Thermal energy demand database for typical British dwellings

Due to the impacts of climate change, the world is experiencing rapidly rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns. In Northern hemisphere countries like the United Kingdom (UK), dual-seasonal thermal energy demand is faced, with intense winter heating needs and elevated summer cooling requirements due to the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves. Thus, understanding the changing demand for both heating and cooling is becoming increasingly important towards meeting legally-binding net-zero targets based on how the required additional demand on electricity networks is met. Despite this, most attention has been given to heat demand, with space cooling not receiving significant consideration so far and the intrinsic interdependence between heating and cooling requirements not fully accounted for. In addition, domestic buildings have not been sufficiently investigated, with a substantial focus placed instead on commercial and industrial sites. This paper presents a database of yearly thermal energy demand for typical UK dwellings. The work captures the seasonal variation in thermal demand between warmer and colder months. To this end, typical meteorological weather files, alongside six selected geographical locations, multiple dwelling types, different construction data and four building orientations were considered to create year-round datasets. The database includes approximately 220,000 high-resolution datasets in total, which are provided alongside the paper. Each dataset comprises the hourly thermal energy demand required to maintain a set-point indoor temperature of 21 ° C either through heating or cooling provision. Internal load profiles considering lighting, appliances and occupancy are made available, which can be further modified and incorporated to the thermal loads. A methodology to adjust internal set-point temperatures to encapsulate a wide variety of thermal comfort levels is also presented. Representative examples demonstrate how the database can be used to support broader analyses of seasonal heating demand while also exploring emerging cooling demand in a warming world. • The database considers ∼220,000 annual thermal demand datasets for UK dwellings. • Physics-based simulations and typical meteorological year weather data were used. • Five UK locations and four orientations were adopted for national variability. • Demonstrated the database use via a community-scale study in Cardiff with peak cooling and heating loads of ∼200kW and ∼260kW. • The database supports forecasting, energy planning and policymaking for low-carbon housing.