A New Simple HVAC Energy Performance Metric: Climate and Occupant Preference-Adjusted

Penetration of smart home devices such as thermostats and metering devices opened the door for new building energy performance rating reflecting actual operation and maintenance (O&M) and energy service (e.g., comfort requirements) dimensions in their calculation. Existing metrics either focus solely on building asset efficiency or require modeling processes that reflect actual operating and service conditions, limiting their practical application across diverse stakeholders who prefer simple energy performance indices (EnPI). This prospective paper proposes a new simple EnPI that accounts for HVAC systems that incorporates both O&M and energy service dimensions by integrating climate data and occupant preferences into its calculations. Using the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) data, we demonstrated the implications of this new EnPI, especially compared with the conventional rating approach. In the end, this study will become a new addition to the suite of EnPIs and contribute to a comprehensive understanding of building energy performance.