1. Comparison of Electricity Load Characteristics in Athens, Greece
and London, UK.
Dr. B. E. Psiloglou, Dr. C. Giannakopoulos
Institute of Environmental Research & Sustainable Development,
National Observatory of Athens, Greece.
S. Majithia
National Grid Transco, England, UK.
PROMITHEAS: The Energy and Climate Policy Network
International Black Sea Energy Policy Conference
“Energy Investments and Trade Opportunities”
8 – 9 October 2008, Athens, Greece.

2. Factors that Influence Energy Consumption
Human Activities - Habits
Prevailing Meteorological Conditions
(Air Temperature & Rel. Humidity, Wind,
Solar radiation Intensity)
Data Availability
Total Hourly Residential & Commercial Electricity Consumption (kWh), spanning the period from January 1997 to December 2001
Source:  Public Power Corporation of Greece,
 National Grid Transco of UK
Mean Hourly Values of Meteorological Parameters
(Air Temperature & Rel. Humidity, Wind, Solar rad. Intensity),
for the same period
Source:  National Observatory of Athens, Greece
 United Kingdom Meteorological Office.

3. Daily Mean Air Temperature, Normalized Energy Consumption
and GNP/capita for Athens, Greece, for the period
Peaks in energy demand
are linked with
extremes in temperature
GWh / GNP per capita

4. Daily Mean Air Temperature, Normalized Energy Consumption
and GNP/capita for London, UK, for the period
Seasonal trend in energy demand
is apparent in both cities
influenced by the prevailing weather conditions
GWh / GNP per capita

5. Daily Mean Air Temperature and
Normalized Daily Total Energy Consumption (GWh/GNPpc),
for Athens, Greece, for the year 2001.
Energy consumption presents a clear WEEKLY VARIATION
with MIN values on Sundays and MAX values close to midweek.
This pattern is occasionally interrupted on isolated holidays
falling in the middle of the week,
as well as during Christmas and Easter vacations
and also in August for the Athens case only.

6. Daily Mean Air Temperature and
Normalized Daily Total Energy Consumption (GWh/GNPpc),
for Athens, Greece, for the year 2001.
Lowest temperatures
MAX values in energy consumption
Increase in energy consumption mainly due
to the extensive use of air-conditioning
The festive
Christmas
period
Transient
season
periods
Summer Holidays
15th of August
Easter
Holidays

7. Daily Mean Air Temperature and
Normalized Daily Total Energy Consumption (GWh/GNPpc),
for London, UK, for the year 2001.
Lowest temperatures
MAX values in energy consumption
Warmer period with no need of air-conditioning
The festive
Christmas
period
Easter
Holidays

8. Daily, Weekly, Monthly Variation of Energy Consumption
Monthly Seasonal Variation Index (MSVI)
MSVIij = Eij / Ej
Index for month i in year j
Εij : monthly energy consumption for month i in year j
Εj : monthly average consumption for year j
The use of the MSVI index has the advantage that
different levels of Energy consumption can be compared !

9. MAX values of energy consumption are related to the appearance of the lowest temperatures.
Need for space-heating.
Increased energy requirements during the festive Christmas period.
Increasing trend in electricity demand,
mainly due to extensive use of air-conditioners. Need for space-cooling.
The major part of the population of the greater Athens area is on summer vacation.

10. MAX values of energy consumption are related to the appearance of the lowest temperatures.
Need for space-heating.
Increased energy requirements during the festive Christmas period.
Similar behavior with an exception:
the lack of need for air-conditioning use keeps energy demand in low levels.

11. Daily, Weekly, Monthly Variation of Energy Consumption
Daily Seasonal Variation Index (DSVI)
DSVIijk = Eijk / Ejk
Index for day i , of week j , of year k
Εijk : energy consumption for the particular day
Εjk : mean daily consumption for week j , of year k
The use of the DSVI index has again the advantage that
different levels of Energy consumption can be compared !

