Skip to main content

Jacopo Torriti

University of Reading, Built Environment, Faculty Member

Followers

397

Following

81

Co-authors

7

Public Views

Jacopo Torriti is a Professor of Energy Economics and Policy, University of Reading.

Before joining the University of Reading in 2011, Jacopo Torriti held teaching and research positions at the London School of Economics, the University of Surrey, the European University Institute, the UK Government Sustainable Development Commission and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Jacopo Torriti’s research work focuses on economic tools for energy policies, including cost-benefit analysis, impact assessment and the standard cost model. In recent years, his interests in risk analysis and economic appraisals have been integrated with work in specific areas of energy demand in the built environment, with emphasis on economic incentives and the timing of demand practices. Specific areas of work include dynamic pricing, Time of Use tariffs, occupancy patterns, capacity mechanisms, demand side controllers and liberalisation in EU energy markets.

Jacopo Torriti seats on Defra's Economics Advisory Panel and Ofgem Academic Panel.

He earned a PhD from King's College London, a Master in European Studies from King's College London and a Laurea in Economics from Universita di Milano.

A video of his professorial inaugural lecture is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8rvyT8yZNU&feature=youtu.be

less

InterestsView All (7)

Uploads

Papers by Jacopo Torriti

Development of a profile-based electricity demand response estimation method: An application based on UK hotel chillers

Energy and Buildings

(2021) Development of a profile-based electricity demand response estimation method: an applicati... more

Peak demand, price elasticity and intrinsic flexibility from time use activities

Peaks in electricity demand bring about significantly negative environmental and economic impacts... more Peaks in electricity demand bring about significantly negative environmental and economic impacts. This is because if a vast number of users is consuming electricity at the same time, suppliers have to activate power plants with higher greenhouse gas emissions and higher system costs. In Europe, the residential sector is responsible for about one third of overall electricity demand and up to 60% of peak demand. During peak demand, electricity prices in wholesale markets could fluctuate from less than €0.04/kWh to as much as €0.35/kWh (Torriti, 2015). Whilst the volume of electricity demand relates to many factors (e.g. weather, type of appliances, types of building), patterns throughout the day are a direct reflection of people’s activities. A simple example derives from the substantial difference between residential electricity load curves for weekdays and weekends. During the same season the weather can be equal at the weekend compared with the weekday. Everything else remains the...

A means to an industrialisation end? Demand Side Management in Nigeria

Energy Policy, 2018

If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination... more If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections.

Explaining shifts in UK electricity demand using time use data from 1974 to 2014

Energy Policy, 2018

Peaks in electricity demand generate significant negative environmental and economic impacts. As ... more Peaks in electricity demand generate significant negative environmental and economic impacts. As a result, recent policy and research attention has focused on the potential for temporal flexibility of demand, especially in the context of intermittent low-carbon generation. Much of this work emphasises the need to understand what makes up the peak and to engineer solutions to meet this 'normal' consumption. However, today's patterns of temporal consumption may only be a snapshot of continuing change. This paper uses UK household time-use survey data to analyse change in temporal patterns of activities over the last 40 years to shed light on apparent temporal shifts in overall UK electricity demand. The results highlight long term evolution in when and where people work, travel, eat, use media and carry out social activities. In particular they suggest that changing patterns of labour market participation may be contributing to shifts in food related, personal/home care and media activities which correlates with shifts in electricity demand. We conclude that both stable and dynamic social structures and forms of organisation have direct implications for policy debates around current and future flexible demand-side solutions.

Microgeneration: The installer perspective

Renewable Energy, 2017

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of microgeneration installer businesses in the UK dur... more This paper presents an exploratory analysis of microgeneration installer businesses in the UK during a period of intense change in the policy environment from 2010 to 2012. The research examines the influence of installer businesses on rates of uptake and standards of installation, and the interplay between business practices and the policy environment. The research developed new detailed datasets through a nationwide survey, to which 388 installers responded, and follow-up interviews with 22 installers. Focusing on solar photovoltaics and air source heat pumps installed in households, the results show the fundamental dependence of installer businesses on government financial incentives and on the quality assurance scheme in operation. Market confidence was compromised by the sharp reduction in the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) for residential solar PV in 2012 and long delays to the equivalent Renewable Heat Incentive for residential installations. Nevertheless, more modest FIT levels have reduced the risk of sub-optimal installations and inappropriate specification of microgeneration systems. The findings underline the need for consistent policy to allow installer businesses and their supply chains to develop and mature, and thus facilitate commercial deployment of microgeneration of high quality, raise its competiveness with incumbent forms of energy supply and contribute to decarbonisation goals.

