According to an international study conducted by the LSCE (CEA-CNRS-UVSQ), lowering the set temperature by 1°C could reduce gas consumption for residential heating in the United States by 25%, and around 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided by renovating buildings and slightly delaying the start-up of heating.
How did the researchers go about it? They collected daily gas consumption data supplied by the pipelines that distribute gas in each American county and analysed it using a machine learning model to interpret geographical and climatic differences.
According to their study, the outdoor temperatures at which households switch on their gas heating are higher in older buildings and in towns with high unemployment. In addition, families on low incomes use more gas for heating than others, reflecting inequalities in housing insulation.
We are using daily gas consumption data at county level, combined with US census data and a vast database on house types and occupations, to understand how gas consumption in American households is related to outdoor air temperature,” explains Philippe Ciais, research director at the LSCE. We found very large differences between cold and warm regions in winter, but also a strong impact of building type and age, as well as socio-economic factors such as unemployment rate and income”.
“By analysing detailed data at county level, we were able to understand what the impact would be of targeted renovation plans to improve the insulation of houses, or of changes in the behaviour of American households, who might, for example, delay turning on their heating slightly until the outside temperature drops by one degree”, explains Rohith Teja Mittakola, a researcher at the LSCE.
Lowering the set temperature of thermostats by 1°C could reduce the current level of gas consumption in the United States by 25%, or even 40% in some counties. The researchers’ calculations suggest that around 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be avoided by modernising buildings and changing behaviour to delay heating, with the greatest improvements in the Midwest and East Coast regions.