Cooling Degree- Days for Selected Locations in Nigeria

Abstract

"Degree-days" is used to quantify the duration and severity of hotness or coldness of a climate cooling degree-days is the accumulation positive differences between observed temperature and the base temperature. From hourly dry-bulb temperature data for Ikeja (Lagos) and Ilorin for 15 years, average monthly and annual total cooling degree-days were computed for base temperatures varying from 24 degree-days from the data for the two locations. In addition, a typical one year dry-bulb temperature data were obtained for each of eleven other locations in Nigeria and cooling degree-days were calculated directly from the data and also from the mathematical model for cooling degree-days developed earlier from the data for Ikeja and Ilorin. The annual total cooling degree-days for a base temperature of 24 degree C obtained from weather data were 298.9, 784.4, 951.7, 971.9, 989.6, 1012.5, 1022.7, 1051.5, 1076.3, 1225.2, 1431.4, 1803.6 and 1999.6 degree C - days for Jos, Kaduna, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Benin, Calabar, Ikeja (Lagos), Ilorin, Enugu, Abuja, Kano, Maiduguri and Sokoto, respectively. Degree-days predicted using the mathematical model agreed quite well with the values listed above. Cooling degree-days are useful in estimating the cost of cooling over a period of time.