Electrical-end-use data from 23 houses sampled each minute for simulating micro-generation systems

An improved understanding of the consumption patterns, end-uses, and temporal variations of electrical loads in houses is warranted because a significant fraction of a society's total electricity consumption occurs within residential buildings. In general, there is a lack of high-temporal-resolution data describing occupant electrical consumption that are available to researchers in this field. To address this, new measurements were performed and combined with data emanating from an earlier study to provide a database of annual measurements for 23 houses at a 1-min resolution that characterizes whole-house, non-HVAC, air conditioner, and furnace fan electrical draws, as well as the draw patterns of some major appliances. All houses were located in Ottawa, Canada. The non-HVAC measurements of this 23-house sample were shown to be in agreement with published estimates for the housing stock. The furnace fan was found to be the most significant end-use. These high-temporal-resolution data of electrical demands in houses can be used by researchers to increase the fidelity of building performance simulation analyses of different micro-generation technologies in residential buildings.