Electricity Demand Profile of Australian Low Energy Houses

The paper demonstrates the profiles of electricity consumption in the low energy housing sector using various time frames, and provides a solid basis for energy estimation by analysing actual 12 month electricity data from 60 comprehensively monitored low energy houses in Australia's leading sustainable green village (Lochiel Park), located in South Australia. The results highlight that although considerable electricity reduction is achieved in low energy houses, the outdoor ambient air temperature is still a highly influential factor that determines the total and peak demand in these houses. It also suggests that energy estimation should focus on residents' basic life style and appliance usage behaviour. The results presented here can be used to refine end-use electricity demand modelling for low energy houses in South Australia, and can hence assist the design of electrical infrastructure requirements in new low energy housing developments. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).