Energy savings due to model conservation standards in multifamily buildings

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:7129947

Tonn, B E; White, D L; Currier, C

In the past several years, the Bonneville Power Administration and utilities in the US Pacific Northwest have invested significant amounts of money in retrofitting existing dwellings with energy conservation measures. In 1983, regionwide Model Conservation Standards (MCS) were developed to guide the construction of energy efficient dwellings in order to preclude the more expensive retrofitting process. This paper evaluates energy savings attributable to MCS in the unfamiliarity sector. The sample of buildings used in this study is located in Tacoma, Washington. Forty-seven buildings, with a total of 602 units, comprise the MCS or study samples. Thirty buildings, with a total of 158 units, built before 1984 under current practice energy and building codes, comprise the control sample. Billing histories were collected for each unit in all buildings for the period of January 1985 to December 1987. Data on unit size and spatial orientation were drawn from building plans and on-site inspections. Occupants of the buildings were surveyed about energy use, demographic characteristics, and characteristics about their apartment units (e.g., rent, location). This paper presents the differences in electricity use between the MCS and non-MCS samples and estimates differences in multifamily household electricity use (with a focus on space heating) according to significant demographic and unit descriptors. It is estimated that between 0.8 kWh/ft/sup 2//year and 1.8 kWh/ft/sup 2//year of space heating electricity savings are attributable to the MCS for multifamily buildings. 13 refs., 9 tabs.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 7129947
• Report Number(s): CONF-880814-3; ON: DE88014564
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320100* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Buildings
BUILDING CODES
BUILDINGS
COST
DATA
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
ELECTRIC UTILITIES
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS
FEDERAL REGION X
HEATING
INFORMATION
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PUBLIC UTILITIES
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
RETROFITTING
SPACE HEATING
STANDARDS
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
USA
WASHINGTON