In order to establish a more adequate prediction method for the indoor thermal environment and the air-conditioning load, it is essential that the calculation condition has good agreement with the actual situation. Although there is a high possibility that the actual usage of cooling and heating equipment of residential houses in Hokkaido is different from that in other districts, the unified conditions are being used for the prediction currently. Moreover, the air-conditioner for cold district is developed and is becoming popular in recent years. However, the actual usage of the air-conditioner in Hokkaido has not clarified yet.
Therefore, the aim of this study is to estimate the actual usage of the air-conditioner in Hokkaido based on the results of the web questionnaire. The results are as follows.
Among the air-conditioner households in Hokkaido, the rate of the households that the air-conditioner is used in summer reached to 80% over. However, the one in intermediate seasons becomes 40%, and the one in winter becomes 20%. It is found that the main reason of setting the air-conditioner is to use for cooling in summer. And the dehumidification mode is used through a whole year. This may be related with the custom that laundries are dried at indoor in Hokkaido.
The rate of the households that the air-conditioner is used for heating in winter is about 20%, it can be said that the rate of utilization as a heating equipment is not high. However, the air-conditioner has advantage of more convenience than other heating equipment, such as instantaneous heating at morning in intermediate seasons and using with timer at bedtime in winter.
More than half of the air-conditioner households had never considered that the air-conditioner is used for heating. And, 40% of the air-conditioner households have the negative image without the actual using of the air-conditioner for heating. These become the retards for using of the air-conditioner for heating.
At more than 90% of the air-conditioner households, the setting temperature is more than the general temperature for the prediction in all season.
It is found that that the indoor temperature has been kept about 24 degree C year-round. Because there are few customs that the feeling temperature is controlled by amount of clothing in Hokkaido, the indoor temperature is controlled constantly in the comfortable range without large changing of the amount of clothing.