Peak residential electricity demand and social practices: Deriving flexibility and greenhouse gas intensities from time use and locational data

Indoor and Built Environment, 2015

Peak residential electricity demand takes place when people conduct simultaneous activities at sp... more Peak residential electricity demand takes place when people conduct simultaneous activities at specific times of the day. Social practices generate patterns of demand and can help understand why, where, with whom and when energy services are used at peak time. The aim of this work is to make use of recent UK time use and locational data to better understand: (i) how a set of component indices on synchronisation, variation, sharing and mobility indicate flexibility to shift demand; and (ii) the links between people's activities and peaks in greenhouse gases' intensities. The analysis is based on a recent UK time use dataset, providing 1-min interval data from GPS devices and 10-min data from diaries and questionnaires for 175 data days comprising 153 respondents. Findings show how greenhouse gases' intensities and flexibility to shift activities vary throughout the day. Morning peaks are characterised by high levels of synchronisation, shared activities and occupancy, wit...

It’s only a matter of time: flexibility, activities and time of use tariffs in the United Kingdom

Energy Research & Social Science, 2020

In current academic, policy and industry debates there is significant emphasis on the importance ... more In current academic, policy and industry debates there is significant emphasis on the importance of enhancing the level of flexibility of electricity demand. Flexibility is considered critical in order to improve balancing with renewables, reduce costs of electricity generation and make the most of smart systems and battery storage. There remain questions around how flexibility is delivered, and which portions of demand will take part in different aspects of flexibility markets. The aim of the paper is to identify activities in the home for which people may either gain or lose following the introduction of Time of Use (ToU) tariffs. It uses 2014-2015 UK Time Use Survey data to cluster households in terms of similarities in activities at peak time and identify households differently affected by ToU tariffs across several socio-demographic parameters (i.e. work status, income, family structure). Findings show that sociodemographic distribution did not demonstrate any significant dominant parameter. Instead, clustering based on similarities in the timing of activities has provided distinctive patterns and can shed light on groups of people who might be either advantaged or disadvantaged from the introduction of ToU tariffs.

Development of a profile-based electricity demand response estimation method: An application based on UK hotel chillers

Energy and Buildings, 2021

In principle, Demand Side Response (DSR) is increasingly seen as a critical component of a low-ca... more In principle, Demand Side Response (DSR) is increasingly seen as a critical component of a low-carbon electricity network with renewables as main sources of generation. In practice, DSR has been slow to emerge in most electricity markets of developed and developing countries. One of the main reasons for the slow penetration of DSR is the difficulty to assess the flexibility potential of individual sites. This paper develops a new DSR estimation method which uses detailed profiles information based on data on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) chillers in five UK hotels between 2013 and 2017 and applies a combination of clustering analysis and subsequent stochastic sampling using cluster-weighted date-based predictors. Findings show that the profile DSR estimation method features a better balance of error compared with previous methods.

Impact of Time-Use Behaviour on Residential Energy Consumption in the United Kingdom

Energies, 2021

In order to have the best possible chance of achieving ‘decent work’ and ‘climate action’ as laid... more In order to have the best possible chance of achieving ‘decent work’ and ‘climate action’ as laid forth in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, government and policy makers must pay close attention to current time-use patterns, as well as the way these might change in the near future.
Here we contribute to the existing literature on time-use behaviour through a systematic exploration of the relationship between working patterns and energy consumption from the perspective of time-use. Our starting point is the premise that different work arrangements impact the timing of energy demand not only in workplaces, but also at home. Using the data from the 2014–2015 UK time-use survey, we were able to capture patterns of time-use behaviours and to assess their relationship with daily energy consumption. We propose a systematic time-use-based approach for estimating residential energy consumption with regards to activity timing, activity location, activity coordination, and appliance type. We use this method to discover patterns in residential activities and energy consumption, as well as the causal relationship between residential energy consumption and work patterns. In this study, we unpack the heterogeneity in the work–energy relationship,
particularly when comparing full-time and part-time workers. Our results suggest that full-time employees have a higher potential to reduce their energy use compared to part-time employees. We also discover a non-linear change in total energy consumption for respondents with varying
levels of work time. Energy consumption reductions associated with differences in work schedules are greatest during the first few hours of the workday, but then level off. Our findings suggest that time-use data can provide useful insights for evaluating and possibly designing energy and labour-market policies.

