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Assessing the performance of domestic heating controls in a whole house test facility

Fitton, R; Swan, W; Benjaber, MAA; Hughes, T; Todd, S

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Authors

MAA Benjaber

T Hughes

S Todd



Abstract

The energy consumed by domestic space heating systems represents a considerable share of the energy
consumed in the UK. At the same time up to a quarter of English homes have inadequate controls on the central heating systems. Current modelling tools, and results from the limited field trials that have been carried out, are problematic due to the influence of the behaviour of occupants and variability of weather conditions. The Salford Energy House is a full-sized end terrace house built within a climate controlled laboratory. This allows a house of typical construction to be extensively analysed while completely disconnected from the unpredictability of weather conditions and human behaviour. This paper presents a series of tests carried out in the Salford Energy House into the effectiveness of installing room thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves. Savings of 40% in terms of energy consumption, cost and CO2 were achieved. The results should be regarded with caution in terms of their extent and application to real homes, but represent a significant contribution to the gap in current knowledge due to the ability to isolate the performance of homes from uncooperative variables, and a potential base for the development of more effective modelling tools.

Citation

Fitton, R., Swan, W., Benjaber, M., Hughes, T., & Todd, S. (2016). Assessing the performance of domestic heating controls in a whole house test facility. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 37(5), 539-554. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624416634070

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 28, 2016
Online Publication Date Mar 2, 2016
Publication Date Sep 1, 2016
Deposit Date Feb 29, 2016
Publicly Available Date Apr 5, 2016
Journal Building Services Engineering Research and Technology
Print ISSN 0143-6244
Electronic ISSN 1477-0849
Publisher SAGE Publications
Volume 37
Issue 5
Pages 539-554
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0143624416634070
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0143624416634070
Related Public URLs https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/journal/building-services-engineering-research-and-technology
Additional Information Projects : Controls Study

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