Jacopo Torriti
Jacopo Torriti is a Professor of Energy Economics and Policy, University of Reading.
Before joining the University of Reading in 2011, Jacopo Torriti held teaching and research positions at the London School of Economics, the University of Surrey, the European University Institute, the UK Government Sustainable Development Commission and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jacopo Torriti’s research work focuses on economic tools for energy policies, including cost-benefit analysis, impact assessment and the standard cost model. In recent years, his interests in risk analysis and economic appraisals have been integrated with work in specific areas of energy demand in the built environment, with emphasis on economic incentives and the timing of demand practices. Specific areas of work include dynamic pricing, Time of Use tariffs, occupancy patterns, capacity mechanisms, demand side controllers and liberalisation in EU energy markets.
Jacopo Torriti seats on Defra's Economics Advisory Panel and Ofgem Academic Panel.
He earned a PhD from King's College London, a Master in European Studies from King's College London and a Laurea in Economics from Universita di Milano.
A video of his professorial inaugural lecture is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8rvyT8yZNU&feature=youtu.be
Before joining the University of Reading in 2011, Jacopo Torriti held teaching and research positions at the London School of Economics, the University of Surrey, the European University Institute, the UK Government Sustainable Development Commission and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jacopo Torriti’s research work focuses on economic tools for energy policies, including cost-benefit analysis, impact assessment and the standard cost model. In recent years, his interests in risk analysis and economic appraisals have been integrated with work in specific areas of energy demand in the built environment, with emphasis on economic incentives and the timing of demand practices. Specific areas of work include dynamic pricing, Time of Use tariffs, occupancy patterns, capacity mechanisms, demand side controllers and liberalisation in EU energy markets.
Jacopo Torriti seats on Defra's Economics Advisory Panel and Ofgem Academic Panel.
He earned a PhD from King's College London, a Master in European Studies from King's College London and a Laurea in Economics from Universita di Milano.
A video of his professorial inaugural lecture is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8rvyT8yZNU&feature=youtu.be
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Here we contribute to the existing literature on time-use behaviour through a systematic exploration of the relationship between working patterns and energy consumption from the perspective of time-use. Our starting point is the premise that different work arrangements impact the timing of energy demand not only in workplaces, but also at home. Using the data from the 2014–2015 UK time-use survey, we were able to capture patterns of time-use behaviours and to assess their relationship with daily energy consumption. We propose a systematic time-use-based approach for estimating residential energy consumption with regards to activity timing, activity location, activity coordination, and appliance type. We use this method to discover patterns in residential activities and energy consumption, as well as the causal relationship between residential energy consumption and work patterns. In this study, we unpack the heterogeneity in the work–energy relationship,
particularly when comparing full-time and part-time workers. Our results suggest that full-time employees have a higher potential to reduce their energy use compared to part-time employees. We also discover a non-linear change in total energy consumption for respondents with varying
levels of work time. Energy consumption reductions associated with differences in work schedules are greatest during the first few hours of the workday, but then level off. Our findings suggest that time-use data can provide useful insights for evaluating and possibly designing energy and labour-market policies.
Here we contribute to the existing literature on time-use behaviour through a systematic exploration of the relationship between working patterns and energy consumption from the perspective of time-use. Our starting point is the premise that different work arrangements impact the timing of energy demand not only in workplaces, but also at home. Using the data from the 2014–2015 UK time-use survey, we were able to capture patterns of time-use behaviours and to assess their relationship with daily energy consumption. We propose a systematic time-use-based approach for estimating residential energy consumption with regards to activity timing, activity location, activity coordination, and appliance type. We use this method to discover patterns in residential activities and energy consumption, as well as the causal relationship between residential energy consumption and work patterns. In this study, we unpack the heterogeneity in the work–energy relationship,
particularly when comparing full-time and part-time workers. Our results suggest that full-time employees have a higher potential to reduce their energy use compared to part-time employees. We also discover a non-linear change in total energy consumption for respondents with varying
levels of work time. Energy consumption reductions associated with differences in work schedules are greatest during the first few hours of the workday, but then level off. Our findings suggest that time-use data can provide useful insights for evaluating and possibly designing energy and labour-market policies.
Drawing on recent research in energy and transport studies, and combining this with concepts from sociology, economics, social theory and technology studies, the chapters in this collection review and challenge different aspects of received wisdom. Brief but critical introductions to classic notions like those of ‘energy efficiency’, ‘elasticity’, ‘energy services’ and the ‘energy trilemma’, together with discussions and analyses of well-worn phrases about ‘low hanging fruit’ and ‘keeping the lights on’, articulate aspects of the energy debate that are often taken for granted. In re-working these established themes and adding twists to familiar tales, the authors develop a repertoire of new ideas about the fundamentals of energy demand and carbon reduction.
This book presents a valuable and thought-provoking resource for students, researchers and policy-makers interested in energy demand, politics and policy.
Throughout this volume, Jacopo Torriti integrates his findings from institutional cost-benefit analyses and smart metering trials in a range of European countries with key economic and social concepts and policy insights derived from almost ten years of research in this area. He explores the extent to which the benefits of smart meters outweigh the cost, and poses key questions including: which energy savings can be expected from the roll out of smart meters in households? Is Cost-Benefit Analysis an appropriate economic tool for assessing the impacts of smart metering rollouts? Can smart meters play a significant role in research on people’s activities and the timing of energy demand? Torriti concludes by providing a much-needed survey of recent changes and expected future developments in this growing field.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy policy and demand and smart metering infrastructure.
Whilst in the U.S. Demand Side Response has been used for decades, this is a relatively recent phenomenon in Europe. Following studies in the first decade of the 2000s, which demonstrated future imbalances between demand and supply due to more intermittent renewables and higher peaks from electric vehicles and heat pumps, the regulatory space for Demand Side Response has been expanding. The number of businesses, such as energy aggregators, providing Demand Side Response services has been growing and gaining more and more traction also thanks to national roll-out of smart meters and plans to introduce Capacity Markets in most European countries.
Despite the widespread optimism on Demand Side Response, a comprehensive account of the evidence on the impacts of programmes aimed at shifting peaks of energy demand is missing. This book covers this gap by presenting evidence on a set of Demand Side Response activities, ranging from price-based to incentive-based programmes and policies. It also looks at the actual energy saving impacts of smart meters, collecting evidence from over 30 trials. The book draws on examples of different programmes for both residential and non-residential sectors of electricity demand, including Time of Use tariffs, Critical Peak Pricing Automated Demand Controllers and Ancillary Services. What constitutes peak energy demand? Can price influence the timing of electricity demand? Will automated controllers replace manual forms of Demand Side Response intervention?
Video here: https://bit.ly/2N6EdG1
When we all consume electricity at the same time, energy suppliers have to activate dirty old power plants with excessive greenhouse gas emissions and high system costs. Shifting the timing of electricity demand is critical for balancing the grid when consumption is high and when there are drops in supply from renewables. However, little is known about the extent to which pricing and new technologies will enable a higher level of demand-side flexibility. In this inaugural lecture, Jacopo Torriti presented research on the timing of electricity demand, peaks, people’s activities and demand-side flexibility.
The DEMAND Centre has been linking time use, energy consumption and travel diary data as a means of addressing these questions. This seminar presents ideas and results from this aspect of the DEMAND Centre’s research and provides an opportunity to focus on the significance of timing and synchronisation for modelling, strategy, ‘behaviour change’ and policy analysis.
See presentation online at http://www.demand.ac.uk/15/01/2014/presentation-given-at-decc-10-december-2013/