[Bldg-sim] Balance point temperature for houses

[Chris Balbach]

Dr. Abaza :

The TREAT (Targeted Residential Energy Analysis Tool) whole building 
energy simulation software package can determine a building's balance 
point (both heating and cooling) given the building description. One can 
construct a 'simple' model of a typical house in about 15 minutes, and 
TMY2 weather files for all 50 states are included for driving the 
model.  It would be pretty simple to make some parametric runs varying 
both climate and envelope /infiltration to produce a range of balance 
point temps. We have found both insulation levels and air infiltration 
(tightness of the envelope) often have the greatest effect on the 
balance point of a given structure, along with the temperature setpoints 
used for heating and cooling. Significant internal gains, of course, can 
also drive the balance points.

A 30 day fully functional version (free download) of the TREAT software 
is available from http://www.treatsoftware.com

Best,

_Chris

Chris Balbach, PE, CEM
Vice President of Research and Development
124 Brindley Street, Suite 4, Ithaca, NY 14850
ph: (607)-327-1647
http://www.psdconsulting.com
http://www.treatsoftware.com

Michael Blasnik wrote:
> In my experience from analyzing utility usage data with a floating 
> balance point, the typical effective heating balance point in US homes 
> will usually be in the range of 54F - 62F (for true heating 
> climates).  Newer homes are usually closer to the low end of the scale 
> while older homes are on the higher end. Electrically heated homes 
> tend to be on the lower end but it's not clear how much of that 
> difference is the effects of vintage/thermal integrity vs. lower 
> thermostat set points or zoning.
>
> There may be some published results in ACEEE summer study proceedings, 
> but I can't recall any specific reference.
>
> Michael Blasnik
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Abaza Hussein" <ahussein at spsu.edu>
> To: <equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org>; 
> <bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 3:52 PM
> Subject: [Bldg-sim] Balance point temperature for houses
>
>
>> Could you please help. Is there any recent data or survey about the 
>> balance
>> point temperature of homes in the US. Is the 65F still applicable?
>> I appreciate any input.
>> Dr. H. Abaza
>> ECU
>
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