Estimating energy costs and potential savings in housing.

The average UK household spends about +500 per year on heating, lighting and power for domestic appliances but there is a huge variation between individual household expenditures. Field trials, in which the energy use in occupied dwellings is measured, show that the physical characteristics of the dwelling and the lifestyles of the occupants are about equally important in determining energy consumption. It is clear, therefore, that realistic estimates of domestic energy consumption can only be made if both these factors are considered together. The Building Research Establishment Domestic Energy Model (BRE-DEM) was developed, with support from the Departments of Energy and Environment, to make such estimates and has become the most widely applied energy calculation procedure for housing in the United Kingdom.