budgets of Poles, also important from the point of view of energy security.
“The first microwave oven cost a dozen, if not tens of thousands of dollars. So any device can be inexpensive. It’s a matter of the scale of manufacture. When a given product begins to be offered en masse, it becomes much cheaper. The second way to implement our prototype solutions in practice more widely may be support in the form of grants granted under government or regional programs,” commented Wojciech Racięcki.
It is also worth bearing in mind that although the initial investment costs may seem huge, in the long run they will pay off handsomely. Some solutions can “pay off” in a few years, others within a dozen or so. Already, these are technologies that may be of interest to many people in Poland.
Visit https://www.gov.pl/web/ncbr/green-deal to learn more about the 9 research projects of the NCBR being implemented as part of the European Green Deal strategy.
Do you want to know more? Watch the 8 short videos about the NCBR’s projects under the Green Deal strategy: Zielone technologie? To lubię! - Narodowe Centrum Badań i Rozwoju - Portal Gov.pl (www.gov.pl)
Projects entitled “The Energy- and Process-efficient Construction”, “The Innovative Biogas Plant”, “The Sewage Treatment Plant of the Future”, “The Electricity Storage”, “The Heat and Cold Storage”, “Home Retention Technologies” and “The Ventilation for Schools and Homes”, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, are implemented as part of the off-contest project entitled “Adding Innovation to the Economy Through Research Projects Under Innovative Public Procurement to Support the European Green Deal Strategy” under sub-measure „4.1.3: Innovative Methods of Managing Research under the ‘Smart Growth’ Program”.
Projects entitled „The District Heating Station of the Future Based on RESs” and “The Combined Heat and Power Plant in the Local Energy Distribution System” are co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, under sub-measure „4.1.3: Innovative Methods of Managing Research under the ‘Smart Growth’ Program 2014-2020” as part of the off-contest project entitled “Adding Innovation to the Economy by Implementing the New Model of Financing Breakthrough Research Projects”.
