Energy demand by the residential sector constitutes approximately twenty percent of the total United States energy budget. The Ohio State University, under Phase One of a contract by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), investigated fuel utilization in nine residences in the Columbus, Ohio area. The primary objective of this research effort was to develop and field validate procedures for simulating hour by hour thermal loads and energy requirements of residences.

The topic of this paper is the development and field validation of a computer routine to simulate temperatures in enclosed attics above conditioned spaces. Attic temperatures measured in the field studies ranged from below outdoor ambient dry-bulb to beyond 28°C (50 °F) ambient depending on weather conditions. Therefore, it was necessary to develop a valid simulation of attic space temperatures so that accurate hour by hour thermal loads on the conditioned space through attic floors could be predicted. One constraint on developing the routine was that it had to be compatable with an hour by hour thermal load calculation routine.