Paper presented at New Construction Programs for Demand-Side Management Conference.
Paper Dated: May, 1992
By: John Proctor and Amy Pollack
Field studies of residential air conditioners across the nation indicate that with standard installation and maintenance, air conditioners perform significantly below their rated efficiencies. A 1987 study estimated a lost efficiency on the order of 30% to 40%, not including duct losses. Utilities nationwide, among them Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), have taken great interest in this lost efficiency, implementing a variety of programs to try to reverse the loss.
In 1989, Proctor Engineering Group (PEG) began working with PG&E to investigate the potential energy savings and peak reduction available by making repairs to existing residential air conditioners and gas forced air furnaces. During the course of several studies, a number of problems emerged, many of which were clearly present at the time of installation. Examining a large number of existing units, PEG found these problems to be largely the same for both new and used systems. Many of the repairs PEG made would have been unneccessary had the units been properly installed.
PEG examined over 1,250 homes in three different California cities to determine both peak and energy savings available
Also see Program Design and Energy Efficiency Research
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