Effect of Prismatic Skylight on the Power Consumption and Air-Conditioning Loads

Author(s):  
Sebastian Munera ◽  
Yong X. Tao

The use of Prismatic Skylights and its effects as a passive Energy Conservation Strategy in “Residential” and “Big Box Commercial Buildings” in hot and humid climate has been evaluated throughout this project. The potential benefits of using skylights reside in the fact that it reduces electrical lighting necessities but at the same time it contributes to an upsurge of the Cooling Loads of the conditioned space. Acknowledging the impact of skylights is fundamental to elaborate an optimized design of a building’s energy efficient mechanical system. To reach a sound conclusion, the evaluated buildings were modeled and their performance was simulated using the Department of Energy Simulation Program “Energy Plus”. To be able to compare the Energy Conservation Measure case (Using Skylights) with the Base Line (No Skylights), a photometric sensor was modeled to ensure that both cases sourced the same amount of light visible in the electromagnetic spectrum. Considering the Heating, Cooling and lighting energy consumption as variables, the variance between the ECM and the Base line for the residential case was 5% more energy consumption with skylights. For the Big Box Commercial Building there was a 5% deduction in energy consumption in the ECM case using 5% roof area covered with skylights. The results obtained from this investigation reveal a very promising effect in the implementation of skylights in “Big Box Commercial Buildings”, but not so optimistic in the case of “Residential Buildings” for hot and humid climate as shown by the simulation and monitoring data from the experimental case.

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 5038
Author(s):  
Goopyo Hong ◽  
Chul Kim ◽  
Jun Hong

In commercial buildings, HVAC systems are becoming a primary driver of energy consumption, which already account for 45% of the total building energy consumption. In the previous literature, researchers have studied several energy conservation measures to reduce HVAC system energy consumption. One of the effective ways is an economizer in air-handling units. Therefore, this study quantified the impact of the outdoor air fraction by economizer control type in cooling system loads based on actual air-handling unit operation data in a hospital. The optimal outdoor air fraction and energy performance for economizer control types were calculated and analyzed. The result showed that economizer controls using optimal outdoor air fraction were up to 45% more efficient in cooling loads than existing HVAC operations in the hospital. The energy savings potential was 6–14% of the differential dry-bulb temperature control, 17–27% of the differential enthalpy control, 8–17% of the differential dry-bulb temperature and high-limit differential enthalpy control, and 16–27% of the differential enthalpy and high-limit differential dry-bulb temperature control compared to the no economizer control. The result of this study will contribute to providing a better understanding of economizer controls in the hospital when the building operates in hot-humid climate regions.


1978 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 537-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Seligman

A great deal of psychological research has suggested that giving immediate feedback to an individual on the effects of his actions enables him better to control his actions. The application of this idea to the reduction of energy consumption is clear. In general homeowners are motivated by cost and other pressures to reduce their home energy consumption. Therefore, if they are given daily feedback on their actual energy consumption, this ought to enable them to better control their consumption rates. Why should feedback have this effect? First, since most homeowners are unaware of the amount of energy they use (the monthly utility bill is not clear or detailed enough to be very helpful), feedback provides information about energy usage. Second, frequent feedback indicates the success of various attempted conservation strategies; it can lead the homeowner to discover and to maintain conservation habits.


Author(s):  
Ganesh Doiphode ◽  
Hamidreza Najafi ◽  
Mariana Migliori

Abstract K-12 schools are responsible for over 1.4% of the total annual energy consumption in the United States. In a collaboration between Florida Institute of Technology and Brevard Public Schools (BPS), three schools are identified for a case study in Melbourne, FL, representing the hot and humid climate. A simple and replicable energy audit procedure is developed and conducted for the three schools to establish an understanding on the baseline energy consumption and energy end users and identify and evaluate effective energy efficiency measures (EEMs). Several EEMs are investigated and five EEMs associated with lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and on-site solar power generation are selected for detailed analysis. It is determined that implementing the five recommendations will result in total of 58% reduction in the schools’ energy cost with an overall payback period of 8.4 years. The benefits of such project for schools are discussed from energy, economic, environmental, and educational perspectives. The results of this study provide insights regarding prioritizing energy efficiency projects in K-12 schools in hot and humid climate. The developed approach can be conveniently used for energy assessment in other schools and can serve as a method for training engineering students to perform energy audit.


Author(s):  
Elise Belleil ◽  
Long Phan ◽  
Cheng-Xian Lin ◽  
Mirko Schäfer ◽  
Johannes Wagner

The solar powered house at the Engineering Center of Florida International University is out of the U.S. Solar Decathlon 2005 competition. A computational simulation using EnergyPlus is conducted to study different ventilation strategies in this solar house model, with consideration of the hot and humid climate in Miami, Florida. Several modes of ventilation including mechanical cooling systems, natural ventilation utilization, and hybrid systems were considered to seek the best possible option for ventilation in such extreme climate. While the need for a mechanical ventilation system is always present, a resort to natural ventilation could significantly reduce energy consumption. As for natural ventilation utilization, a few methods including earth tubes (ET), thermal chimneys (TC), cooling towers (CT), and openings have been simulated and compared with the mechanical cooling system of the original house. However, as the simulation results suggested, relying on only natural ventilation could cause a dramatic impact to the human thermal comfort. Therefore, a coupling strategy between mechanical systems and natural ventilation was extensively investigated in hope for a better solution in terms of both energy consumption and thermal comfort. In fact, the hybrid system has proved to tremendously reduce energy consumption while complying with the minimum requirements for thermal comfort recommended by ASHRAE standards.


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