Energy efficiency
Institute Work
Decarbonising the heating of buildings represents one of the major challenges for the energy transition. Our research on reducing CO2 emissions from heating buildings includes exploring geothermal energy, heat pumps, and building ventilation. These approaches are being combined in a major case study at St John’s College and across the wider university.
Other examples of the variety of research we are doing on energy efficiency include work on lubrication to reduce energy loss to friction and work on improving the efficiency of electrolysers, which is crucial for the development of renewable energy technologies.
Related Posts
Head of Institute took part in Royal Society visit to the Japanese Academy of Sciences
On Friday 21 March 2025, professor Andy Woods returned from a 2-day visit to the Japan Academy. The visit was organised with the Royal Society to discuss issues relating to the energy transition, with particular focus on …
New PhD Programme in Energy Transition Science: Apply now, closing date May 2025
Applications are welcomed for an exciting new institute-based PhD programme on energy-related fluid dynamics. The Institute for Energy and Environment Flows is launching a major new PhD research programme on energy transition science, with up to 10 …
Novel Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Production
Today was the last seminar of Lent term, and Part III student James Fidler presented his recent work on new catalyst materials for hydrogen production through electrolysis. Nobel metals are very expensive, and so research is ongoing …
Aquifer thermal energy storage
Professor Matthew Jackson from Imperial College London visited us today and presented his recent work on Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) systems. This underground thermal energy storage technology provides large capacity, low carbon heating and cooling to …
Bubble growth in electrolysis
Methane availability is crucial to the energy transition. Currently, most hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming, a carbon-intensive process. A small amount of green hydrogen is being obtained from the electrolysis of water; however, for this …
Emma’s model on interseasonal thermal energy storage
In temperate climates, many buildings need heating in winter and cooling in summer. A significant amount of energy can be saved by storing excess heat during the warmer months, and using it to warm up a building …
Dan’s experiments on the ventilation of a room
All buildings require ventilation to keep the indoor air fresh and clean. With underfloor air distribution, fresh air is supplied at a low level, while exhaust air is extracted from the top of a room. If the …
Brian’s article on periodic cycles of hydrogen storage
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are intermittent, and this leads to the need for substantial energy storage. At times of excessive generation, some of the renewable energy might be converted into hydrogen and stored …