iNtelligent Urban Model for Built environment Energy Research (iNumber)

54f3945b-2b27-4b39-af3e-4ed260b7fa17

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Newton Fund
Newton Fund
Newton Fund
Newton Fund
Newton Fund

£4,812,175

Nov. 1, 2017

April 30, 2022

Sustainable urbanisation requires the provision of secure energy for health and comfort. Key to planning sustainable energy services is an understanding of how energy demand changes over time and space and tools to help plan for its reduction.

iNUMBER is a research programme to develop:

1. A building stock and municipal service energy model to help plan a secure energy supply for urban populations to be thermally comfortable and healthy (via the provision of clean water and sanitation). The model will estimate total and disaggregated (in use, time and space) energy demand. Plus, assess the impacts of different mechanisms (e.g. shading, occupant behaviour and insulation) to reduce energy demand and the capacity to provide locally generated clean energy.

2. Linked new and existing data sets. Developing models is relatively simple, the challenge is acquiring the data to input and test the validity of models. iNUMBER tackles this challenge head on by developing state of the art data collection and analytic methods to overcome this challenge in a range of scenarios with different data availability.

3.Tools to help support the urban energy management process iNUMBER supports Indian municipalities and local partners to develop a data-driven intelligent urban model for built environment energy research and municipal planning. It supports India's deep decarbonisation pathway by mapping current and future energy demand reduction opportunities in the built environment. It will diagnose urban energy problems, test solutions, verify progress, and improve policy decisions utilising state of the art monitoring, data science and analytics.

iNUMBER primarily focuses around meeting the India/UK Newton research topic "Integration of information, communication and renewable energy technologies at building, community, and city level interventions." and will also meet elements of the other two areas of the call "peak demand reduction" by contributing new high resolution data and "city and community technologies" by providing guidance to urban planners

iNUMBER will:

-Undertake innovative research into: urban data collection (e.g. laser ranging combined with IR and visible images from unmanned vehicles), big data analytics, and innovative modelling.

-Promote the economic development of and welfare of developing countries, as required by Newton funding, by helping India to transition to a smart sustainable energy system which is critical to economic development.

-Engage users of different types. Our initial project partners include urban local bodies, energy software developers, energy meter hardware suppliers, residential construction companies, architectural firms, and user experience experts. Beyond these immediate partners, we will coordinate and collaborate with other research groups in the field, engage with policymakers, and benefit the public.

-Leverage Newton and DST funding by ~£1m, with support from host universities and project partners who will provide data, test sites, equipment, and provide sector expertise.

-Demonstrate usable solutions: online energy information systems; benchmarking backed up by large data sets; low-tech "smart-er" retrofits for electricity meters and sub-meters; reduction strategies for energy and the energy-water nexus tailored to cities of different shapes and sizes.

-Build a collaborative India/UK interdisciplinary research project: This proposal builds on the strengths of India in Information Technology and the strengths of the UK in energy epidemiology to build a best with the best collaboration. The team includes leading academics from engineering, data science, information technology, energy analysis, architecture, building science, urban science, urban planning, energy management from leading institutions in India and the UK. All work packages will be delivered via teams from both UK and India and many work packages involve interdisciplinary collaboration.

Potential Impact:
iNUMBER will provide economic and social benefits to municipalities & urban planners; the building industry (including services and construction); utility companies, energy software companies, modellers and energy analysts; researchers and students; policymakers; and the public. The impact will be facilitated by active participation of key stakeholders in the case study cities, high level policy meetings, workshops, CPD, iNUMBER open access tools, and the iNUMBER web site, see pathways to impact section for further details.

Note, the impacts (outside of academia) will be greatest in India as is consistent with a Newton funded call, hence the use of case studies in India etc.

The research will benefit municipalities and urban planners by:

- Providing data and analysis for improved resource management of energy and water in which three new types of empirical data gathering will be used to garner the information necessary to enrich the 'data poor' cities

- Providing new tools and a firm evidence base to make better-informed decisions about the effects of future urban forms on energy and water use including: helping cities with similar patterns of energy use to learn from each other and optimising the relationship between municipal energy strategies and urban land use patterns in both the planned and organic growth India is experiencing

- Highlighting the scale of resource and cost efficiencies that can be achieved now and in the future

- Helping co-create a clearer understanding of resource efficiency issues in a sector that has been under-researched by building and energy scholars

iNUMBER will benefit the building industry by:

- Providing monitored data for Indian residential buildings and municipal energy services

- Highlighting the barriers and opportunities for improving resource efficiency in residential buildings and municipal energy services

- Reporting results of trials of innovative low cost monitoring equipment

- Providing multi-faceted view of a building in a city context

- Articulating new city-scale business opportunities for manufacturers of smart energy meters, HVAC control devices, energy efficient products (insulation, windows), and photovoltaics

iNUMBER will benefit utility companies, modellers and analysts by:

- Trialling novel ICT for upgrading electricity and water meters to be compatible with remote, short-interval data collection

- Using new data to inform models for energy demand projections
iNUMBER will benefit policy-makers by:

- Providing new data, which will inform the setting and monitoring of national targets, particularly for India's deep decarbonisation pathway

- Describing real-world practices in residential buildings and municipalities, and how those practices relate to policy initiatives intended to improve resource efficiency

- Provide inputs for and feedback to major urban reforms, planning norms, building code enforcement, and building code revisions

iNUMBER will benefit society in general, and the poor specifically, through economic, social, and environmental benefits associated with energy demand reduction:

- Reducing the cost of energy services to municipalities enables them to provide more support and social services to poorer members of society

- With energy efficient systems, Indian municipalities will be able to provide longer hours of water supply at the same cost, improving access to water by the poor

- Reducing urban energy demand in existing and new communities enables more capacity for electrification of rural and slums in urban centres

- Reducing energy demand in buildings and municipal energy services increases energy security, asset values, as well as public health and well-being

- Enhancing industrial productivity, energy delivery services, and resource management while reducing local air pollution, energy prices, and public costs

- Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and alleviating poverty