Matching Items (4)
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- All Subjects: Energy Efficiency
- All Subjects: Energy Simulation
- Creators: Addison, Marlin
Description
Buildings in the United States, account for over 68 percent of electricity consumed, 39 percent of total energy use, and 38 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions. By the year 2035, about 75% of the U.S. building sector will be either new or renovated. The energy efficiency requirements of current building codes would have a significant impact on future energy use, hence, one of the most widely accepted solutions to slowing the growth rate of GHG emissions and then reversing it involves a stringent adoption of building energy codes. A large number of building energy codes exist and a large number of studies which state the energy savings possible through code compliance. However, most codes are difficult to comprehend and require an extensive understanding of the code, the compliance paths, all mandatory and prescriptive requirements as well as the strategy to convert the same to energy model inputs. This paper provides a simplified solution for the entire process by providing an easy to use interface for code compliance and energy simulation through a spreadsheet based tool, the ECCO or the Energy Code COmpliance Tool. This tool provides a platform for a more detailed analysis of building codes as applicable to each and every individual building in each climate zone. It also facilitates quick building energy simulation to determine energy savings achieved through code compliance. This process is highly beneficial not only for code compliance, but also for identifying parameters which can be improved for energy efficiency. Code compliance is simplified through a series of parametric runs which generates the minimally compliant baseline building and 30% beyond code building. This tool is seen as an effective solution for architects and engineers for an initial level analysis as well as for jurisdictions as a front-end diagnostic check for code compliance.
ContributorsGoel, Supriya (Author) / Bryan, Harvey J. (Thesis advisor) / Reddy, T. Agami (Committee member) / Addison, Marlin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
A major problem faced by electric utilities is the need to meet electric loads during certain times of peak demand. One of the widely adopted and promising programs is demand response (DR) where building owners are encouraged, by way of financial incentives, to reduce their electric loads during a few hours of the day when the electric utility is likely to encounter peak loads. In this thesis, we investigate the effect of various DR measures and their resulting indoor occupant comfort implications, on two prototype commercial buildings in the hot and dry climate of Phoenix, AZ. The focus of this study is commercial buildings during peak hours and peak days. Two types of office buildings are modeled using a detailed building energy simulation program (EnergyPlus V6.0.0): medium size office building (53,600 sq. ft.) and large size office building (498,600 sq. ft.). The two prototype buildings selected are those advocated by the Department of Energy and adopted by ASHRAE in the framework of ongoing work on ASHRAE standard 90.1 which reflect 80% of the commercial buildings in the US. After due diligence, the peak time window is selected to be 12:00-18:00 PM (6 hour window). The days when utility companies require demand reduction mostly fall during hot summer days. Therefore, two days, the summer high-peak (15th July) and the mid-peak (29th June) days are selected to perform our investigations. The impact of building thermal mass as well as several other measures such as reducing lighting levels, increasing thermostat set points, adjusting supply air temperature, resetting chilled water temperature are studied using the EnergyPlus building energy simulation program. Subsequently the simulation results are summarized in tabular form so as to provide practical guidance and recommendations of which DR measures are appropriate for different levels of DR reductions and the associated percentage values of people dissatisfied (PPD). This type of tabular recommendations is of direct usefulness to the building owners and operators contemplating DR response. The methodology can be extended to other building types and climates as needed.
ContributorsKhanolkar, Amruta (Author) / Reddy, T Agami (Thesis advisor) / Addison, Marlin (Committee member) / Bryan, Harvey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Schools all around the country are improving the performance of their buildings by adopting high performance design principles. Higher levels of energy efficiency can pave the way for K-12 Schools to achieve net zero energy (NZE) conditions, a state where the energy generated by on-site renewable sources are sufficient to meet the cumulative annual energy demands of the facility. A key capability for the proliferation of Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) is the need for a design methodology that identifies the optimum mix of energy efficient design features to be incorporated into the building. The design methodology should take into account the interaction effects of various energy efficiency measures as well as their associated costs so that life cycle cost can be minimized for the entire life span of the building.
