Energy thrift and thermal comfort in public houses

To contribute to achieving improved energy-effectiveness of future designs of public houses and the equipment employed therein, energy usage and wastages have been examined for two "pubs", one of modern and the other of traditional construction. The use of pertinent energy-consuming equipment was surveyed and the associated patterns of operation assessed. Energy tariffs in force are analysed with respect to their influence upon demands. Thermal conditions within the public areas of the public houses were also monitored, and the proportion of energy used for space heating determined. Pub managers and staff were involved with the survey. Refrigeration equipment was particularly energy consuming, owing to the conditions under which it was required to operate. Despite the availability of more efficient alternatives, tungsten lighting is still in common use in bars, and accounted for up to a quarter of the electricity used in the public houses considered. There, controls for the heating systems are basic but ill-devised, so leading to extreme thermal conditions in some areas of the pubs: consequently there are significant opportunities for savings. Ventilation controls were overlooked, so large rates of heat loss occurred via the exhaust air. The potential for achieving significant energy-savings through the introduction of waste-heat recovery equipment is hampered by (i) the brewery's requirement for a payback period for such investments of 1Â year or less, and (ii) the reality that energy bills amount only to ~3% of turnover at present unit-energy prices and are therefore of less importance than customer comfort. Values of the recommended [`]energy indices' are calculated in order to assess the pubs' overall performances: according to these nationally-accepted benchmarks for these concepts, both assessed pubs are classified as [`]good', despite the shortcomings of each enterprise identified in the present research.