Impact of Users’ Behavior and Real Weather Conditions on the Energy Consumption of Tenement Houses in Wroclaw, Poland: Energy Performance Gap Simulation Based on a Model Calibrated by Field Measurements

Abstract

This paper presents the results of measuring the final energy consumption for heating and domestic hot water (DHW) preparation and indoor conditions in 15 apartments located in pre-war tenement houses. The measurements were compared to the computed energy consumption. The calculations ware made based on the model calibrated by field measurements. The discrepancies between measurements and calculations were assessed using the energy performance gap (EPG). Calculations were made separately for energy for heating and for DHW preparation. Additionally, the results of EPG calculations for different levels of analysis are presented aiming at assessing the impact of weather, temperature in the surrounding zones and users’ behavior. Users’ behaviors influencing the size of the EPG were divided into typical (energy saving or excessive energy consumption) and forced (energy poverty, response to the apartment’s surroundings, technical limitations. The connection between the heating sources and the heating habits has been clearly observed in the research. The former (typical) behaviors were the origin of the energy gap in the apartments heated with natural gas and district heating. The latter (forced) were the origin of the gap in the apartments heated with mostly electricity and solid fuel (with one exception: one apartment that utilized the district heating).

Behavior Patterns, Energy Consumption and Comfort during COVID-19 Lockdown Related to Home Features, Socioeconomic Factors and Energy Poverty in Madrid

“…However, when it comes to coping with discomfort, there is little distinction between the energy-poor and non-energy-poor solutions, as the proportions depending on the solutions adopted are very even. It may rather be a question of acquired habits [25] or a culture of energy responsibility [84], with the majority opting for solutions that do not initially involve energy consumption, such as changing clothes or opening/closing windows. Nevertheless, the frequency with which these situations of adaptation do occur is directly linked to being energy-poor or not, as they resort to them more frequently in order to achieve the desired comfort.…”

“…In less developed countries, the lack of choice of these energy sources, and the general scarcity of energy resources [22], leads to the environmental pollution of homes, due to the high exposure to volatile particles and other suspended compounds that favor the proliferation of diseases in their population, or the worsening of existing ones [23] and a challenge for investors and political decision-makers in these regions [17,24]. The influence of climate on the possible response of households in order to maintain comfort conditions is decisive in this regard [25].…”

Indoor Environmental Quality and Consumption Patterns before and during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Twelve Social Dwellings in Madrid, Spain

“…The conclusion that can consequently be drawn is that although starting conditions differed widely, household composition, habits and the way daily activities were performed [113], and therefore power consumption, also played an active role in the end result. Nonetheless, none of these dwellings were fitted with renewable energy-fuelled generation systems that might have limited their dependence on fossil fuel power and rendered dwellings more self-sufficient in terms of power production, at least for a certain percentage of their daily demand.…”

Willingness to pay for the renewable energy sources of the residents of Kraków and their perception of the actions aimed at reducing the level of environmental pollution

“…The introduced ban was assessed largely positively, especially in regards to the fact that the necessity of changing the energy source was frequently connected to additional adaptation and operational expenditures. Furthermore, the residents will probably have to change their habits related to heating because, as indicated by the studies conducted among the resi- -Zgrzywa et al 2020). However, Kraków is still characterized by excessive levels of particulate pollutants, largely produced as the result of burning coal in households located in the city's neighboring municipalities, which have not yet introduced such a ban.…”