Negotiating thermal comfort in the provision of smart heating

采用带有智能加热控制(SHC)的热泵进行直接负荷控制(DLC)，预计将在英国的热能脱碳方面发挥关键作用。它可以成功地促进供暖需求的电气化，并使其适应低碳电源的可变发电量。这项技术要求用户传达他们一天中每个时间的最低温度偏好，并优化热泵的运行，以实现这些偏好，同时减少高峰时段的电力需求。这种方法隐含地假设用户知道他们的温度偏好，这些是没有商量余地的要求，并且用户的必需品可以用这些术语传达。然而，我们对用户的需求知之甚少，他们是否愿意重新配置它们，或者如何主观和客观地评估它们，并将它们转化为供暖系统的行动。利用科学和技术研究(STS)的概念，该博士学位旨在研究影响供暖需求的参数，它们如何与关键的物理环境变量相关联，并探索协调用户和电力系统需求的方案。它旨在为以人为中心的供暖控制奠定基础，为家庭设计的相关术语对他们有意义。

The adoption of heat pumps with smart heating controls (SHC) for direct load control (DLC) is expected to play a critical role in the decarbonisation of heat in the UK. It could successfully contribute to electrify the heating demand and to adapt it to the variable generation of low-carbon electricity sources. This technology requires users to communicate their minimum temperature preferences for each time of the day and optimises the operation of the heat pump to achieve them while reducing the electricity demand at peak times. That approach implicitly assumes that users know their temperature preferences, that these are non-negotiable requirements and that users' necessities can be communicated in these terms. However, we know little about the user's demands, their willingness to reconfigure them or how to gauge them subjectively and objectively and translate them into heating system actions. Using concepts from Science and Technology Studies (STS), this PhD aims to study the parameters influencing heating requirements, how they relate to key physical environmental variables and explore options to reconcile the needs of the users and the electricity system. It aims to establish the groundwork for human-centred heating controls, designed for households in relevant terms that are meaningful to them.