Energy thrift and thermal comfort in public houses

To contribute to achieving improved energy-effectiveness of future designs of Apublic houses and the equipment employed therein, energy usage and wastages have been Aexamined for two "pubs", one of modern and the other of traditional construction. The use of Apertinent energyconsuming equipment was surveyed and the associated patterns of operation Aassessed. Energy tariffs in force are analysed with respect to their influence upon demands. AThermal conditions within the public areas of the public houses were also monitored, and the Aproportion of energy used for space heating determined. Pub managers and staff were involved Awith the survey. Refrigeration equipment was particularly energy consuming, owing to the Aconditions under which it was required to operate. Despite the availability of more Aefficient alternatives, tungsten lighting is still in common use in bars, and accounted for up to a Aquarter of the electricity used in the public houses considered. There, controls for the Aheating systems are basic but ill-devised, so leading to extreme thermal conditions in some areas Aof the pubs: consequently there are significant opportunities for savings. Ventilation Acontrols were overlooked, so large rates of heat loss occurred via the exhaust air. The potential Afor achieving significant energy-savings through the introduction of waste-heat recovery Aequipment is hampered by (i) the breweryʹs requirement for a payback period for such Ainvestments of I year or less, and (ii) the reality that energy bills amount only to ~3°/o of Aturnover at present unitenergy prices and are therefore of less importance than customer comfort. AValues of the recommended ʹenergy indicesʹ are calculated in order to assess the pubsʹ Aoverall performances: according to these nationally-accepted benchmarks for these concepts, both Aassessed pubs are classified as ʹgoodʹ, despite the shortcomings of each enterprise identified in Athe present research. (c) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.