Klimatförändringarna bidrar till ett varmare klimat i Sverige, med ökade

utomhustemperaturer och fler värmeböljor. Detta påverkar såväl inomhuskomfort som

människors hälsa och aktualiserar frågor om ökad energianvändning för kyla i bostäder

samt risker för problem med effekttoppar. I det här arbetet har vi genom en

litteraturöversikt analyserat forskning om hur människor globalt hanterar höga

temperaturer i sina hem och vad Sverige kan lära av befintlig kunskap om resurseffektiva

sätt att uppnå en ”tillräckligt” god inomhuskomfort.

Bioflex - biobased energy carriers and their contribution to a flexible energy system

Bioflex aims at increasing the flexibility, redundancy, and robustness of the energy system by integrating biobased energy carriers (biohydrogen/biogas) with electrolytic hydrogen. By combining 2 energy carriers, the project intended to investigate possible synergy effects between the different production pathways. The combination of energy carriers is expected to generate 3 main effects: more efficient resource utilization, increased share of biobased energy and increased flexibility in local energy systems.

The project performed a lab and pilot study of a two-stage bioprocesses, investigated synergy effects and flexibility in the interaction between the bioprocesses and electrolysis, techno-economic analysis of the system and an actor and stakeholder analysis. The goals of the project were to 1) demonstrate the two-stage bioprocess in pilot scale (TRL 5), reduce the hydraulic retention time (HRT) for biogas production by 50% and optimize nutrient supply, and 2) formulate an implementation plan and recommendations to the stakeholders.

The results from the lab and pilot study show that biohydrogen and biogas can be efficiently produced in a two-stage bioprocess and that this leads to higher carbon utilization (from substrate), higher energy recovery and lower emissions (from digestate). Comparisons with existing biogas production with the same process water indicate that the two-stage bioprocess in total delivers equal amounts of biogas compared to the base case, but more energy is produced in total since biohydrogen is also produced. Calculations with linear scaling would give approx. 30% more energy already in the first bioreactor. That scaling up in reality would be linear is however unlikely where a number of other conditions come into play. Therefore, this process needs successively to find key parameters for scaling effects.

Calculations on integration with electrolytic hydrogens show that it is beneficial to use waste heat from electrolysis to heat the bioprocesses, since heat costs are otherwise a large cost item for the two-stage bioprocess.

The techno-economic calculations show that the major cost driver for the entire system is the electrolysis system. The payback period is also highly dependent on the selling price of hydrogen. If the selling price of hydrogen is high, the payback period will be shorter.

The results from the stakeholder mapping and scenario analysis show that: 1. Collaborations are desired for sharing the risk when investing in this type of new technology. In particular, clear collaborations are required when it comes to symbiosis solutions. 2. Clear prerequisites for policy and regulations are requested from many parts of the value chain. 3. Biohydrogen is a niche and its possible position in the market needs further investigation. 4. The two-step bioprocess combined with electrolysis can increase the supply security of renewable energy sources locally and thus increase preparedness. 5. The replicability of the concept with the two-step bioprocess is assessed as high, since there are many different ways it could be done depending on local conditions, but the replicability decreases with increased complexity in the symbiosis solution.

Bioflex stakeholders

Bioflex aims at increasing the flexibility, redundancy, and robustness of the energy system by integrating biobased energy carriers (biohydrogen/biogas) with electrolytic hydrogen. By combining 2 energy carriers, the project intended to investigate possible synergy effects between the different production pathways. The combination of energy carriers is expected to generate 3 main effects: more efficient resource utilization, increased share of biobased energy and increased flexibility in local energy systems.

The project performed a lab and pilot study of a two-step bioprocesses, investigated synergy effects and flexibility in the interaction between the bioprocesses and electrolysis, techno-economic analysis of the system and an actor and stakeholder analysis. The goals of the project were to 1) demonstrate the two-step bioprocess continuously for 1.5 months, reduce the residence time for biogas production by 50% and optimize nutrient supply, and 2) formulate an implementation plan and recommendations to the stakeholders.

