The rationale for introducing an alternative steady-state temperature index dubbed 'degree-hours' is given. The degree-hour approach is much more accurate than the degree-day method as it facilitates treatment of diurnal variation in HVAC set points. The index's behaviour has been investigated for 29 European locations and a method for compressing dramatically the volume of stored data is devised based upon a commonality of behaviour among a wide range of tested locations. A compact Western European degree-hours database has been composed, covering all likely intemal building set point temperatures with a data compression factor of 30.
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