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Degree Day comparison info?

Hello All,

I'm looking for a reliable resource to compare degree day values from one heating season to another, month-by-month. There is a lot of conflicting information online and I'd like to pick one source.

Please let me know if you've got something I can access quickly.

Many thanks in advance,

John Cataneo

Comments

  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
    edited June 2013
    This should help

    http://www.degreedays.net/ will let you compare data for pretty much any weather station in the US, including Personal Weather Stations, which can often get you within a mile or less of the subject building.



    If I'm looking at fuel usage, I download several months of daily data into Excel, then separate it out by the bill cycle dates.  A bit of quick division will give you a "BTUs per degree-day per square foot" number that tells you a lot about the health of the entire building system.
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    edited June 2013
    Swei

    So what's your range of good, bad, and a submarine with screen doors in terms of btus per DD per sf.
  • SWEI
    SWEI Member Posts: 7,356
    BTUs per degree-day per square foot

    I read somewhere that US homes average about 10 BTUs per square foot per degree-day.  Anything under six looks pretty good in my book.



    IMO this kind of whole-system performance metric should really be used for tax credits and rebate programs.  Prescriptive measures have caused a lot of trouble over the past 35 years.
  • Gordy
    Gordy Member Posts: 9,546
    Home energy magazine

    Range of Energy Use





    Realtive Frequency

    Under 5.0 BTUs/HDD/Sq.Ft.

    12.2 percent





    Between 5.0 and 10.0 BTUs/HDD/Sq.Ft.

    39.4 percent





    Between 10.0 and 15.0 BTUs/HDD/Sq.Ft.

    23.9 percent







    Between 15.0 and 25.0 BTUs/HDD/Sq.Ft.

    14.7 percent





    Over 25.0 BTUs/HDD/Sq.Ft.

    9.8 percent
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