Heating Consultants in Single-Family Houses, 1993

In connection with considerations in the Danish Energy Agency concerning a re-launching of the existing consultant schemes, including the consultant schemes concerning space heating and control of minor oil-fired systems in private households, the Agency in the spring of 1993 asked the Local Governments' Research Institute to evaluate the Heating Audit Scheme (the HA scheme) and the Oil Boiler Registration Scheme (the OB scheme) for single-family houses. The main emphasis was to be put on the HA scheme and on effect measurements. The evaluation also had to contain an economic assessment of the schemes. # Within the framework of the HA scheme heating consultants carry out so-called heating audits. A heating audit is a technical inspection of the energy consumption in a building. The heating audits are carried out in buildings constructed before 1 February, 1979. The inspection of the heating consultants results in a heating audit report. This report is supposed to #- form the basis of an assessment of the energy consumption in the # building #- contain recommended measures and adjustments to be carried out # and the cost of these #- give an assessment of the savings which may be expected. # #The main questions to be answered with respect to both the OB scheme and the HA scheme are: #1. Are the recommended measures or adjustments carried out? #2. How much heat and fuel are saved? #3. What is the present private-economic and socio-economic value # of the measures carried out? # #In the case of the HA scheme, the question of which energy saving measures are carried out on the basis of the heating audit has been answered by means of 227 telephone interviews of householders who had a hearing audit in 1990. The questions regarding energy savings and the economic aspects are calculated by means of standard preconditions about the effect of various energy saving measures and economic preconditions which are in general used in energy planning. In addition, the interview contains a number of questions regarding the respondent's 'experiences' with the HA and the OB schemes