Energy use in housing

Abstract

This chapter mainly focuses on energy use in housing and covers areas related to energy use breakdown, demand side management, fuel poverty, occupant behaviour and smart metering. It also touches on importance of reducing energy use and its associated carbon emissions by discussing best practice benchmarks. Some of the learning outcomes anticipated as follow: (1) Overview of the energy use in housing including its breakdown and usage trends. (2) Understanding the relationships between the demand side management and its associated carbon emissions as well as the supply side perspective. (3) Understanding the correlation between energy use and fuel poverty both locally and globally. The idea is to provide an overview of, and a basic ability to understand the energy use in housing in order to help design and retrofit housing projects toward reduction of energy demand and/or energy end-use efficiency. Energy benchmarks and best practice guidelines have been discussed as well as fuel poverty and interventions for adopting energy conscious behaviour. In addition, integration of renewables and smart technologies will be touched on to support demand side management including operation and maintenance.