Energy Use in a High-Rise Apartment Building. Progress Report

摘要

In June 1982, the Energy Performance of Buildings group of the Applied Science Division at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory initiated a study in a 328-unit, 15-story high-rise apartment building in Oakland, California, to investigate energy use patterns in such a structure. The units are heated electrically and all have similar complements of electric appliances. Natural gas for domestic hot water and cooking is supplied through a common meter. Hence, it was possible to analyze the electric billing information to determine electricity use patterns. A 20 to 1 range was found in baseload electricity consumption and a 40 to 1 range for space heating in a sample of 207 units. Units with an eastern orientation used less electricity for space heating than did those facing other directions. Other technical features for which we were able to devise tests were found not to account for any part of the observed variation. The analysis suggests that some occupants may be using their gas ranges for space heating, although our results are not conclusive on this point. A second major cause of the variations may be differences in occupants' temperature preferences. (ERA citation 09:012233)