Measuring the effectiveness of zonal heating control for energy saving

This paper measures the heat energy consumption in a typical Canadian house taking into account a commonly used forced air gas furnace. The aim of this work is to measure and analyze the possible energy savings for homes if zonal heat control system is used. A control circuit is used to sense the indoor and outdoor temperature and turns the furnace ON or OFF according to the preferred temperature set by the householders. Zonal heat control is performed by closing the heating vents in the unoccupied areas of the house during the nighttime. Over one-month test period in winter, the measurement results proved that the zonal control system could save the heating energy up to 36% depending on the weather temperature. The study results support the assumption that, more saving in energy consumption can be reached by controlling the delivery of heat on a zone-by-zone basis.