Evaluation of alternatives for conserving fuel resources

Energy conservation in residences is important to the gas utility industry because it can extend existing gas supplies to meet the demands of new customers, minimize the need for new and costly alternative supplies, and maintain a competitive advantage over high-efficiency electric end-use systems such as heat pumps. Energy conservation can be achieved in two basically different ways: by changes in the house structure that benefit all forms of fuel and by improvements in the efficiency of appliances and systems serving the residence. This paper presents an evaluation of alternative means to improve the seasonal efficiency of existing and new residential central gas-furnace space-heating installations. Such installations account, in the United States, for nearly 25 percent of annual gas consumption for all uses. Based on an in-depth study of automatic furnace flue dampers as a means to increase seasonal efficiency, this paper concludes that the most promising approaches for realizing significant energy saving are improved vent and chimney sizing and sealed-combustion systems. (auth)