An investigation of the thermal conductivity of a sandy soil as a function of soil moisture content

Abstract

Energy consumption for heating and cooling of residential and non-residential buildings is a significant portion of the total amount of energy used in the United States. Space heating and cooling accounts for almost 25 percent of the total U.S. consumption (as much as is consumed by all of transportation) and the potential for savings is very large indeed (5). For the residential sector alone, space heating accounts for 65 percent of all residential energy with a further 5 percent for space cooling (5). Space heating and cooling is by far the largest component of energy use in this sector, and this alone accounts for almost 16 percent of the nation's total raw energy use and is supplied primarily by natural gas and petroleum products (5).