Domestic hot water consumption and efficiency: Researching consumption and demand in New York City multifamily apartment buildings. Final report

Technical Report · Sat Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:453490

Loss, W; Neumann, E; McNamara, M; Sahagian, T; Winterson, J

This report combines the results of two research projects sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and conducted by EME Group to study domestic hot water (DHW) in multifamily buildings. Part 1 of the report focuses on DHW consumption and demand in 50 New York City multifamily buildings ranging in size from 20 to 248 units. This is the largest and most comprehensive DHW study conducted in the US to date. The primary conclusion of this study is that BTU consumption is a far more important index than volume (gallon) consumption, and more relevant for sizing purposes as well. During the study period large fluctuations in DHW supply temperature even over short time periods were observed, which demonstrated clearly that gallon consumption alone is inadequate to determine total DHW energy or size equipment. In Part 1 a wide variety of statistical tests on the data were performed to determine the best correlation between DHW consumption and the most easily accessible building parameters. The best predictive variables for total consumption were the number of occupied apartments and total building population. Variables including number of clothes washers and number of dishwashers had less predictive value. The report presents data for each building for maximum peak, average peak, daily and hourly consumption, in gallons and BTU, per occupied apartment and per capita. Complementing Part 1, Part 2 presents the results of an investigation into the efficiency of DHW generation. Data were gathered on the operation of the three most common types of water heaters: direct-fired tank, boiler with indirect-fired storage tanks, and boiler with tankless coil. 37 figs., 17 tabs.

• Research Organization: EME Group, New York, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Albany, NY (United States)
• OSTI ID: 453490
• Report Number(s): NYSERDA--97-2; ON: TI97003671
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
APARTMENT BUILDINGS
CALORIFIC VALUE
CONSUMPTION RATES
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
GAS APPLIANCES
NEW YORK CITY
PROGRESS REPORT
WATER HEATERS
WATER HEATING