An archetype-based energy modelling approach for a remote, subarctic community

For many remote communities, fossil fuels are used for both heating and electricity generation; however, while electricity use is measured by the distributor, the proportion of thermal energy end-use is rarely known because of the individual nature of heating and hot water systems. Consequently, most renewable energy studies target only the production of electricity, overlooking the significant fossil fuel use for space and hot water heating in cold climates. To address the existing bias, this study implements a bottom-up approach for simulating thermal energy demand in a remote, subarctic community. The proposed method relies on six novel residential archetypes appropriate to the region, which are shown to deliver better accuracy than the existing United States Department of Energy Climate Zone 8 archetypes. Simulation results indicate that thermal energy demands account for half of fossil fuel consumption in the community and are therefore an important consideration in energy system decarbonization strategies.