Field evaluation of programmable thermostats [electronic resource] / prepared for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; prepared by O. Sachs ... [et al.].
Imprint
[Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Dept. of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 2012.
Title from title screen (viewed on Mar. 14, 2013).
"December 2012."
"DOE/GO-102012-3804"--P. [59].
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (p. 37).
Summary
Prior research suggests that poor programmable thermostats usability may prevent their effective use to save energy. We hypothesized that home occupants with a high-usability thermostats would be more likely to use them to save energy than people with a basic thermostat. We randomly installed a high-usability thermostat in half the 77 apartments of an affordable housing complex, installing a basic thermostat in the other half. During the heating season, we collected space temperature and furnace on-off data to evaluate occupant interaction with the thermostats, foremost nighttime setbacks. We found that thermostat usability did not influence energy-saving behaviors, finding no significant difference in temperature maintained among apartments with high- and low-usability thermostats.
Note
"NREL contract no. DE-AC36-08GO28308."
"Prepared under subcontract no. KNDJ-0-40345-00.."
