家庭用暖房機の機能性評価

－エアコン対石油ファンヒータ－

抄録

The problem of global warming due to emissions of greenhouse gases has become a major concern in recent years. Having experienced large changes in the prices of petroleum products, consumers are also becoming increasingly concerned with the environmental and economic loads imposed by home heating appliances. The concept of functionality evaluation was used to carry out a comparison of the features and merits of three air conditioners and three oil fan heaters in the author's home. The comparison covered start-up behavior after being switched on and stability in maintaining a set temperature. Carbon dioxide emissions and running cost were also evaluated. None of the tested appliances showed a general tendency to be superior or inferior in start-up or temperature maintenance, although results were obtained indicating that a particular appliance model could be better suited to some rooms or installation conditions than to others. The one clear merit emerged was that air conditioners are low in carbon dioxide emissions, which is significant for the mitigation of global warming.