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Smart Energy Research Group
The Smart Energy Research Group (SERG) is focused on data-driven research, primarily investigating the drivers of energy demand in residential buildings. We also evaluate the energy performance of buildings, as well as conducting large scale observational/epidemiological studies. Last but not least we develop, maintain and curate innovative energy data assets, such as the SERL Observatory datasets, for the research community.
Our research projects and interests
The Smart Energy Research Group’s research covers a numbers of different areas all linked by the common thread of innovative use of high resolution energy data.
- Assessing the impacts of Covid-19 on energy use
The unprecedented change in living and working patterns caused by the CV19 lockdowns created an opportunity to research how such major shifts would affect domestic energy use. The Smart Energy Research Lab ran its own CV19 project which surveyed 1000 GB homes on their experience of the lockdowns. The Smart Energy Research Lab dataset (which contains energy data as well as demographic, building and weather data) is being used by numerous projects to gain insights into how working from home affects domestic energy demand.
See SERL publications for research papers and findings.
- EDOL
The Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory (EDOL) is a £9m UKRI EPSRC project running from 2023 to 2028 in collaboration with the University of Oxford. EDOL expands on the work of SERL by developing:
- forensic laboratories of small groups of homes who will take part in home visits and interviews as well as energy monitoring
- laboratories of 100-200 homes to evaluate technologies and energy saving interventions for potential scale-out
- an observatory of 2,000 GB participating homes with more in-depth home energy monitoring equipment such as temperature sensors
- Ethics and governance of using smart meter data for research
Enabling UK researchers access to domestic smart meter data protected by GDPR and the Smart Energy Code has entailed the team learning a great deal about smart meter data governance. The team have developed an extensive data governance framework; an application procedure for gaining access to smart meter data via a secure lab; convened an independent Data Governance Board; recruited and managed a cohort of 13,000 households.
- Evaluating government interventions
The Smart Energy Research Lab has worked closely with the Department on Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide energy data to evaluate the impact of energy-saving interventions. We were an integral part of the Smart Energy Savings (SENS) trials and are working on evaluations of the Green Homes Grant scheme’s interventions. The existing SERL dataset can be used a control group for such projects and we also advise on and run participant recruitment for our ‘laboratory’ projects.
- Homes for Net Zero
The SERG team are working with the Energy System Catapult on the Homes for Net Zero project.
- HouseInc
HouseInc is a HORIZON-funded project that will use innovative methodologies to analyse housing inequalities in four European countries.
The EU faces a housing crisis with a lack of affordable, sustainable, and inclusive housing. According to Eurostat data, in 2022, 16.8% of EU citizens lived in overcrowded households, with higher rates in Eastern Europe. Energy poverty is rising, with 9.3% of EU citizens unable to keep their homes adequately warm. The recent surge in energy and fuel prices has worsened this situation. Housing costs are also a burden with 10.8% of the EU population spending over 40% of their income on housing.
HouseInc aims to address these issues by contributing to policies for affordable, inclusive, and sustainable housing for marginalized groups.
- Identifying fuel poverty
Smart meter data can help us better understand and alleviate the challenge of fuel poverty. Identifying patterns in energy use that suggest households are fuel poor could lead to tailored energy efficiency advice, financial support, or specific tariffs.
UCL's Smart Energy Research Lab works with partners in academia, government and industry on a number of projects using cutting edge techniques such as Artificial Intelligence to help identify fuel poverty, evaluate interventions and gather data to tackle this major societal challenge.
See SERL publications for research papers and findings.
- MAGC EDGE evaluation project
This three-year project, funded by the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group), runs until December 2026 with studies in South Africa, Colombia, and Indonesia. It aims to evaluate EDGE-certified buildings in low and middle-income countries by comparing:
- EDGE-predicted versus actual energy savings
- Energy performance of EDGE-certified versus conventional buildings
The project seeks to improve EDGE model predictions in EDGE residential buildings and boost actual savings by assessing how closely EDGE-predicted energy and water demand matches actual usage, and identifying key areas where differences are substantial, e.g. season, climate, building types, types of EDGE solutions, and the possible reasons for these.
- Measuring energy efficiency
The Smart Energy Research Lab plans to produce a series of publicly available reports, statistical analyses and data tables that enable maximum value to the research community for the unique dataset of energy, demographic, building, weather and EPC data that has been assembled with our funding. The first SERL stats report was published in April 2022 and is expected to be produced annually along with background data tables. The report shows how residential energy use in GB varies over time.
See SERL publications for research papers and findings.
- Smart Energy Research Lab
The group’s work is underpinned by the Smart Energy Research Lab (SERL) which provides a technical and data governance infrastructure that allows accredited UK researchers to access to high-quality, high-resolution gas and electricity data for ~13,000 GB households via smart meters. This data is linked to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), weather, demographic and building information, creating a detailed resource for understanding domestic energy use and informing sustainable energy policy.
The most accessible outputs from SERL are the Statistical Reports, with SERL Stats Report Vol I downloaded over 4016 times across 72 countries. The SERL Statistical Dataset has been accessed over 200 times from over 65 organisations including the Bank of England, the Economist and the Prime Minister’s Office. SERL data has supported 34 research projects and contributed to government initiatives like the Smart Energy Savings Trials and Green Homes Grant evaluations.
- Smart meters and health
Smart meter data could inform health interventions such as prescribing boiler upgrades to people living in cold or damp homes, which might be cheaper and more effective than medical alternatives. It could also allow vulnerable people to stay independent if carers are enabled to monitor their energy use to check their routine is normal. Smart Energy Research Lab data is contributing to a number of projects and initiatives looking at the link between domestic energy use and health.
Research with impact
Smart Energy Research Lab in teaching
Members of the Smart Energy Research lab contribute to teaching across UCL Energy Institute including:
Smart Energy and the Built Environment MSc
Smart Energy Research Lab members teach the following modules available to Smart Energy and the Built Environment MSc students:
- Fundamentals of Smart Energy and the Built Environment
- Energy Systems in Society
- Introduction to Smart Energy Data and Statistics
- Data Analytics in the Smart Built Environment
- Social Value and New Energy Business Models
Members of the team also supervise Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc dissertation research.
View Smart Energy and the Built Environment MSc in the UCL Prospectus ►
Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc
Smart Energy Research Lab members teach the following modules available to Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc students:
Energy Data Analytics in the Built Environment
Members of the team also supervise Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc dissertation research.
View Energy Systems and Data Analytics MSc in the UCL Prospectus ►
Our researchers
Simon Elam
Principal Research Associate
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Tadj Oreszczyn
Professor of Energy & Environment
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David Shipworth
Professor of Energy and the Built Environment
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Eoghan McKenna
Senior Research Associate in Data Science and End Use Energy Demand
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Ellen Webborn
Research Associate in Data Science and End Use Energy Demand
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Jessica Few
Research Fellow in Data Science and End Use Energy Demand
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Martin Pullinger
Senior Research Fellow in Data Science and End Use Energy Demand
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Despina Manouseli
Lecturer (Teaching) in Energy Demand
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Minnie Ashdown
Research Fellow of Data-driven Research in Energy and Buildings
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Jenny Crawley
Senior Research Fellow
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Cliff Elwell
Professor of Building Physics
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Clare Hanmer
Research Fellow in Buildings and Energy
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Lin Zheng
Research Assistant in Energy and Buildings
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