Field Evaluation of Programmable Thermostats
Prior research suggests that poor programmable thermostats usability may prevent their effective use to save energy. We hypothesized that home occupants with a high-usability thermostats would be more likely to use them to save energy than people with a basic thermostat. We randomly installed a high-usability thermostat in half the 77 apartments of an affordable housing complex, installing a basic thermostat in the other half. During the heating season, we collected space temperature and furnace on-off data to evaluate occupant interaction with the thermostats, foremost nighttime setbacks. We found that thermostat usability did not influence energy-saving behaviors, finding no significant difference in temperature maintained among apartments with high- and low-usability thermostats.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Building Technologies Program
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1059166
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/GO-102012-3804; KNDJ-0-40345-00
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Work performed by Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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