Optimization of Thermal Mass in Commercial Building Applications

1990 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Judson Brown
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Thermal Storage ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Thermal Mass ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Initial Cost ◽  
Heavy Construction ◽  
Cooling Loads

Based on results from a one-year intensive monitoring project of a Northern New York commercial building with energy-conserving design features, a thermal storage project was undertaken to optimize the design of a thermal mass storage system for a moderately sized commercial building and transfer the technology to the commercial building sector. A generic commercial building design of 27,000 square feet (2508 m2) was selected for the optimization project. Several different types of thermal mass designs were considered as potentially practical for a commercial building. These included a “sandmass” design such as the mass incorporated in the previously monitored commercial building mentioned above, a foundation slab of sufficient thickness to serve as a significant building thermal mass, and the use of poured cement in interior wall and floor construction. Five different office building thermal designs were selected which represented various thermal storage features and two different building insulation levels (R10 and R20). Energy performance of the five thermal designs was modeled in building energy simulations using DOE 2.1C (Department of Energy 2.1C) energy simulation code. Results of the simulations showed a reduction in peak heating and cooling loads would be experienced by the HVAC equipment. The reduction in peak heating and cooling loads was anticipated because thermal mass within a building serves to average peak heating and cooling loads due to the capacity of the thermal mass to store and release heat from all building heat sources over a period of time. Peak heating loads varied from 1972 kBtuh (578 kW) for the R-10 light construction base case to a minimum of 980 kBtuh (287 kW) for the R-20 heavy construction sandmass storage case. Peak cooling loads dropped from 772 kBtuh (226 kW) for the R-20 light construction case to 588 kBtuh (172 kW) for the R-20 heavy construction sandmass storage case. Results of the simulations also showed annual energy savings for the high thermal mass designs. Energy savings varied from 20 percent [16.0 kBtu/ft2 (50 kWh/m2)] for the R-10 high thermal mass design in comparison to its base case to 18 percent [12.2 kBtu/ft2 (39 kWh/m2)] for the R-20 high thermal mass design in comparison to its base case. The annual energy savings are due to the ability of the thermal mass to absorb heat from all sources of heat generation (lights, occupancy, solar, and auxiliary) during occupied periods and release the heat during unoccupied periods. An optimized thermal design was developed based on results from the DOE 2.1C simulations. The initial cost for the optimized thermal storage design is lower than the initial costs for light construction office buildings, since the lower initial cost of the down-sized HVAC system for the optimized thermal storage design more than offsets the increased cost of wall and floor systems incorporated in the optimized design. Annual energy savings are realized from the high thermal mass system in both cooling and heating modes due to the interaction of building HVAC systems operation in the simulated 27000 ft2 (2508 m2) office building. Annual operating savings of $3781 to $4465 per year are estimated based on simulation results.

scholarly journals Heating and cooling requirement of an office building and urban rooftop greenhouse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vickers
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Thermal Mass ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
Potential Impact

Urban agriculture is an important step towards food security in cities where rooftop space is abundant, and underused. This research addresses the potential impact of adding a rooftop greenhouse to a six storey, detached office building on the total heating and cooling energy consumption of both structures operated year‐round, using IES‐VE simulation software. Several variables including the level of insulation between the office building and greenhouse, additional thermal mass, the greenhouse envelope and greenhouse internal loads were tested to observe trends that suggest an impact on the system’s conditioning energy due to the presence of the greenhouse. Overall, it was found to be most likely that the greatest energy savings for an integrated office building and rooftop greenhouse would be achieved with the highest resistance greenhouse envelope possible, which may be limited by the light needs of plants grown in the greenhouse, and incorporation of thermal mass in the greenhouse.

scholarly journals Heating and cooling requirement of an office building and urban rooftop greenhouse

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Vickers
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Thermal Mass ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
Potential Impact

Urban agriculture is an important step towards food security in cities where rooftop space is abundant, and underused. This research addresses the potential impact of adding a rooftop greenhouse to a six storey, detached office building on the total heating and cooling energy consumption of both structures operated year‐round, using IES‐VE simulation software. Several variables including the level of insulation between the office building and greenhouse, additional thermal mass, the greenhouse envelope and greenhouse internal loads were tested to observe trends that suggest an impact on the system’s conditioning energy due to the presence of the greenhouse. Overall, it was found to be most likely that the greatest energy savings for an integrated office building and rooftop greenhouse would be achieved with the highest resistance greenhouse envelope possible, which may be limited by the light needs of plants grown in the greenhouse, and incorporation of thermal mass in the greenhouse.

scholarly journals Towards Sustainable Energy Retrofitting, a Simulation for Potential Energy Use Reduction in Residential Buildings in Palestine

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3876
Author(s):  
Sameh Monna ◽  
Adel Juaidi ◽  
Ramez Abdallah ◽  
Aiman Albatayneh ◽  
Patrick Dutournie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Water Heating ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Space Cooling ◽  
Cooling Loads

