Prospects of energy savings in residential space heating

This paper presents some insight to the problem of heating of housing in Jordan. Residential space and water heating are dependent particularly upon the combustion of fossil fuels. which thereby contribute significantly to air pollution and the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The results of a recent survey were used to evaluate the energy demand and conservation in Jordanian residential buildings. Space heating accounts for 61% of the total residential energy consumption with kerosene being the most popular fuel used, followed by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), for heating purposes. Unvented combustion appliances employed to provide space heating produce high levels of combustion by-products that often exceed acceptable concentrations, degraded indoor air quality and cause unnecessary exposure to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide. During 1999, the number of accidents in households due to the use of different energy forms accounted for about 40% of ail accidents. except road accidents, in Jordan. In light of the fact that only 5% of dwellings in Jordan have been provided with wall insulation and none employ roof insulation. the overall heat transfer coefficients. and consequently heating loads, were estimated for a typical single house using different constructions for external walls. It is concluded that space heating load can be reduced by about 50%, when economically-viable insulating measures are applied to the building envelopes, i.e. to ceilings and walls. These lead to corresponding reductions in fossil fuels consumption and in emissions of air pollutants. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.