Verification of Energy Usage Based on Standard Building Model Development of Low-Rise Residential Buildings in South Korea

The energy consumption of low-rise residential buildings in South Korea exceeds the targets set in national policies and the standards of other countries. Moreover, there are insufficient policies in place to improve the energy performance of existing low-rise residential buildings and no means to investigate the current status. A standard model enables cost-effective and fast load forecasting and can also be used to establish long-term policies through evaluation of energy saving in buildings before and after the application of energy policies. This study developed a standard model for predicting energy consumption by reflecting the characteristics of low-rise residential buildings in Korea. The standard model was developed based on reliable related standards, national statistical data, and national reports, and the energy variables applied were validated through a sensitivity analysis. Surveys and field measurements were conducted to investigate the energy usage of 70 households in low-rise residential buildings in Korea, and the developed model was validated through comparison with the actual energy usage data. Consequently, the total energy consumption error rate was 12.67% (R2 value: 0.8164), with a significance level higher than 80%, which indicated that the developed model was highly efficient and reliable.