Micro-generation technologies and consumption of resources: A complex systems' exploration

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:247

Article

Grubic, Tonci¹  Varga, Liz²  Hu, Yukun²  Tewari, Anurag³ 

[1] Liverpool John Moores Univ, Sch Business, Liverpool L3 5UG, Merseyside, England

[2] UCL, Dept Civil Environm & Geomat Engn, London WC1E 6BT, England

[3] Cranfield Univ, Sch Management, Bedford MK43 0AL, England

关键词: Micro-generation;    Technologies;    Resource consumption;    Agent-based model;    Simulation;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119091

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

This study is motivated by a research gap in the systemic implications that wider adoption of multiple micro-generation technologies may bring to interdependent infrastructures. It explores how the adoption of battery electric vehicles, solar photovoltaics, solar thermal water heating, rain water harvesting, grey water recycling, and waste heat recovery affect system-level consumption of water, gas, gasoline, electricity, CO2 emissions, and electricity generation cost. The simulations based on a new agent-based model show that grey water recycling and rain water harvesting reduce water and solar thermal water heating and waste heat recovery reduce gas demand respectively. A wider adoption of battery electric vehicle and solar photovoltaics have no effect while a reduction in the number of gasoline cars and gas users leads to higher electricity consumption, CO2 emissions, and electricity generation cost. The following policy implications are identified: grey water recycling and rain water harvesting should be actively promoted; improvements in the design and use of gas boilers may be better options than solar thermal water heating and waste heat recovery; battery electric vehicle should be adopted together with solar photovoltaics; solar photovoltaics should not be supported with feed-in-tariffs. If the last two implications are not addressed, then a more complementary electricity generation mix is necessary otherwise policies that promote replacement of gasoline cars by battery electric vehicles may result in negative systemic impacts. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free