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The Cost of Comfort in Your Home: Peak-Time Energy and Cost Savings from Setpoint Adjustment of Space Heating and Cooling

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1721745

This poster presents the tradeoff between energy costs and thermal comfort in homes. Residential heating and cooling systems use a thermostat control to maintain a comfortable temperature range, but tighter temperature control leads to higher annual energy costs. We estimate the impact of temperature setpoint adjustment on annual energy costs using a residential building model developed at NREL. We show that increasing the allowable temperature range reduces energy costs in all five of the climate zones in the U.S. Annual costs reduced by about $100, with larger savings in areas with more heating and/or cooling loads.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Building Technologies Office (EE-5B); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308; AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1721745
Report Number(s):
NREL/PO-5D00-76179; MainId:6013; UUID:1bb276d7-e854-ea11-9c31-ac162d87dfe5; MainAdminID:18834
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English