Apr 5, 2022Marginal Omissions?I co-run the website ShouldIBake.com (and its associated Twitter @baking4cast). It uses forecasts from National Grid to show the proportion of solar, wind, and hydro power on Great Britain’s electricity network. …Climate Change8 min readClimate Change8 min read
Dec 8, 2021The boiler tweak that can save on heating for families with small childrenTurn off the lights? Do the washing at 30°C? There are lots of common ways we save energy. But there’s a less well-known approach that is getting attention right now, and it could be particularly helpful for families with small children. This winter, many people have started checking the “flow…Heating3 min readHeating3 min read
May 22, 2020Do your bit for low-carbon power: bake this weekendDo you bake at home? Do you care about the climate and renewable energy? If so, you could help by baking this weekend with ‘surplus’ renewable power. You may have seen headlines about the need to switch off renewable power generators this weekend (23/24 May 2020). This is because there…Baking2 min readBaking2 min read
May 9, 2020How much electricity is used for home baking in Great Britain?My attempt at an estimate. TL;DR it comes out at 590 GWh for GB in 2017, or 0.57% of home electricity use for that year. I’m a home baker and energy researcher. The combination of these interests has meant I’ve ended up co-organising Should I Bake, which lets bakers in…4 min read4 min read
Mar 2, 2020Time out? Step up.If coronavirus management leads to more people self-isolating, could this unexpected resource of bored, healthy, creative humans make some positive contribution to people and planet? No-one knows how things will go with COVID-19 coronavirus. Any way you look at it, it has already been a terrible thing, resulting in hundreds…Coronavirus4 min readCoronavirus4 min read
Dec 12, 2018Conducting the Mechanical ChoirIn which I say a bit about my Mechanical Choir project, which uses recordings by Mechanical Turk workers: how I put it together, why, and how I think it went. I’m pleased to finally share a project I’ve been working on for a while. I haven’t been very active on…Mechanical Turk5 min readMechanical Turk5 min read
Aug 31, 2018In the heat of the nightIn this post I discuss how findings from a study I was involved in suggest a challenge for meeting morning peaks in heat demand in winter if we electrify heating in the UK. I was interested to read a recent report from UKERC on gas use in Britain during our…Energy5 min readEnergy5 min read
Aug 14, 2018Should energy suppliers become more like building societies?This post describes a model for ‘energy building societies’ which would provide people with a simple and approachable route to ownership of electricity generation/storage assets, unlocking a range of benefits for people and society. Building societies originated in England in the late 1700s, and provided a simple mechanism for people…Investing6 min readInvesting6 min read
Jul 26, 2018Prediction markets for short-term granular electricity forecastingAs the electricity system becomes more decentralized, the ability to make short-term (e.g. day ahead) and granular (e.g. half hourly, for individual households) electricity demand/supply forecasts is increasingly valuable. It can help prosumers and aggregators decide how much power/capacity they may be able to offer to the market, suppliers can…Prediction Markets10 min readPrediction Markets10 min read
Jun 20, 2018Lunchtime seminar: Influence of international climate law on energy policies in France, 13.00, Wed 27 JuneStaff and students at University College London are invited to this lunchtime seminar. Lunch will be provided so if you do plan to come along, please email michael.fell@ucl.ac.uk from your UCL email address so we have an idea of numbers. Title: Influence of international climate law on energy policies in…Climate Change2 min readClimate Change2 min read