This report presents the results of the stakeholder mapping and scenario analysis. Stakeholder mapping, interviews and scenario analysis has been done and the results are presented in this report. The results show that: 1. Collaborations are desired for sharing the risk when investing in this type of new technology. In particular, clear collaborations are required when it comes to symbiosis solutions. 2. Clear prerequisites for policy and regulations are requested from many parts of the value chain. 3. Biohydrogen is a niche and its possible position in the market needs further investigation. 4. The two-step bioprocess combined with electrolysis can increase the supply security of renewable energy sources locally and thus increase preparedness. 5. The replicability of the concept with the two-step bioprocess is assessed as high, since there are many different ways it could be done depending on local conditions, but the replicability decreases with increased complexity in the symbiosis solution.

During the autumn, winter and early spring of 2022/2023, Europe faced rapidly increasing energy prices and threats of power cuts. The situation was consequently labelled an “energy crisis”, and one sector that was severely affected was households. In response to the situation, European households made efforts to reduce and time-shift their energy use to mitigate the effects of the crisis. Considering that domestic energy practices are often difficult to change, particularly in the long term, we find this effect of the energy crisis on households important to understand more deeply. In this paper, we use social practice theory to investigate how Swedish households responded to the crisis and what changes they made in terms of re-configurations of their practices. The aim was to contribute knowledge on how households adapt to a changing energy system with volatile prices, limitations in electric power, and threats of energy crisis. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with 9 households in single-family houses in the middle and south of Sweden during and after the crisis, in total 18 interviews, to examine what re-configurations of practices emerged and which persisted over time. The results show that significant changes were apparent in primarily the practice domains of heating and hygiene. While some of these changes were temporary, other re-configurations of energy practices persisted beyond the months of crisis and high prices, indicating that meanings of frugality and sufficiency were strengthened. Our results demonstrate that households were reminded of certain electricity use that is otherwise typically backgrounded in homes and that the energy crisis stimulated re-configuration and re-examination of norms as well as reflection on electricity use in general. Finally, we discuss the effects of the energy crisis on household practices in comparison with other crises and disruptions, and point to the importance of communicating clearly with households about the societal effects of their efforts, in order to manage the legacy of this crisis for similar future crisis situations. 

A transition to renewable energy increases the risks of disruptions when electricity supply does not meet demand. HCI has explored how digital technologies can mitigate such problems in households through support for reducing or shifting electricity use. However, faster transitions may be possible if some disturbances can be acceptable and households are supported in adapting to them. In this paper, we present a study of 21 Swedish households and their experiences of and ideas on how to manage disruptions in electricity supply. We call this perspective household energy resilience and identify three strategies for resilience: (1) response diversity, i.e., diversity in ways of carrying out normally electricity-dependent practices, (2) creating opportunities to develop resilience, and (3) building community energy resilience. Furthermore, we suggest how HCI can support these strategies, both by providing tools to increase resilience and by carefully designing technology and services to be more resilient in themselves. 

Energy resilience is an important focus for energy policy and research, since the energy system is increasingly facing challenges such as power shortages, e.g. due to increased renewable energy production, and risks of power outages caused by extreme weathers. Typically, energy resilience in these contexts focuses on infrastructure and securing supply of electricity despite disturbances. This paper contributes a complementary perspective on resilience, which takes households as a starting point for investigating resilience. Building on understandings of resilience from several disciplines, we suggest a definition of household energy resilience that can be used to explore how households can ensure a good life in a future with variable availability of electricity. Furthermore, we draw on current ideas of future domestic energy use in energy affluent contexts (backup energy sources, energy efficiency, flexibility, and energy sufficiency) to create a framework for exploring household energy resilience. We find a potential for diversity within and between the different ideas, that is not always present in mainstream visions of future energy use. With the perspective of household energy resilience, we wish to challenge the perception of electricity demand as non-negotiable and to reveal opportunities for supporting households in becoming more resilient in an uncertain future. © 2022 The Authors