M e a s u r e d I n d o o r E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n e r g y C o n s u m p t i o n
721
Table 1: General description of NRGStyle home in South Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
Description
NRGStyle Home
Type of building
Home age (yr)
Dwelling – tenure
Window type
Ventilation
Cooker type
No. of occupants and ages
End-terraced house
44
Owner occupied
Fully double glazed
Natural –at least one window open every day
gas
4 (2 Adults under 60 and 2 Children over 11)
The aim of the study is to demonstrate the indoor environmental conditions in a typical
Scottish home such as the NRGStyle house with a standard family living. The results will
be highlighted as to whether the energy demand is prone to be inversely proportional to
indoor air temperatures and CO
2
levels - i.e. housing energy demand for space heating
increases when the indoor air temperatures and CO
2
levels decrease or vice versa. The
tendency and environmental control will be correlated to human behaviour.
Methodology
Indoor air temperatures and relative humidity levels were measured in the NRGStyle
home using HOBO U12-012 and U10-003 data loggers (Fig. 2a). Indoor carbon dioxide
levels were also recorded in the same pre-refurbished home using Telaire 7001 CO
2
meters (Fig. 2a). Although CO
2
is not toxic, it is commonly used as an indicator of air
quality; high levels of CO
2
indicate inadequate ventilation in a space.
Figure 2: (a) Indoor environmental monitoring loggers and (b) EWGECO device (Ewgeco 2012)
Both HOBO U12-012 data logger and CO
2
meter were placed in the living room in the
home, specifically in the breathing zone of a person sitting on a sofa (approximately 1.2
metre above the floor) and away from open windows. In addition participants were
requested to behave as normal within their homes during the monitoring period in order
to obtain realistic data. HOBO U10-003 data loggers were placed in the selected two
bedrooms in the house.
The objectives of monitoring indoor air quality were to gain an insight into conditions
within residents’ home and to compare indoor environmental conditions i.e. air
temperature (°C), relative humidity (RH), and carbon dioxide (CO
2
) to accepted
standards guidelines. Average levels of each variable were collected in 15-minute
intervals over a 24-hour period for periods of two weeks. On the other hand, the energy
consumption (gas and electricity) and the water usage in the NRGStyle home were
collected via an installed smart meter, Ewgeco. Ewgeco is a device (smart meter) that
monitors gas, electricity and water consumption in a house. Displaying the usage may
