Investigating Dwellings' Response to Heating Power Cuts : Simulations and Field Tests

Sammanfattning: Reducing energy use, increasing the use of renewable energy sources, and adapting to stricter building regulations and certification systems – these are all examples of the challenges facing the building industry and society. Looking at the energy supply at a larger scale than a single building, like a neighborhood or a city, the stack effect of peak power demands can cause problems on the production side, either economical or concerning the environment and greenhouse gases when fossil fuel is used to cover these peaks. This is connected to the overall issue and one way of dealing with this issue is to let the demand side reduce their heating demand in times of difficulties in the production. The heat stored in the building envelope and furnishings would then be used to reduce the impact on the drop in indoor temperature. This thesis delves into this impact and the various aspects that affects the magnitude of the temperature drop such as the thermal mass, envelope properties and the stochasticity of the internal heat loads. The method used in this thesis is one that employs extensive simulations with randomized input variables, derived from measurements, in order to statistically show the risk or probability of a certain temperature drop following a power cut.