Electric Heating Load Analysis

The accurate prediction of load characteristics-maximum daily load cycles as well as annual energy usage-is essential for the development of the electric space heating market by electric utilities. Adequate measurements of existing installations, the most reliable method of load analysis, is impossible for new heating device concepts or if the installations do not exist. A commonly used method of load characteristic calculation that relates heating load linearly with temperature is not reliable because of wind velocity, solar radiation, and intemal building heat sources such as lights. An hour-by-hour heat loss calculation, utilizing hourly weather data, is required to predict accurate heating load cycle characteristics.