Home Energy Assessments

Project Overview

Analyze real-world communicating thermostat (CT,) interval, and home energy audit data to successively refine home thermal response models to accurately estimate home physical parameters, i.e., whole-home R-value and ACH₅₀, that correspond to insulation and air-sealing retrofits in increasingly complex situations.

Project Objective

Develop a tool for utility energy efficiency (EE) programs that analyzes communicating thermostat (CT) data to automatically identify and quantify the benefit of targeted and customized retrofit opportunities

Customer and Utility Benefits

• Increase the uptake of home energy assessments
• Increase deployment rate of the target energy conservation measures (ECMs)
• Decrease the cost of EE programs via targeting
• Reduce retrofit performance risks using home-level remote EM&V
• Increase customer engagement
• Enhance the value proposition for CTs – projected ~25MM installed circa 2019

Ultimate Vision

Communicating (also known as “smart”) thermostats deployed in most homes identify high-impact opportunities to reduce HVAC energy consumption and ensure retrofit performance.

Partners

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program. Building America has been a source of innovations in residential building energy performance, durability, quality, affordability, and comfort for over 20 years. This world-class research program partners with industry to bring cutting-edge innovations and resources to market.