Household Utilities: Power Requirements:
Residential House Energy Requirements.

The simplest and most accurate method to estimate residential energy requirements is to first look at historical data. Reading the electricity meter weekly gives the current usage pattern. Reviewing past electricity bills provides seasonal trends, Energex will provide you with your historical data.

The following is the electricity usage by the Newtons, whilst two adults lived in a typical brick veneer house in Brisbane, with electrical cooking, heating, cooling and hot water services.

Note that the winter months have higher power consumption in both tariff 11 and 33. The summer months have a lower power demand. Summer 1999 was an exception; the power usage for hot water remained high - consistent with the occupants not turning down the hot water systems thermostat for the summer months.

Historical power usages

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Tariff 11 includes lights, TV, stereo, oven, stove, vacuum cleaner, washing machine, computer, printer, fridge, and other small electrical appliances.

Tariff 33 is the hot water system

Australian Green house Office, 1999, shows the following breakdown of residential
Electricity use in Australia.

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The Newton House will use gas cooking and a heat pump hot water, reducing the electricity usage by an estimated 31%.

Passive solar design, with the house maintaining an internal temperature from 17° to 26°, will remove the need for heating and cooling, potentially saving a further 39%.
With the selection of energy efficient lighting and electrical appliances, and the monitoring of wasting electricity, the remaining 30% electricity requirement can also be reduced.

The following calculations show the estimated energy requirements for the Newton House on completion.

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Links

http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_std2.asp?PID=435