A Field Study on Residential Air Conditioning Peak Loads During Summer in College Station, Texas

Abstract

Severe capacity problems are experienced by electric utilities during hot summer afternoons. Several studies have found that, in large part, electric peak loads can be attributed to residential airconditioning use. This air-conditioning peak depends primarily on two factors: (i) the manner in which the homeowner operates his air-conditioner during the hot summer afternoons, and (ii) the amount by which the air-conditioner has been over-designed. Whole-house and air-conditioner electricity use data at 15 minute time intervals have been gathered and analyzed for 8 residences during the summer of 1991, six of which had passed the College Station Good Cents tests. Indoor air temperatures were measured by a mechanical chart recorder, while a weather station located on the main campus of Texas A&M university provided the necessary climatic data, especially ambient temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation. The data were analysed to determine the extent to which air-conditioning over-sizing and homeowner intervention contributes to peak electricity use for newer houses in College Station, Texas.