The impact of installer business models on the uptake of residential microgeneration in the UK: Evidence from a nation-wide survey

This paper arises from a doctoral thesis comparing the impact of alternative installer business m... more This paper arises from a doctoral thesis comparing the impact of alternative installer business models on the rate at which microgeneration is taken up in homes and installation standards across the UK. The paper presents the results of the first large-scale academic survey of businesses certified to install residential microgeneration. The aim is to systematically capture those characteristics which define the business model of each surveyed company, and relate these to the number, location and type of technologies that they install, and the quality of these installations.

Household electricity demand, the intrinsic flexibility index and UK wholesale electricity market prices

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 2020

During peak electricity demand periods, prices in wholesale markets can be up to nine times highe... more During peak electricity demand periods, prices in wholesale markets can be up to nine times higher than during off-peak periods. This is because if a vast number of users is consuming electricity at the same time, power plants with higher greenhouse gas emissions and higher system costs are typically activated. In the UK, the residential sector is responsible for about one third of overall electricity demand and up to 60% of peak demand. This paper presents an analysis of the 2014-2015 Office for National Statistics National Time Use Survey with a view to derive an intrinsic flexibility index based on timing of residential electricity demand. It analyses how the intrinsic flexibility varies compared with wholesale electricity market prices. Findings show that spot prices and intrinsic flexibility to shift activities vary harmoniously throughout the day. Reflections are also drawn on the application of this research to work on demand side flexibility.

Title: Explaining shifts in UK electricity demand using time use data from

Energy Policy, 2018

Peaks in electricity demand generate significant negative environmental and economic impacts. As ... more Peaks in electricity demand generate significant negative environmental and economic impacts. As a result recent policy and research attention has focused on the potential for temporal flexibility of demand, especially in the context of intermittent low-carbon generation. Much of this work emphasises the need to understand what makes up the peak and to engineer socio-technical solutions to meet this 'normal' consumption. However today's patterns of temporal consumption may only be a snapshot of continuing change. This paper uses UK household time-use survey data to analyse change in temporal patterns of activities over the last 40 years to shed light on apparent temporal shifts in overall UK electricity demand. The results highlight long term gradual evolution in when and where people work, travel, eat, use media and carry out social activities. In particular they suggest that changing patterns of labour market participation may be contributing to shifts in food related, personal/home care and media activities. The former in particular are correlated with shifts in electricity demand. We conclude that both stable and dynamic social structures and forms of organisation have direct implications for policy debates around current and future flexible demand-side solutions.

Hot weather and residential hourly electricity demand in Italy

Energy, 2019

Concerns about climate change, pollution and energy security have prompted policies aiming at rep... more Concerns about climate change, pollution and energy security have prompted policies aiming at replacing fossil fuels (in heating and cooling, and transportation) with electricity, presumably generated from renewable sources. Climate change itself is expected to increase the demand for cooling in buildings, which is generally met with electricity-powered air conditioning. We use hourly electricity demand from a sample of Italian residences over a full year to examine how sensitive residential demand is to temperature. Our regression model includes a rich set of household-by-time fixed effects to control for dwelling characteristics and equipment, family composition, work and business schedules, demand for lighting, and seasonal habits other than temperature. These allows us to separate the effect of temperature from the demand for lighting and from other seasonal effects that may be correlated with temperature, but are not temperature. We find that demand stays within a relatively narrow range (and is thus relatively flat) up to temperatures of about 24.4° C, and increases sharply with temperature thereafter. We find that temperature accounts for a very small share of daily electricity demand. Only on exceptionally hot summer days can temperature account for 12% of hourly electricity use.

