[OpenTRV-dev] Aiming for a proper controlled trial this winter

[Damon Hart-Davis]

Hi,

My local university (Kingston) is being very helpful re setting up a proper controlled trial for this winter to see if OpenTRV actually helps save energy, and I'll be on a conference call with a couple of their bods on Monday morning.

I have offered the following for agenda items / discussion points:



1) What is aim of trial?

Aim is to see if OpenTRV does better than normal TRV in energy saving and/or comfort.

Aim is to see how acceptable OpenTRV behaviour is, without minimal controls (WARM/FROST modes, optional BAKE and LEARN and "SMART" behaviours) and default or adjusted temperature settings.

Aim is to deliver evidence for / against OpenTRV effectiveness by end of 2013/2014 winter.

2) Restrictions on candidates by house and heating type etc.

Must be radiator-heated with 2-wire thermostat control or equivalent and TRVs already fitted in all rooms under study.

Can/should we include existing SuperHomes along with 'normal' humans?

Is this robust enough for (say) kids running around?

In some case it may be necessary to fit an extra TRV (where the existing thermostat is).

3) How many of these systems can we build and install and what should the sample size be?

4) What will our control be?




I was at a meeting of SuperHome (http://www.superhomes.org.uk/) owners last week and a number of them seemed keen to participate in any trial/test too, so provided our resources can stretch to it (primarily how many units I can afford to commission I imagine) we may have 10+ homes to test OpenTRV in this winter.

Obviously I would be very happy if anyone on this list was able to join in, informally or as part of the formal trial. 



Rgds

Damon