FSEC high-fidelity sub-metered residential energy data used for model validation

The data on this page was collected under a research project led by Danny Parker at the Florida Solar Energy Center (Parker et al., 1996), and used in forensic study to quantify and improve the accuracy of Home Energy Saver (Parker et al., 2012).

• Parker, D., M. Mazzara, and Sherwin, J. 1996. "Monitored Energy Use Patterns In Low-Income Housing In A Hot And Humid Climate," Tenth Symposium on Improving Building Systems in Hot Humid Climates, Ft. Worth, TX, p. 316 http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publications/html/FSEC-PF-300-96/index.htm

  • Parker, D., E. Mills, L. Rainer, N.J. Bourassa, and G. Homan. 2012. "Accuracy of the Home Energy Saver Energy Calculation Methodology." Proceedings of the 2012 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: Washington, D.C.

The data tell a remarkable and seldom-seen story: wide variations in the operation of energy using equipment in identical homes can cause energy consumption to vary by 300%.

The first pair of images below quickly exemplify the highly unique energy-behavior profiles of the homes.  The lefthand chart shows the measured temperature at the thermostat for each house over the two-day period January 24-25, 1995.  One can quickly see the extremes of House 9 on the one hand keeping the thermostat pegged just above 80 degrees F almost the whole time, versus House 3 which probably didn't turn it on at all, allowing the temperature to float with whatever was happening outside.  Others, like House 5, "step on the gas" and "crank" the thermostat for a while, overheating the house to 90 degrees, and then allowing the temperature to sink back down towards 70 degrees. The companion chart on the right shows the consequence: energy used by the air-handler unit for the same houses over the same time period.  Note that House 3 sits near zero virtually the whole time, while house 5 exhibits high utilization.

Thermostat management also varies substantially among the houses.  The chart on the left shows a year of outdoor temperatures (winter in the center), and the chart on the right shows air-conditioner energy use in each house.

This final set of charts shows daily patterns of use for clothesdryers and cooking ranges for each of the 10 houses, in the month of October 1994.  The contrast is particularly evident by comparing energy-intensive House 8 with the low-consumption House 9.

Reading the charts: Each cell in a chart represents a day.  The horizontal scale of the cell represents 24 hours and the vertical scale represents power consumption.  The 31 cells represent the 30 days in October.