Hybrid heat pumps have arisen as an alternative technology to monovalent heat pumps to electrify domestic heating demand. With lower capital cost and the ability to shift between an electrical heat pump and a gas boiler, it has the potential to overcome obstacles to heat pump rollout and its performance gap. Energy flexibility provision is a crucial property of a hybrid heat pump. Shuwen is looking to base the PhD study on quantifying and predicting the flexibility provision of hybrid heat pumps and its impact in UK LV networks.

At the current stage, Shuwen is exploring the use of demand-side monitoring and metering data to predict and evaluate the potential of flexibility provision by hybrid heat pumps in UK dwellings. Further down the PhD, the impact of hybrid heat pump flexibility as an alternative of monovalent heat pumps in UK LV networks will be examined through modelling. The PhD will also explore potential improvements in day-ahead time-of-use tariff for activating domestic energy flexibility.