Variances in Residential Heating Consumption

It is commonly accepted that occupants have a significant influence on the variation in residential heating consumption. However, the scale of that influence lacks empirical investigation. The aim of this study was to distinguish which part of the variance in actual residential heating consumption...

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Main Authors: Paula van den Brom, Anders Rhiger Hansen, Kirsten Gram-Hanssen, Arjen Meijer, Henk Visscher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Delft University of Technology 2020-02-01
Series:A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment
Subjects:
Online Access:https://aplusbe.eu/index.php/p/article/view/206
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author Paula van den Brom
Anders Rhiger Hansen
Kirsten Gram-Hanssen
Arjen Meijer
Henk Visscher
author_facet Paula van den Brom
Anders Rhiger Hansen
Kirsten Gram-Hanssen
Arjen Meijer
Henk Visscher
author_sort Paula van den Brom
collection DOAJ
description It is commonly accepted that occupants have a significant influence on the variation in residential heating consumption. However, the scale of that influence lacks empirical investigation. The aim of this study was to distinguish which part of the variance in actual residential heating consumption can be attributed to the occupants, and which part to the building itself. This was achieved by applying and extending a method suggested by Sonderegger in 1978, using updated and significantly improved data from two different countries: the Netherlands and Denmark. These data contain different types of heating supply systems (district heating and natural gas) and different housing forms (multi and single-family social housing, and private detached single-family houses). For the studied databases, the results indicate that approximately 50% of the variance in heating consumption between houses can be explained by differences related to occupants. The other 50% can be explained by the characteristics of the building itself and other physical parameters, which are often not taken into account in simulation models of heat transmission within buildings. Additional analyses indicate that the relative influence of occupants on heating consumption differs depending on the building characteristics of the dwelling. For example, the influence of occupants is larger when the building is more energy efficient. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that it is unrealistic to aim for a building simulation model that perfectly projects residential heating consumption for individual cases. However, creating building simulation models and occupant consumption profiles that accurately represent average residential heating consumption should be possible.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2212-3202
2214-7233
language English
publishDate 2020-02-01
publisher Delft University of Technology
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series A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment
spelling doaj-art-dd0ef6c4936d41d99f7d46698c6f3c682025-08-26T11:31:42ZengDelft University of TechnologyA+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment2212-32022214-72332020-02-011003Variances in Residential Heating ConsumptionPaula van den Brom0Anders Rhiger Hansen1Kirsten Gram-Hanssen2Arjen Meijer3Henk Visscher4TU Delft, Architecture and the Built Environment TU Delft, Architecture and the Built Environment TU Delft, Architecture and the Built Environment TU Delft, Architecture and the Built Environment TU Delft, Architecture and the Built Environment It is commonly accepted that occupants have a significant influence on the variation in residential heating consumption. However, the scale of that influence lacks empirical investigation. The aim of this study was to distinguish which part of the variance in actual residential heating consumption can be attributed to the occupants, and which part to the building itself. This was achieved by applying and extending a method suggested by Sonderegger in 1978, using updated and significantly improved data from two different countries: the Netherlands and Denmark. These data contain different types of heating supply systems (district heating and natural gas) and different housing forms (multi and single-family social housing, and private detached single-family houses). For the studied databases, the results indicate that approximately 50% of the variance in heating consumption between houses can be explained by differences related to occupants. The other 50% can be explained by the characteristics of the building itself and other physical parameters, which are often not taken into account in simulation models of heat transmission within buildings. Additional analyses indicate that the relative influence of occupants on heating consumption differs depending on the building characteristics of the dwelling. For example, the influence of occupants is larger when the building is more energy efficient. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that it is unrealistic to aim for a building simulation model that perfectly projects residential heating consumption for individual cases. However, creating building simulation models and occupant consumption profiles that accurately represent average residential heating consumption should be possible. https://aplusbe.eu/index.php/p/article/view/206Residential buildingSpace heatingActual energy consumptionBuilding energy simulationoccupants
spellingShingle Paula van den Brom
Anders Rhiger Hansen
Kirsten Gram-Hanssen
Arjen Meijer
Henk Visscher
Variances in Residential Heating Consumption
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment
Residential building
Space heating
Actual energy consumption
Building energy simulation
occupants
title Variances in Residential Heating Consumption
title_full Variances in Residential Heating Consumption
title_fullStr Variances in Residential Heating Consumption
title_full_unstemmed Variances in Residential Heating Consumption
title_short Variances in Residential Heating Consumption
title_sort variances in residential heating consumption
topic Residential building
Space heating
Actual energy consumption
Building energy simulation
occupants
url https://aplusbe.eu/index.php/p/article/view/206
work_keys_str_mv AT paulavandenbrom variancesinresidentialheatingconsumption
AT andersrhigerhansen variancesinresidentialheatingconsumption
AT kirstengramhanssen variancesinresidentialheatingconsumption
AT arjenmeijer variancesinresidentialheatingconsumption
AT henkvisscher variancesinresidentialheatingconsumption