Role of household activities in peak electricity demand and distributional effects of Time-of-Use tariffs

Introduction of Time-of-Use (ToU) tariffs have the potential to motivate consumers to flex their ... more Introduction of Time-of-Use (ToU) tariffs have the potential to motivate consumers to flex their energy use and, by utilising their flexibility, support the reduction in peak electricity demand. In return , lower peak demand could also reduce the system costs due to the reduced need for peaking generation and network reinforcement. By their nature, ToU tariffs would penalise consumers with high consumption during peak periods and who are not able to exercise flexibility. Therefore to ensure the affordability of energy bills it is important to understand the relationship between the timing of activities in the household and socio-demographic properties of the consumers. This paper uses UK Time Use survey data to cluster households by their energy-related activities during the peak electricity demand periods, model the corresponding electricity demand and analyse the impact of ToU tariffs across several socio-demographic parameters. Results show that similar patterns of energy related activities exist for the clusters with different socio-demographic parameters (e.g. family structure or income). Findings also show that there is no single dominant socio-demographic parameter that defines the winners or losers from the introduction of ToU tariff.

A comparative analysis of building energy estimation methods in the context of demand response

A critical element of assessing a building’s suitability for Demand Side Response (DSR) is unders... more A critical element of assessing a building’s suitability for Demand Side Response (DSR) is understanding its turndown potential to ensure that DSR participation will be financially viable. While research has been undertaken on site level DSR estimation methods, there is currently no research that compares the outcomes of these methods. This paper compares four non-domestic energy estimation methods used for understanding the DSR potential of electrical appliances in a building to provide insights about uncertainty levels based on input requirements. Each method is deployed to estimate the DSR potential of HVAC chiller assets at two UK hotels over two years. The results show the methods have a range of error levels from the highest Mean Average Percentage Error (MAPE) of 159% to the lowest MAPE of 39%. The input requirements followed a general trend of more complex informational inputs resulting in lower error values. The outcomes of this research enable users to make informed decisions in selecting DSR estimation methods based on information availability and acceptable estimation error levels.

Making demand side response happen: a review of barriers in commercial and public organisations -7 February 2020

Energy Research & Social Science, 2020

The decarbonisation of electricity systems and the associated increase in variable generation sou... more The decarbonisation of electricity systems and the associated increase in variable generation sources requires an increase in power system flexibility. Demand side response (DSR) is widely viewed as a cost-effective source of flexibility, with considerable market potential. To date, the main DSR providers have been energy intensive firms. However, the expectation is that non-energy intensive consumers such as commercial firms and public sector organisations will also provide system flexibility. Despite its DSR potential, commercial and public organisations have received little attention in the literature. This paper helps address this gap by identifying and exploring barriers to the participation of large commercial firms and public sector organisations in DSR through a review of the academic and grey literature on DSR. Drawing on the literature on barriers to energy efficiency, we use concepts from orthodox and behavioural economics, organisational studies and social practice theory to frame our analysis. The article argues that barriers to participation in DSR exist at the level of the organisation and not only the site. For large commercial firms and public sector organisations, the combination of having small individual electricity loads and complex internal decision-making processes can hinder their uptake of DSR. The hidden costs of participation, issues of bounded rationality and what the energy is used for within different organisations also limit the firms' ability to participate in DSR.

Demand Side Response: Patterns in Europe and Future Policy Perspectives under Capacity Mechanisms

Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, 2014

Demand Side Response (DSR) has been slow to emerge in European electricity mar- kets. This paper ... more Demand Side Response (DSR) has been slow to emerge in European electricity mar- kets. This paper aims to both examine the reasons for low levels of DSR in Europe and reflect on factors that might affect the participation of DSR in capacity mech- anisms. It relies on available evidence from the literature, secondary data on ex- isting DSR programmes and energy aggregator’s data from industries participating in DSR. Findings show that changes to the duration of contracted loads under existing or new programmes might increase the penetration of DSR. The introduc- tion of capacity mechanisms may increase DSR from demand turn down if longer response times were available.

Assessing the potential of Demand Side Response in the residential and non-residential sectors

Demand Response in European electricity markets

People or machines? Assessing the impacts of smart meters and load controllers in Italian office spaces

Energy for Sustainable Development, 2014

Government initiatives in several developed and developing countries to roll-out smart meters cal... more Government initiatives in several developed and developing countries to roll-out smart meters call for research on the sustainability impacts of these devices. In principle smart meters bring about higher control over energy theft and lower consumption, but require a high level of engagement by end-users. An alternative consists of load controllers, which control the load according to pre-set parameters. To date, research has focused on the impacts of these two alternatives separately. This study compares the sustainability impacts of smart meters and load controllers in an occupied office building in Italy. The assessment is carried out on three different floors of the same building. Findings show that demand reductions associated with a smart meter device are 5.2% higher than demand reductions associated with the load controller.