Field-Metered Data from Portable Unit Dehumidifiers in the U.S. Residential Sector: Initial Results of a Pilot Study

Technical Report · Tue Jan 29 00:00:00 EST 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1172130· OSTI ID:1172130

Willem, Henry ^[1]; Beraki, Bereket ^[1]; Burke, Tom ^[1]; Melody, Moya ^[1]; Nagaraju, Mythri ^[1]; Ni, Chun Chun ^[1]; Pratt, Stacy ^[1]; Dominique Yang, Hung-Chia ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Environmental Energy Technologies Division

The work described herein is intended to enrich the body of literature regarding dehumidifiers in residential settings—in particular the hours of use and energy consumption of various types of dehumidifiers. In the United States, portable unit dehumidifiers most commonly are used in basements during humid summer days in northern climates. Dehumidifier energy consumption differs among households depending on settings selected by the user, frequency of use, and conditions of operation. Although some estimates of dehumidifier use have been developed, and a few metering studies performed, there remains a paucity of metered data collected from individual households that use dehumidifiers. For this study we obtained field data on the energy consumption of dehumidifiers to supplement currently available analyses. Our goal was to obtain data from a pilot study that we could use to develop initial distributions describing the capacities and applications of dehumidifiers used in individual homes. More precisely characterizing the use of dehumidifiers in real-world applications will enable a more accurate estimate of the range of energy use in various operational modes. Our pilot field-metering exercise was aimed at compiling real-time data on the energy consumption of portable dehumidifiers in residential households in the New England and Mid-Atlantic areas. Our analysis furthers the process of developing a more precise estimate of dehumidifier energy use, which will support the evaluation of the potential energy savings and attendant costs associated with more energy efficient dehumidifiers.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1172130
• Report Number(s): LBNL-6093E
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
dehumidifier
energy use