When you are setting up your building for the first time you will be asked to select the fuel you use for heating and to select the heating base temperature. You can also do this at a later time by going to "Settings > Buildings > Edit building" and scrolling down until "Heating - Heating base temperature" (see below).

This information must be completed to ensure the software can analyse your building's heating performance. We review how efficient your building heating use is by comparing the heating demand each week with the weather. We use Heating Degree Days (HDD) calculated from weather station temperature data as a value to describe how cold the weather is each week.

Building Base Temperature and Heating

The building base temperature describes the temperature below which there will be a heating demand. In the UK the standard used for most buildings is 15.5°C. This means that when the average temperature outside is below 15.5°C there will be a heating demand to maintain internal comfort levels. The base temperature will be decreased by the heat given off by people, appliances, and lighting.

Note: the base temperature is NOT the desirable indoor room temperature or your thermostat temperature - it is the temperature below which there is a demand for heating. Why is this important? The way we calculate how cold it has been each week (using Heating Degree Days), and how efficiently heating has been used in your building, is based on using the correct building base temperature. This is why the building base temperature default in the software is 15.5°C and you shouldn't change the base temperature unless you know for certain that it is different from the default.