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dc.contributor.authorStephen, Gordon
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-26 17:20:43 (GMT)
dc.date.available2016-04-26 17:20:43 (GMT)
dc.date.issued2016-04-26
dc.date.submitted2016
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10012/10400
dc.description.abstractUnlocking the full potential of residential-sector energy efficiency gains will require the efforts of external agents (whether in the public, private, or not-for profit sectors) engaging with individual homeowners in order to encourage the adoption of energy-saving measures. To achieve this result efficiently and effectively, such agents require an easily-obtained understanding of the “energy context" governing a household's energy use and efficiency investment decisions: factors from the number, characteristics, attitudes, and values of occupants to the physical state of a dwelling to broader geographic, financial and legal considerations. Continuously-emerging sources of contextual and household-specific data have the potential, if integrated appropriately, to provide this understanding - but to what extent can this be achieved with current methodological tools, and can the state-of-the-art be improved? This research has attempted to address this question, with an emphasis on the physical characteristics of homes and the behavioural patterns of their occupants. A review of existing characterization techniques in the literature yielded a set of methodological best practises and theoretical shortfalls, which were integrated with physical first principles and empirically-observed statistical trends to develop new modelling approaches to make use of hourly whole-house electricity consumption data, aiming to improve upon the state-of-the-art. A subset of these models (chosen for their speed and stability of parameter estimation) were compared to existing techniques: while one of the novel approaches yielded improved behavioural disaggregation performance and a simpler formulation compared to existing alternatives, there would seem to remain considerable opportunity for continued improvement, with results suggesting several potentially-promising areas for continued research.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity of Waterlooen
dc.subjectenergy efficiencyen
dc.subjectsustainable energyen
dc.subjectsmart meter analyticsen
dc.subjectenergy conservationen
dc.subjectdemand managementen
dc.subject.lcshdwellingsen
dc.subject.lcshenergy conservationen
dc.subject.lcshenergy consumptionen
dc.subject.lcshenergy auditingen
dc.subject.lcshenergy policyen
dc.subject.lcshelectric power consumptionen
dc.subject.lcshelectric poweren
dc.subject.lcshrenewable energy sourcesen
dc.subject.lcshelectric metersen
dc.titleUnderstanding Energy Contexts: An Assessment of Emerging Methods for the Thermo-Behavioural Characterization of Residential Householdsen
dc.typeMaster Thesisen
dc.pendingfalse
uws-etd.degree.departmentSchool of Environment, Resources and Sustainabilityen
uws-etd.degree.disciplineAccountingen
uws-etd.degree.grantorUniversity of Waterlooen
uws-etd.degreeMaster of Environmental Studiesen
uws.contributor.advisorRowlands, Ian H.
uws.contributor.affiliation1Faculty of Environmenten
uws.published.cityWaterlooen
uws.published.countryCanadaen
uws.published.provinceOntarioen
uws.typeOfResourceTexten
uws.peerReviewStatusUnrevieweden
uws.scholarLevelGraduateen


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