DA-88-10-2 -- Residential Hot Water Use in Florida and North Carolina PDF

For two years (1982-84), 74 domestic hot water systems -- electric resistance, heat pump, solar, and desuperheater water heaters -- were monitored in Florida. In 1985, 24 solar hot water systems in North Carolina were also monitored in cooperation with a North Carolina state energy organization and an electric utility. All the systems were located in single family homes and instrumented with kilowatt-hour meters, hot water energy (Btu) meters, and 15-minute interval demand recorders. The combined data represent over 145 house-years of hot water system information.
 
This paper presents the time-of-day hot water use patterns of the two samples. Average daily hot water use profiles for the four types of DHW systems monitored in Florida are illustrated along with the daily average hot water use by family size. The difference in winter and stmmmer hot water use in North Carolina is examined as well as the implications of seasonal hot water energy consumption. The differences in weekday and weekend hot water use are also evaluated for their significance in influencing future DHW system design.

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