Estimating static heat flows in buildings for energy allocation systems

An energy cost allocation system records the energy consumption of a building and divides the overall energy costs between the flats. Because the indoor temperatures of rooms are usually not equal, static heat flows between flats cannot be avoided. Hence, in order to ensure fair energy costs per flat the system should be able to determine the static heat flows, preferably without utilising in situ measurements. This paper presents a new method for estimating static heat flows between neighbouring rooms. The approach is theoretical, focusing only on heat transfer issues. Energy cost allocation is not considered.