Synthetically derived profiles for representing occupant-driven electric loads in Canadian housing

As one objective of the International Energy Agency's Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme Annex 42, detailed Canadian household electrical demand profiles were created using a bottom-up approach from available inputs, including a detailed appliance set, annual consumption targets and occupancy patterns. These profiles were created for use in the simulation of residential cogeneration devices to examine the issues of system performance, efficiency and emission reduction potential. This article describes the steps taken to generate these 5-min electrical consumption profiles for three target single-family detached households - low, medium and high consumers, a comparison of the generated output with measured data from Hydro Quebec, and a demonstration of the use of the new profiles in building performance simulations of residential cogeneration devices.