An Economic Analysis Method of Energy Saving Strategies in Newly Constructed Buildings

Solar Energy ◽  
2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Everette Sylvester ◽  
Jeff Haberl

Businesses and institutions in the United States spend an estimated $175 billion per year for energy. Of that, the fraction under performance contracts and energy service agreements is currently growing, aided by cheaper monitoring technology and integration with energy management and conservation systems. To estimate the potential savings as well as to help verify energy savings retrofits, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers has developed Standard 90.1 to provide guidance when conducting energy simulations of buildings before they are constructed. Although the potential accuracy afforded by today’s energy simulation programs is high, there is little agreement on current methods when developing the base case building. In addition, there are no current standards to guide the analysis of newly constructed, energy efficient buildings. This paper presents an energy simulation of a newly constructed state office building and compares the energy savings a past study the uses ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and a simulation regression method. Overall, while the results show significant differences between the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and the calibrated simulation regression method.

Author(s):  
Aaron P. Wemhoff

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC) consume nearly one-third of household energy in the United States. The optimization of the control parameters in HVAC equipment allows for a reduction in energy consumption. In this study, a supervisory control method is applied to a lumped parameter model of an HVAC system of interest containing a chiller and three dampers. The method determines the choice of control parameters that minimize the energy consumption for 1000 sampled steady-state loads. An energy savings of 39% was achieved using the method in this study compared to the base case.


Author(s):  
Flore A. Marion ◽  
Elisabeth Aslanian ◽  
Sophie V. Durandeux ◽  
David H. Archer

An analytical and experimental study of hybrid ventilation is being carried out by Carnegie Mellon’s Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics in its Intelligent Workplace, the IW. Hybrid ventilation in this space will be carried out either operating a mechanical system, a SEMCO rev2250 desiccant wheel unit that distributes outside air conditioned, to a set temperature and humidity or alternatively opening windows when outdoor and indoor conditions are favorable, turning off the ventilation and the space cooling units. This hybrid ventilation approach will maintain a healthy, comfortable, and pleasant environment for the occupants of the IW and also will reduce the operating costs for the ventilation and cooling of the space. The key factor to the successful performance of a hybrid ventilation system is its operating procedures, the logical algorithms for opening and closing windows based on measurements of outdoor and indoor conditions: temperatures, humidity, wind velocity, rain, occupancy, etc. Algorithms have been proposed for operating the windows in the IW’s hybrid ventilation system. These algorithms have been programmed in a Trnsys model of IW with its windows and its mechanical ventilation and cooling units. This model has been exercised for an operating period including the spring, summer, and fall seasons in Pittsburgh to establish how much time the windows remain open and what savings in operating energy for the IW’s mechanical ventilation and cooling system are achieved. This modeling study evaluates the benefits of a hybrid ventilation system compared to a base case where mechanical ventilation is used. About 8% of the ventilation and cooling energy is saved. At this time a hybrid ventilation system, its hardware equipment and software controls, has been installed in the IW. Measurements are being made to establish that healthy, comfortable conditions are maintained in the IW and that model estimates of energy savings are confirmed. In future work, guides lines will be written to inform building professionals, architects and engineers, about hybrid ventilation and its benefits in the design of buildings across the United States.


Author(s):  
Thomas Borstelmann

This book looks at an iconic decade when the cultural left and economic right came to the fore in American society and the world at large. While many have seen the 1970s as simply a period of failures epitomized by Watergate, inflation, the oil crisis, global unrest, and disillusionment with military efforts in Vietnam, this book creates a new framework for understanding the period and its legacy. It demonstrates how the 1970s increased social inclusiveness and, at the same time, encouraged commitments to the free market and wariness of government. As a result, American culture and much of the rest of the world became more—and less—equal. This book explores how the 1970s forged the contours of contemporary America. Military, political, and economic crises undercut citizens' confidence in government. Free market enthusiasm led to lower taxes, a volunteer army, individual 401(k) retirement plans, free agency in sports, deregulated airlines, and expansions in gambling and pornography. At the same time, the movement for civil rights grew, promoting changes for women, gays, immigrants, and the disabled. And developments were not limited to the United States. Many countries gave up colonial and racial hierarchies to develop a new formal commitment to human rights, while economic deregulation spread to other parts of the world, from Chile and the United Kingdom to China. Placing a tempestuous political culture within a global perspective, this book shows that the decade wrought irrevocable transformations upon American society and the broader world that continue to resonate today.


Author(s):  
Matthew A. Shadle

American Catholicism has long adapted to US liberal institutions. Progressive Catholicism has taken the liberal values of democratic participation and human rights and made them central to its interpretation of Catholic social teaching. This chapter explores in detail the thought of David Hollenbach, S.J., a leading representative of progressive Catholicism. Hollenbach has proposed an ethical framework for an economy aimed at the common good, ensuring that the basic needs of all are met and that all are able to participate in economic life. The chapter also looks at the US Catholic bishops’ 1986 pastoral letter Economic Justice for All, which emphasizes similar themes while also promoting collaboration between the different sectors of American society for the sake of the common good.


Author(s):  
Andrew Valls

The persistence of racial inequality in the United States raises deep and complex questions of racial justice. Some observers argue that public policy must be “color-blind,” while others argue that policies that take race into account should be defended on grounds of diversity or integration. This chapter begins to sketch an alternative to both of these, one that supports strong efforts to address racial inequality but that focuses on the conditions necessary for the liberty and equality of all. It argues that while race is a social construction, it remains deeply embedded in American society. A conception of racial justice is needed, one that is grounded on the premises provided by liberal political theory.


Author(s):  
Andrew Valls

American society continues to be characterized by deep racial inequality that is a legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. What does justice demand in response? In this book, Andrew Valls argues that justice demands quite a lot—the United States has yet to fully reckon with its racial past, or to confront its ongoing legacies. Valls argues that liberal values and principles have far-reaching implications in the context of the deep injustices along racial lines in American society. In successive chapters, the book takes on such controversial issues as reparations, memorialization, the fate of black institutions and communities, affirmative action, residential segregation, the relation between racial inequality and the criminal justice system, and the intersection of race and public schools. In all of these contexts, Valls argues that liberal values of liberty and equality require profound changes in public policy and institutional arrangements in order to advance the cause of racial equality. Racial inequality will not go away on its own, Valls argues, and past and present injustices create an obligation to address it. But we must rethink some of the fundamental assumptions that shape mainstream approaches to the problem, particularly those that rely on integration as the primary route to racial equality.


Author(s):  
Mark Blaxill ◽  
Toby Rogers ◽  
Cynthia Nevison

AbstractThe cost of ASD in the U.S. is estimated using a forecast model that for the first time accounts for the true historical increase in ASD. Model inputs include ASD prevalence, census population projections, six cost categories, ten age brackets, inflation projections, and three future prevalence scenarios. Future ASD costs increase dramatically: total base-case costs of $223 (175–271) billion/year are estimated in 2020; $589 billion/year in 2030, $1.36 trillion/year in 2040, and $5.54 (4.29–6.78) trillion/year by 2060, with substantial potential savings through ASD prevention. Rising prevalence, the shift from child to adult-dominated costs, the transfer of costs from parents onto government, and the soaring total costs raise pressing policy questions and demand an urgent focus on prevention strategies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document