12. Energy consumption is lower during weekends (especially during Sundays) due to the reduced economic activity.
Lower levels of energy consumption are also present on Mondays because of the inertia caused by the reduced economic activity during the weekends
Electricity consumption also decreases on the holidays that fall between Monday and Friday
and also
on the days that follow a holiday or
are placed between two holidays
(due again to the inertia)

13. Daily, Weekly, Monthly Variation of Energy Consumption
Daily Seasonal Variation Index (DSVI) – Seasonal Characteristics
Energy consumption is higher during week-days in JULY.
In JANUARY we have higher values during week-ends.
This reflects the fact that during weekends in JULY, people are away from the offices/houses
and tend to go outdoor or out of the city boundaries.
The opposite holds true for JANUARY.

14. Daily, Weekly, Monthly Variation of Energy Consumption
Hourly Seasonal Variation Index (HSVI)
Index for hour i of the average hours period, of month j , in year k
HSVIijk = Eijk / Ejk
Εijk : electricity consumption for a certain hour
Εjk : mean monthly energy consumption for month j in year k
The use of the HSVI index has again the advantage that
different levels of Energy consumption can be compared !

15. During the working hours of the day, there is an extensive use of electricity both for household (cooking, heating) and business (office heating, server and PC usage) needs.
During the late afternoon and early evening hours, there is a second max due to the use of lighting and heating/cooking using additional heaters or air-conditioners.
In London, energy demand is kept constantly high during office hours,
i.e. from around 9am to 7pm
with two less pronounced maxima, one around midday and the second in the early evening hour.

16. Daily, Weekly, Monthly Variation of Energy Consumption
Hourly Seasonal Variat. Index (HSVI) – Seasonal Characteristics
During JULY, there is a midday max which occurs at the same hours as the January one, and an evening max which occurs much later and is much less pronounced.
In the late afternoon/early evening hours, there is a decrease in demand reflecting the fact that most people like to stay outdoors and return home late.
In Athens, during JANUARY, there are two distinct maxima: one close to midday (cooking, heating, office needs) and another in the evening (lighting, extra heating, home entertainment) as most people stay indoors.
In London, during JANUARY there is only one distinct peak in the evening hours.
In JULY, the evening peak disappears, but demand is kept high throughout the daylight hours and especially around midday.

17. Relationship between Energy Consumption
and Air Temperature, for Athens, Greece.
The relationship between energy consumption and air temperature is NOT linear.
On the contrary, presents two maxima and one minimum around 22oC.
However, there are certain limits beyond which energy consumption does not increase further.
Around 22oC there exists an area where energy consumption shows no sensitivity to air temperature. Outside this area, consumption increases with the increase or decrease of air temperature (space-heating/cooling needs).

18. Relationship between Energy Consumption
and Air Temperature, for London, UK.
London, UK, also exhibits a NON linear relationship between air temperature and energy consumption BUT with only one minimum and one well defined maximum.
The minimum values of energy cons. appear to be around 16oC and this is the temper. for CDD calculations.
Above 16oC , energy levels for London tend to rise slightly but below this temperature energy levels increase significantly (space-heating needs).

19. Conclusions
This work presents a comparative study of energy demand and thermal comfort levels for two cities: Athens, Greece and London, UK, covering the period
For both cities energy demand peaks in winter but for Athens a second significant peak is apparent in the summer, which is not found in London.
The winter peak is associated with low temperatures in both cities
In Athens, the summer peak is linked to high temperatures and increased air-conditioning use
Both cities exhibit lower energy demand levels during public holidays and weekends (especially Sundays and summer weekends)
The hourly variation of energy demand levels has two maxima in Athens (around midday and evening) but is constantly high throughout office hours for London.
The main advantage of MSVI, DSVI, and HSVI indexes use is that different levels of energy consumption can be compared !

20. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
Acknowledge :
This work was supported by EU project ENSEMBLES
under contract  number GOCE-CT
For more information: “ “
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION