Home Energy Savings

Jan Jantzen and Michael Kristensen

Sams Energy Agency, Denmark
jj@seagency.dk
www.ieepromise.eu


Energy agencies from Sams (Denmark), Iceland, Rhodes (Greece) and Tenerife (Spain) aim to
promote tried-and-tested methods for reducing the energy consumption of households. PROMISE is
an EU project under the IEE program.
Why should I save energy?
2
You save money
and tax
You save energy for the next
generation, and you act locally
The EU aims to
save 20% by 2020
The EU wishes to have secure supply, to
be competitive, to be sustainable
Three ways to save energy
3
Fuel. The energy coming into the house from the outside. A home owner could consider changing the
heating unit to another fuel type, for instance renewable energy.
Conversion. Energy is lost during conversion from input fuel to end-use energy. For example, an oil
furnace can be adjusted in order to minimize the losses through the chimney.
End-use. Energy spent by the occupants. They could perhaps decrease their consumption for example,
spend one minute less in the shower, or adjust the indoor temperature.
kWh saved on electricity
4
Grimsey Rhodes Samso Tenerife
Avoid standby mode
40 40

40

40

Raise temperature in refrigerator
or freezer 1 degree
30 30

30

30

Lower temperature in a washing
device (dishwasher from 60 to 30
C, washer from 90 to 60 or from 60
to 30 C)
45 45

45

45

Upgrade a washing device from
class C to A++
110 110 110 110
Upgrade a tumble dryer from class
C to A++
400 400 400 400
Replace an old light bulb by a CFL
45 45 45 45
Replace an old circulation pump by
a class A pump
333 333 333 333
Install PV panels, per m
2

103 206 142 242
What is the normal energy consumption? It depends on the local
climate.
5
Space heating:
11700 kWh
69%
Lighting, appliances,
cooking: 3270 kWh
19%
Hot water: 2070 kWh
12%
Household Energy Consumption in the EU (2009), Lapillonne, Sebi and Pollier 2012,
www.odyssee-indicators.org
Energy consumption of our standard house (RETScreen)
6
Data from RETScreen using an oil heated standard house of 138 sqm.
The same house is moved to different locations.
Grimsey Samso Rhodes Tenerife
Cooling 0 0 7.1 0
Hot water 3.7 3.4 2.9 2.8
Electricity 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5
Heating 26.3 16.7 3.9 0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
M
W
h
/
y
r

Overview of climate data (RETScreen)
7
Air
temper-
ature
Daily solar
radiation
Wind speed Heating
degree days
below 18 C
Cooling
degree days
over 20 C
deg C kWh/m2/d m/s deg C - d deg C - d
Samso 8.9 2.92 8.2 3316 0
Grimsey 2.8! 2.20! 6.6 5532! 0
Heimaey 5.1 2.35 10.7! 4704 0
Tenerife 21.2 5.62 5.5 0 606
Rhodes 19.2 5.28 4.4 659 729!
The islands are examples of different climates. The ! symbols mark the energy wise worst case
in each column. Grimsey is coldest, Heimaey is most windy. Tenerife has a tempered climate with
the most solar radiation. Rhodes requires both heating and cooling.
Saving factors [%] for heating/cooling
Grimsey Rhodes Samso Tenerife
Lower indoor temperature 1 C
6.7 13 8.0 13
Same for cooling
14 14
Upgrade to energy windows

12 12 12 12
Same for cooling
9.7 9.7
Improve the wall insulation 2.5
times
24 24 24 24
Same for cooling
20 20
Improve the loft insulation 2.5
times
16 16 16 16
Same for cooling
13 13
8
Saving factors [%] for heating/cooling
Grimsey Rhodes Samso Tenerife
Seal air leaks around doors and
windows
4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3
Same for cooling
8.3 8.3
Improve heating unit: lower
thermostat, lower pump speed,
insulate boiler, service checks,
renew burner
1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Lower temperature in hot water
tank, per degree
1.4 1.8 1.5 1.9
Save a litre of water every day
0.83 0.83 0.83 0.83
Install a solar hot water heater, per
m
2

9.4 23 12 23
9
In practice
10
What is your consumption?
We ask the house owners for their
consumption (electricity, oil, gas), perhaps
even their energy bills. This is the observed
consumption.
Then we try to estimate whether their
consumption is low, medium, or high. This
is difficult, because we do not have
reference numbers.
We have therefore built our own standard
house in software (RETScreen). We can
compare the observed consumption with
the calculated consumption of the
standard house transferred to the current
location.
Kilowatt corresponds to the speed of the
rotating disk in the picture.
Kilowatt-hours corresponds to the distance
that the counter runs in the picture.

11
Why change?
7.33 1.60
(Illustrations from Wikimedia Commons) 12
Because it is a good investment (in Denmark)
13
-20.00
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time in years
Simple (EUR)
Simple bank account (without interest). The initial investment (year 0) is small, the payback period is 1 year,
the lifetime is 10 years, and the final profit is 78 EUR. The diagram depends on local prices.
Adjust temperature.
Some saving actions
are cheap.
14
Air is a better insulator than ice, therefore
the fridge ought to be defrosted 1-2 times
per year. Modern refrigerators are frost free,
however.

Some refrigerators are unnecessarily cold,
and 5-8 C is enough.

Freezers need not be colder than -18 C.

Cleaning the back side from dust also helps,
because it makes it easier for the
refrigerator to get rid of its heat.

(Photo: Kalmarhem, Sweden, via Energy Agency for
Southeast Sweden)
Tool: an electricity meter
15
The meter can measure the electricity consumption of, for instance, the refrigerator. It can measure the
momentary consumption (kilowatt) and the energy consumption over a period of time (kilowatt-hours).
Some heating units are more efficient than others
16
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Oil furnaces from 1977 or earlier
Oil furnaces after 1977
Gas furnace
District heating installation
New oil furnace
Electric heating
Air/air heat pump (COP)
Ground source heat pump (COP)
The ground source heat pump has a high efficiency, because it receives heat from the ground. In fact 2/3 of
the produced energy comes from the ground. The last 1/3 is due to the electricity that drives the equipment
(compressor, pumps).
Electric heaters have efficiency 1, because all electricity is converted to heat.
New oil furnaces are almost as good.
Old oil furnaces from before the energy crises in the 1970s have a poor performance.
There are several
ways to save energy
here

Oil burner
unserviced ?
Boiler
uninsulated ?
Temperature setting
higher than 65 C ?
17
Circulation pump
at full speed ?
Adjust indoor
temperature
Setting 4 for the bathroom (23 C)
Setting 3 for the living room (20 C)
Setting 2 for the bedroom (17 C)
Setting 1 for the hallway (13 C)
Setting * for antifreeze (7 C)
18
Some rooms can be kept at a lower
temperature than others. This could save
some energy.

A thermostat valve maintains the
temperature automatically. Once it is set, it
should be left alone, but children like to play
with it.
Add more loft insulation
19
Green =
input
Current U-value of roof (W/m2*K) 0.38
Lambda value of new insulation (mW/m*K) 42
Thickness of new insulation (mm) 200
U-value of new insulation layer (W/m2*K) 0.21
New roof U-value including insulation (W/m2*K) 0.135254
Target indoor temperature (C) 21
Average outdoor temperature of heating season (C) 5.1
Current heat flow Q1 (W/m2) 6.042
New heat flow Q2 (W/m2) 2.150542
Heat flow reduction Q1-Q2 (W/m2) 3.891458
Days in the heating season (d) 365
Energy saved per square metre (kWh/m2) 34.08917
Area to insulate (m2) 120
Energy saved (kWh) 4091
An example with climate data from Heimaey. Adding 200 mm mineral insulation to the loft -- made
of wood and with some existing thin insulation -- saves 4091 kWh per year. This is equivalent to
more than 400 litres of oil.
Saving too much could cause mould in damp rooms
20
We may see damages due to humidity,
especially in poor homes. Humidity causes
mold, and this can be a hazard to the health.
It is easy to detect by its smell.

We have to advise about ventilation too.
Home energy check basic data
21
Green boxes are input Observed Standard
Language (1 = en, 2 = da, 3 = el, 4 = es, 5 = is) 1 4
Location (1 = Grimsey, 2 = Rhodes, 3 = Samso, 4 = Tenerife) 4 4
Currency EUR EUR
Exchange rate of 1 EUR 1
Address or email address see file name above
Number of persons in the household 2
Heated area (m2) 138
Heating system (oil furnace, heat pump, district heating, electric
radiators) Oil
Fuel consumption for heating 0
- unit (litres, kWh, MWh, m3) Litres
Price of fuel for heating (price per unit) 1
Cooling system (heat pump, air) Heat pump
Fuel consumption for cooling 0
- unit (kWh, MWh) kWh
Price of fuel for cooling (price per unit) 0.145
Hot water system (oil boiler, electric boiler, solar hot water) Electric boiler
Fuel consumption for hot water 2750
- unit (litres, kWh) kWh
Price of fuel for hot water (price per unit) 0.145
Electricity consumption for appliances excluding heating (kWh) 3500
Energy price for heating (price/kWh) 0.118
Energy price for cooling (price/kWh) 0.0518
Energy price for hot water (price/kWh) 0.145
Electricity price (price/kWh) 0.145
Total energy consumption (kWh) 6250 6250
Observed / standard energy consumption ratio 1.00
We would like to know all the information on
the right, before we start on the energy check.
But it can be difficult or even impossible to get.
We must therefore guess some of the
information.

It is important to know the size of the home
(heated area in m
2
), the number of inhabitants,
and the fuel consumption.

Prices could be looked up elsewhere, and it may
be possible to guess the energy for the hot
water system (use the standard house numbers).

When you change location in the spreadsheet
(location 1--4) the background energy factors
will change.
Savings advices
22
Negotiate values for the green column during the interview with the household. Those are the savings they will try.
The spreadsheet immediately calculates the total amount of savings (kWh) and the money saved (local currency).
Advice ID
Saving per
item Unit
Saving on
cooling Standard Your Unit
Saved
fuel
Saved
fuel
Fuel
price
Fuel
price
Saved
money
items items EUR EUR EUR
Avoid standby mode (TV, decoder, charger, video, stereo, PC, play
station) E1 40 kWh 2 2 devices 80 0.00 0
Raise the temperature in the refrigerator or freezer 1 degree E2 30 kWh 2 2 degrees 60 0.00 0
Lower the temperature in 1 washing device (dishwasher from 60 to 30
deg, washer from 90 to 60 deg or from 60 to 30 deg) E3 45 kWh 2 2 machines 90 0.00 0
Upgrade 1 old washing device from class C to class A++ E4 110 kWh 1 machines 0 0.00 0
Upgrade 1 old tumble dryer from class C to class A++ E5 400 kWh 1 machines 0 0.00 0
Replace 1 old light bulb by a class A light bulb E6 45 kWh 7 bulbs 0 0.00 0
Upgrade 1 old refrigerating appliance from class C to class A++ E7 373 kWh 1 machines 0 0.00 0
Install 1 square metre of photovoltaic panels E8 206 kWh 39 0 m2 0 0.00 0
Lower the indoor temperature 1 degree always to save heating (raise the
indoor temperature 1 degree always to save cooling) HC2 13.04% 0 13.56% 1 1 = yes 0 0 0.00 0.00 0
Grimsey case (215-5459)
Habitants: 2
Heated area: 132 m2
Built in 1975
Window area: 31 m2
Electricity consumption:
6500 kWh/year
Oil consumption: 4920
litres/yr
Electricity price: 11.5
ISK/kWh

Oil price: 60 ISK/litre
27 light bulbs
Oil boiler: HS Tarm FB-B
Mark 2
Circulation pump: UPS
25-40 at speed 3
13 Danfoss thermostat
valves
23
Tenerife case (PuertoFranco)
Heated area: 230 m2
Habitants: 2, but 8 people
use the house
No heating, use electric
heaters when necessary
Source of hot water:
electricity
Electricity consumption:
3400 kWh / year
Electricity price: 0.145
EUR / kWh
Change 20 light bulbs
2 freezers, temperature
25 C
2 fridges, temperature 3 C

24
Rhodes case (EthnikisAdistasis)
Heated area: 100 m2
Habitants: 3
Source of heating:
electric heater, use it
when tariff is low
Electricity consumption:
3000 kWh / yr
Electricity price: 0.19
EUR / kWh
Hot water: Solar heater
with electric backup
Will maybe buy an
air/air heat pump
25
Performance Numbers
26
Energy
checks
Savings Average
savings per
home
Average
savings per
home
No of checks kWh/yr kWh/yr EUR/yr
Samso 75 351 000 4 700 590
Grimsey 13 88 900 6 840 365
Tenerife 5 5 210 1 040 141
Rhodes 7 9 450 1 350 107
Summary
We apply relative saving factors to observed
consumption
We think we can find at least 5% savings by
means of behaviour advices (low cost)
We think we can find additional 15% if we
include refurbishment advices (costly)
27
More information
PROMISE 2012 Capacity building workshops report.
PROMISE Deliverable D3.1
www.ieepromise.eu
A. Klaesener, J. Jantzen, S.I. Fridleifsson, A. Chatzimpiros, K.
Komninos, E. Lopez Suarez and S. Carlier-Wiart (2013).
Energy Efficiency in Households. Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on
Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency, Nicosia,
Cyprus, June 2013 (in print)
A. Klaesener, J. Jantzen, S.I. Fridleifsson, A. Chatzimpiros, K.
Komninos, E. Lopez Suarez and S. Carlier-Wiart (2013).
Energy Efficiency in Households. Proc. 7th Int. Conf. on
Energy Efficiency in Domestic Appliances and Lighting,
Coimbra, Portugal, Sep 2013 (submitted)

28
Theory
29
If large temperature difference and small
resistance (insulation) then large losses
30
The heat flow Q through the walls is lost to the outside. We wish to minimize the losses. This can be done
by decreasing the temperature T
i
inside or increasing the resistance R by installing more insulation.

Insulation material has a characteristic resistance, but it is given as its U-value, where U = 1/R. It depends
on the material. The lower the U-value the better. As an example, 1 square metre of 200 mm mineral
insulation has U = 0.21 (W/m
2
*K).
Basic equations
31
R
T T
Q
o i

: (kW) fer Heat trans
s
o i
s
t
R
T T
Qt E

: (kWh) Energy
When you adjust T
i
to T'
i
, the saving
factor depends on climate (T
o
)
32
' '
'
E t Q t
R
T T
s s
o i

o i
o i
s
o i
s
o i
s
o i
T T
T T
t
R
T T
t
R
T T
t
R
T T
E
E E

'
1
'
'
E
T T
T T
E E
o i
o i

'
1 '
When you adjust R to R', the saving
factor does not depend on climate
33
' '
'
E t Q t
R
T T
s s
o i

'
1
'
'
R
R
t
R
T T
t
R
T T
t
R
T T
E
E E
s
o i
s
o i
s
o i

E
R
R
E E

'
1 '
34
PROMISE
www.ieepromise.eu

An action (IEE/10/312/SI2.589421) supported by the EU programme
Intelligent Energy Europe
under the
Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI)

The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the EACI nor the European
Commission are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.