Miscellaneous electric loads: Characterization and energy savings potential

Journal Article · Sat Mar 13 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Energy and Buildings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.110892· OSTI ID:1844937

Butzbaugh, Joshua ^[1]; Hosbach, Robert ^[2]; Meier, Alan ^[2]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Over time, miscellaneous electric loads (MELs) are expected to increase both in magnitude and share of residential and commercial building energy consumption. This trend is most apparent in North America, but it is also occurring in Japan and Europe. However, the contribution of MELs to building energy use is not currently well understood, both because the products in this category are transforming rapidly and the definition and classification of MELs is ambiguous. Furthermore, this study estimated the national energy consumption of 36 MELs using best-available data and found them to comprise 12% of delivered electricity to the U.S. residential and commercial building sectors. If 26 of these MELs were replaced with the most energy-efficient product models available on the market, their energy consumption could be halved to 6% of delivered electricity. National energy models will better account for building energy consumption by incorporating the MELs data collected and analyzed for this study, leading to improved policy decisions.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231
• OSTI ID: 1844937
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1782270; OSTI ID: 1788024
• Journal Information: Energy and Buildings, Journal Name: Energy and Buildings Vol. 241; ISSN 0378-7788
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
Buildings
End uses
Energy savings potential
Forecast
Miscellaneous electric loads
U.S. national energy consumption