This research aims at developing such a methodology for generating cost effective net zero energy solutions for school buildings. The Department of Energy (DOE) prototype primary school, meant to serve as the starting baseline, was modeled in the building energy simulation software eQUEST and made compliant with the requirement of ASHRAE 90.1-2007. Commonly used efficiency measures, for which credible initial cost and maintenance data were available, were selected as the parametric design set. An initial sensitivity analysis was conducted by using the Morris Method to rank the efficiency measures in terms of their importance and interaction strengths. A sequential search technique was adopted to search the solution space and identify combinations that lie near the Pareto-optimal front; this allowed various minimum cost design solutions to be identified corresponding to different energy savings levels.
Based on the results of this study, it was found that the cost optimal combination of measures over the 30 year analysis span resulted in an annual energy cost reduction of 47%, while net zero site energy conditions were achieved by the addition of a 435 kW photovoltaic generation system that covered 73% of the roof area. The simple payback period for the additional technology required to achieve NZE conditions was calculated to be 26.3 years and carried a 37.4% premium over the initial building construction cost. The study identifies future work in how to automate this computationally conservative search technique so that it can provide practical feedback to the building designer during all stages of the design process.
This research aims at developing such a methodology for generating cost effective net zero energy solutions for school buildings. The Department of Energy (DOE) prototype primary school, meant to serve as the starting baseline, was modeled in the building energy simulation software eQUEST and made compliant with the requirement of ASHRAE 90.1-2007. Commonly used efficiency measures, for which credible initial cost and maintenance data were available, were selected as the parametric design set. An initial sensitivity analysis was conducted by using the Morris Method to rank the efficiency measures in terms of their importance and interaction strengths. A sequential search technique was adopted to search the solution space and identify combinations that lie near the Pareto-optimal front; this allowed various minimum cost design solutions to be identified corresponding to different energy savings levels.
Based on the results of this study, it was found that the cost optimal combination of measures over the 30 year analysis span resulted in an annual energy cost reduction of 47%, while net zero site energy conditions were achieved by the addition of a 435 kW photovoltaic generation system that covered 73% of the roof area. The simple payback period for the additional technology required to achieve NZE conditions was calculated to be 26.3 years and carried a 37.4% premium over the initial building construction cost. The study identifies future work in how to automate this computationally conservative search technique so that it can provide practical feedback to the building designer during all stages of the design process.
ContributorsIslam, Mohammad Moshfiqul (Author) / Reddy, T. Agami (Thesis advisor) / Bryan, Harvey J. (Committee member) / Addison, Marlin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Due to extreme summer temperatures that regularly reach 122°F (50°C), cooling energy requirements have been responsible for 70% of peak demand and 45% of total electricity consumption in Kuwait. It is estimated that 50%-60% of electric power is consumed by the residential sector, mostly in detached villas. This study analyzes the potential impact of energy efficiency measures (EEM) and renewable energy (RE) measures on the electric energy requirements of an existing villa built in 2004. Using architectural plans, interview data, and the eQUEST building energy simulation tool, a building energy model (BEM) was developed for a villa calibrated with hourly energy use data for the year 2014. Although the modeled villa consumed less energy than an average Kuwaiti villa of the same size, 26% energy reductions were still possible under compliance with 2018 building codes. Compliance with 2010 and 2014 building codes, however, would have increased energy use by 19% and 3% respectively. Furthermore, survey data of 150 villas was used to generate statistics on rooftop solar area availability. Accordingly, it was found that 78% of the survey sample’s average total rooftop area was not suitable for rooftop solar systems due to shading and other obstacles. The integration of a solar canopy circumvents this issue and also functions as a shading device for outdoor activities and as a protective cover for AC units and water tanks. Combining the highest modeled EEMs and RE measures on the villa, the energy use intensity (EUI) would be reduced to 15 kWh/m2/year from a baseline value of 127 kWh/m2/year, close to net zero. Finally, it was determined that EEMs were able to reduce the entire demand profile whereas RE measures were most effective at reducing demand around mid-day hours. In future studies, more effort should be spent on collecting hourly data from multiple villas to assist in the development of a detailed hourly bottom-up residential energy modeling methodology.
ContributorsAlyakoob, Ali (Author) / Reddy, Agami T (Thesis advisor) / Addison, Marlin (Committee member) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020