Since buildings are one of the major contributors to global warming, efforts should be intensified to make them more energy-efficient, particularly existing buildings. This research intends to analyze the energy savings from a suggested retrofitting program using energy simulation for typical existing residential buildings. For the assessment of the energy retrofitting program using computer simulation, the most commonly utilized residential building types were selected. The energy consumption of those selected residential buildings was assessed, and a baseline for evaluating energy retrofitting was established. Three levels of retrofitting programs were implemented. These levels were ordered by cost, with the first level being the least costly and the third level is the most expensive. The simulation models were created for two different types of buildings in three different climatic zones in Palestine. The findings suggest that water heating, space heating, space cooling, and electric lighting are the highest energy consumers in ordinary houses. Level one measures resulted in a 19–24 percent decrease in energy consumption due to reduced heating and cooling loads. The use of a combination of levels one and two resulted in a decrease of energy consumption for heating, cooling, and lighting by 50–57%. The use of the three levels resulted in a decrease of 71–80% in total energy usage for heating, cooling, lighting, water heating, and air conditioning.

scholarly journals Relationship Between Dynamic Thermal Properties, Energy Consumption and Comfort with Different Building Envelopes in a Canadian Building

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandre Pépin ◽  
Louis Gosselin ◽  
Jonathan Dallaire
Keyword(s):  
Heat Capacity ◽  
Thermal Properties ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Quebec City ◽  
Thermal Mass ◽  
Building Envelopes ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Energy Intensities

An office building located in Quebec City (Canada) with different envelope assemblies has been simulated in order to determine the energy consumption and thermal comfort that they provide. The resistance, thermal mass, and materials (concrete, cross-laminated timbers (CLT), and light-frame) are varied in a series of 164 different scenarios and the energy intensities for heating and cooling determined in each case, along with the discomfort index. Results show that the materiel used to provide thermal mass has a larger impact on comfort and energy consumption than the value of the thermal mass thickness itself. It was also attempted to correlate the performance of the envelope and its thermal mass with three dynamic thermal properties (i.e., dynamic transmittance, areal heat capacity, and decrement factor). Apart from thermal resistance, the internal areal heat capacity appeared to be the most important variable to explain variations of performance of the envelope.

scholarly journals Thermal mass impact on energy performance of a low, medium and heavy mass building in Belgrade

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (suppl. 2) ◽  
pp. 447-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bojan Andjelkovic ◽  
Branislav Stojanovic ◽  
Mladen Stojiljkovic ◽  
Jelena Janevski ◽  
Milica Stojanovic
Keyword(s):  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Energy Requirements ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Thermal Mass ◽  
Mass Concrete ◽  
Building Energy Performance ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Space Cooling

Heavy mass materials used in building structures and architecture can significantly affect building energy performance and occupant comfort. The purpose of this study was to investigate if thermal mass can improve the internal environment of a building, resulting in lower energy requirements from the mechanical systems. The study was focused on passive building energy performance and compared annual space heating and cooling energy requirements for an office building in Belgrade with several different applications of thermal mass. A three-dimensional building model was generated to represent a typical office building. Building shape, orientation, glazing to wall ratio, envelope insulation thickness, and indoor design conditions were held constant while location and thickness of building mass (concrete) was varied between cases in a series of energy simulations. The results were compared and discussed in terms of the building space heating and cooling energy and demand affected by thermal mass. The simulation results indicated that with addition of thermal mass to the building envelope and structure: 100% of all simulated cases experienced reduced annual space heating energy requirements, 67% of all simulated cases experienced reduced annual space cooling energy requirements, 83% of all simulated cases experienced reduced peak space heating demand and 50% of all simulated cases experienced reduced peak space cooling demand. The study demonstrated that there exists a potential for reducing space heating and cooling energy requirements with heavy mass construction in the analyzed climate region (Belgrade, Serbia).

scholarly journals Impact of insulation thicknesses of several types of thermal insulator on energy cost with respect to different climate zones in Morocco

2020 ◽  
Vol 307 ◽  
pp. 01023
Author(s):  
Ayoub Gounni ◽  
Mohamed Tahar Mabrouk ◽  
Abdelhamid Kheiri ◽  
Mustapha El Alami
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Expanded Polystyrene ◽  
Life Cycle Cost Analysis ◽  
Liquefied Petroleum Gas ◽  
Climate Zones ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Fourth Zone ◽  
Cooling Loads

In Morocco the thermal insulation of buildings envelop was not a common practice until it becomes obligatory since 2015 to meet the requirements of the Moroccan construction thermal regulation (RTCM) depending on six climate zones. The aim of this paper is to determine the optimum thickness of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and rock wool (RW) of walls constructed of brick for different Moroccan climate zones: Agadir (first zone), Tanger (second zone), Fes (third zone), Ifrane (fourth zone), Marrakech (fifth zone), Errachidia (sixth zone). A numerical model of a multilayered wall is developed to compute the annual heating and cooling loads. These loads are used as input to life cycle cost analysis using the energy and insulation costs. The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity are used as energy source, respectively, for heating and cooling. For each case, the calculation is carried out for annual heating and cooling loads and total cost including insulation and energy costs. Results show that the optimum thermal insulation depends on climate zones and insulation types. The lowest value of energy savings is obtained for climate zone 1 which are 289.55 and 300.55 dh/m² respectively for EPS and RW.

