Location correction factor for household heat metering and its influencing factors

Abstract

Household heat metering has become unavoidable choice for heating reform as it ensures indoor thermal comfort while realizing ’behavioral energy saving. However, the difference in household heat consumption at different locations in a building affects the fair and accurate allocation of heating costs and restricts the heat reform process. To solve this problem, this study calculates the differences in household heat consumption at different locations and reallocates household heat consumption for an entire building based on the location correction factors (LCFs) method. The calculation is validated by the measurement with a real residential building, and the change law between the LCFs and influencing factors is discussed using the statistical analysis method. The results show that the maximum difference in household heat consumption at different positions is 119.64%, fairness of heat consumption is significantly improved after reallocation of the LCFs, and LCFs are most significantly affected by the thermal transmittance of the exterior envelope structure and orientation. The results provide a reference for implementing a fair heating cost policy, which is beneficial for the implementation of heat metering.