Electricity and gas consumption in housing: case studies in Mexican cities in four climatic regions
Keywords:
cooling, heating, thermal comfort, water heating.Abstract
Mexican families allocate a significant proportion of their income to paying energy bills such as electricity and gas, necessary for the use of electrical appliances, air conditioning, and sanitary water heating. This research discusses the challenges that Mexican families have in paying for the energy required to satisfy their needs for thermal comfort and water heating for sanitary use. Simulations were carried out to quantify the energy required to maintain thermal comfort and heat water for sanitary use in four Mexican cities: Cancún, Quintana Roo with a tropical climate; Hermosillo, Sonora with hot arid; Durango, Durango with a temperate semi-arid, and Puebla, Puebla with a temperate sub-humid climate. Thus, the minimum and maximum average temperatures inside, the monthly bills, and the total annual expenses for energy were calculated. In all the cities, except for Puebla, maximum interior temperatures of 30 °C were reached, while in all the cities except Cancún, indoor temperatures were below 18 °C. Furthermore, it was found that the city that requires more energy to achieve thermal comfort and heat water is Hermosillo (hot-arid climate); however, there is a higher expense in Durango (temperate semi-arid climate). In all cases, water heating represents up to 66% of the energy cost in Mexican homes, with Durango and Puebla being the cities where the greatest amount of energy is required to bathe with hot water. It is also deduced that due to the high monthly expenses for electricity and gas that households need to make, families need to take energy deprivation measures to prioritize food and transportation expenses, putting them at risk of energy poverty. Finally, it is essential to continue taking action to improve the design and construction of Mexican housing, adapt existing regulations and improve the availability of economical and efficient equipment to meet the energy needs of Mexican families.
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