Analysis of Building Envelope Performance Effects of an Insulating Semi-Transparent Photovoltaic (STPV) Glazing Unit

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk V. P. McLaughlin ◽  
Konstantinos Kapsis ◽  
Andreas K. Athienitis ◽  
Sam Siassi ◽  
Livio Nichilo
Keyword(s):  
Performance Standards ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Gas Consumption ◽  
U Value ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Cooling Loads

This paper presents characterization results for the electrical and thermal properties of a unique insulating semi-transparent photovoltaic (STPV) glazing unit using calorimetry hot box methods finding a U-value of 1.09 W/m2·°C and a SHGC of 0.11. These properties are then applied to an energy model of a case study commercial building in a continental climate region to examine the effects of utilizing STPV in the building envelope on the electricity and natural gas consumption levels and peak demands. The results indicate that such a building envelope can significantly reduce heating and cooling loads compared to standard glazing which would help architects maintain the desirable properties of highly glazed façades while avoiding the drop in building energy performance that could make adhering to increasingly stringent building codes and performance standards difficult. The paper also presents simulation results for the photovoltaic energy generation of the vertical STPV façades at two building orientations.

scholarly journals A METHOD OF OPTIMIZING FENESTRATION DESIGN FOR DAYLIGHTING TO REDUCE HEATING AND COOLING LOADS IN OFFICES

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 714-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Voll ◽  
Erkki Seinre
Keyword(s):  
Office Building ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Scale Models ◽  
Design Calculations ◽  
Cooling Loads ◽  
Building Designs ◽  
Window Design ◽  
Careful Design

Modern office building designs tend to increase the window share per facade to make the building more impressive with extensive visibility and well daylit rooms. In general, an increased window share results in higher energy usage and higher costs of heating and cooling, but these disadvantages can be reduced with a more careful design. The aim of this paper is to show the influence of window design and room layout on heating and cooling demand and daylight availability in office buildings in northern Europe. The results in the paper are based on design calculations for two different room types and daylight measurements on two room scale models in a daylight laboratory. The calculations show the influence of window design parameters on the cooling and heating demand. The daylight measurements show the influence of window design parameters on the availability of daylight. The results have then been combined to show a feasible window design regarding daylight availability and the resulting cooling and heating demands for different window orientations. The results show that in most cases it is possible to find a combination of window share and window solar factor that is feasible with regard to daylight as well as cooling and heating. The main finding is that there is a smaller or wider range of feasible designs for different window orientations.

scholarly journals Evaluation of capabilities of different global sensitivity analysis techniques for building energy simulation: experiment on design variables

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-111
Author(s):  
Arthur Santos Silva ◽  
Enedir Ghisi
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Global Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Building Performance ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Building Performance Simulation ◽  
Global Sensitivity ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Design Variables ◽  
Cooling Loads

Abstract The objective of this study is to investigate the capabilities of different global sensitivity analysis methods applied to building performance simulation, i.e. Morris, Monte Carlo, Design of Experiments, and Sobol methods. A single-zone commercial building located in Florianópolis, southern Brazil, was used as a case study. Fifteen inputs related to design variables were considered, such as thermal properties of the construction envelope, solar orientation, and fenestration characteristics. The performance measures were the annual heating and cooling loads. It was found that each method can provide different visual capabilities and measures of interpretation, but, in general, there was little difference in showing the most influent and least influent variables. For the heating loads, the thermal transmittances were the most influent variables, while for the cooling loads, the solar absorptances stood out. The Morris method showed to be the most feasible method due to its simplicity and low computational cost. However, as the building simulation model is still complex and non-linear, the variance-based method such as the Sobol is still necessary for general purposes.

ANALYSIS FOR THERMAL BEHAVIOR AND ENERGY SAVINGS OF A SEMI-DETACHED HOUSE WITH DIFFERENT INSULATION STRATEGIES IN A HOT SEMI-ARID CLIMATE

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Issam Sobhy ◽  
Abderrahim Brakez ◽  
Brahim Benhamou
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Thermal Inertia ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Cavity Wall ◽  
Arid Climate ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Detached House ◽  
Cooling Loads ◽  
Semi Arid

The purpose of this research is to assess thermal performance and energy saving of a residential building in the hot semi-arid climate of Marrakech (Morocco). The studied house is built as usual in Marrakech without any thermal insulation except for its external walls, facing East and West, which are double walls with a 5 cm air gap in between (“cavity wall” technique). The cavity wall effective thermal conductivity was carefully calculated taking into account both radiation and convection heat transfers. Experimental results, obtained from winter and summer monitoring of the house, show well dampening of air temperature, thanks to its thermal inertia. However, this temperature remained outside the standard thermal comfort zone leading to large cooling/heating load. Simulation results indicate that the cavity wall contributes to an overall reduction of 13% and 5% of the house heating and cooling loads respectively. Moreover, the addition of XPS roof thermal insulation significantly enhances the heating and cooling energy savings to 26% and 40% respectively.

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