Field study of the effect of low-cost weatherstripping devices on energy use in single-family (San Diego) residences

Energy ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 465-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R. Brambley ◽  
E.M. Kennedy ◽  
S.J. Romelczyk ◽  
S.S. Penner
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Single Family

Analysis of Energy-Efficiency Improvements in Single-Family Dwellings in Concepcion, Chile

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-68
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Garcia Alvarado ◽  
Jaime Soto ◽  
Cristian Muñoz ◽  
Ariel Bobadilla ◽  
Rodrigo Herrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Environmental Improvement ◽  
Energy Simulations

The current depletion of fossil fuels and environmental degradation are requiring greater energy efficiency in buildings, particularly in the residential sector. However, environmental improvement actions for dwellings are usually based on general considerations, without identifying the most appropriate measurements to be taken in each case, or reviewing their application with stakeholders. This article puts forward a strategy to propose effective and feasible modifications in the design or refurbishment of single-family homes to reduce energy use while maintaining indoor comfort. The improvements proposed are based on dynamic energy simulations of individual models adapted to local realities that can be carried out by regular professionals. The process includes the review of studies and information on the geographic area, and compilation of the constructive features and occupancy data of each house to create a proper energy behaviour model. Possible improvements to the building are then simulated separately in each model and the results recorded. Subsequently, a budgetary analysis of these alternatives according to construction costs and financial projections is carried out in order to identify retrofit packages and consult the opinions of residents and builders. The application of this strategy is demonstrated in the study of several houses in Concepción, Chile, where different sets of measures have been identified to achieve high reductions in energy demand while having low cost and being highly appreciated by the participants. This provides a methodology for developing and validating effective solutions for the environmental improvement of existing dwellings and new housing projects.

scholarly journals Minimal Monitoring of Improvements in Energy Performance after Envelope Renovation in Subsidized Single Family Housing in Madrid

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Fernando Martín-Consuegra ◽  
Fernando de Frutos ◽  
Ignacio Oteiza ◽  
Carmen Alonso ◽  
Borja Frutos
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Nineteen Fifties ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Urban Complex

This study quantified the improvement in energy efficiency following passive renovation of the thermal envelope in highly inefficient residential complexes on the outskirts of the city of Madrid. A case study was conducted of a single-family terrace housing, representative of the smallest size subsidized dwellings built in Spain for workers in the nineteen fifties and sixties. Two units of similar characteristics, one in its original state and the other renovated, were analyzed in detail against their urban setting with an experimental method proposed hereunder for simplified, minimal monitoring. The dwellings were compared on the grounds of indoor environment quality parameters recorded over a period covering both winter and summer months. That information was supplemented with an analysis of the energy consumption metered. The result was a low-cost, reasonably accurate measure of the improvements gained in the renovated unit. The monitoring output data were entered in a theoretical energy efficiency model for the entire neighborhood to obtain an estimate of the potential for energy savings if the entire urban complex were renovated.

scholarly journals Automated Residential Energy Audits Using a Smart WiFi Thermostat-Enabled Data Mining Approach

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2500
Author(s):  
Abdulrahman Alanezi ◽  
Kevin P. Hallinan ◽  
Kefan Huang
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Measured Temperature ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Furnace Efficiency ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Data Mining Approach ◽  
Energy Auditing ◽  
Energy Audits

Smart WiFi thermostats, when they first reached the market, were touted as a means for achieving substantial heating and cooling energy cost savings. These savings did not materialize until additional features, such as geofencing, were added. Today, average savings from these thermostats of 10–12% in heating and 15% in cooling for a single-family residence have been reported. This research aims to demonstrate additional potential benefit of these thermostats, namely as a potential instrument for conducting virtual energy audits on residences. In this study, archived smart WiFi thermostat measured temperature data in the form of a power spectrum, corresponding historical weather and energy consumption data, building geometry characteristics, and occupancy data were integrated in order to train a machine learning model to predict attic and wall R-Values, furnace efficiency, and air conditioning seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), all of which were known for all residences in this study. The developed model was validated on residences not used for model development. Validation R-squared values of 0.9408, 0.9421, 0.9536, and 0.9053 for predicting attic and wall R-values, furnace efficiency, and AC SEER, respectively, were realized. This research demonstrates promise for low-cost data-based energy auditing of residences reliant upon smart WiFi thermostats.

scholarly journals Comfort within Budget: Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Envelope Improvements in Single-Family Affordable Housing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3054
Author(s):  
Renata Tubelo ◽  
Lucelia Rodrigues ◽  
Mark Gillott ◽  
May Zune
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Affordable Housing ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Housing Type ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

In Brazil, the delivery of homes for low-inc ome households is dictated by costs rather than performance. Issues such as the impact of climate change, affordability of operational energy use, and lack of energy security are not taken into account, even though they can severely impact the occupants. In this work, the authors evaluated the thermal performance of two affordable houses as-built and after the integration of envelope improvements. A new replicable method to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these improvements was proposed. The case study houses comprise the most common affordable housing type delivered widely across Brazil and a proposition of a better affordable housing solution, built in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, integrating passive design strategies to increase thermal comfort. The findings reveal a potential for improving indoor thermal conditions by up to 76% and 73%, respectively, if costs are not a concern, and 40% and 45% with a cost increase of 12% and 9% if a comfort criterion of 20–25 °C was considered. Equations to estimate costs of improvements in affordable housing were developed. The authors concluded that there is a great scope for building envelope optimisation, and that this is still possible without significant impact on budget.

scholarly journals Viability of Biofertilizer Produced by an Indian Biodigester Prototype Applied to Sunflower Plants

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 253
Author(s):  
Luciano Fernandes Moura ◽  
Pedro Felipe Sousa Teixeira ◽  
Franklin Aragão Gondim ◽  
Francisco Holanda Nunes Junior ◽  
Rifandreo Monteiro Barbosa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Polynomial Regression ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Sunflower Crop ◽  
Number Of Leaves ◽  
Relative Chlorophyll Content

Biodigesters have been used to convert biomass into biogas and biofertilizers. This energy use has been important for the reduction of solid waste pollution in the environment. This work aims to analyse the viability of the use of pig biofertilizer produced by an Indian biodigester prototype, monitored by a data acquisition system. The biodigester used was an Indian prototype built on a low cost material that is easy to acquire (polyvinyl chloride-PVC). After the biofertilizer production, we tested its efficiency and viability under conditions of vegetation house in the cultivation of sunflower plants. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial arrangement with 4 concentrations of biofertilizer (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg N ha-1) × 4 harvest periods (14, 21, 25 and 29 days after sowing). We evaluated biometric and vigor parameters by measurements of stem diameter, height of the aerial part, number of leaves and production of fresh and dry matter of roots, aerial and total parts, as well as the relative chlorophyll content. We performed the experiment with five repetitions using two plants each and we submitted the data to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and polynomial regression using the statistical software Sisvar 5.4. The functional Indian biodigester prototype produced a biofertilizer of excellent quality and viability as a biofertilizer for the initial growth of sunflower plants. The biofertilizer served as a nutritional source in the sunflower crop, since it provided increases in all the growth parameters analyzed in relation to the control group (plants in the absence of biofertilizer), especially in the concentration of 120 kg N ha-1.

scholarly journals Analysis of Drying of Brewers’ Spent Grain

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (23) ◽  
pp. 1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Ignacio Arranz ◽  
María Teresa Miranda ◽  
Francisco José Sepúlveda ◽  
Irene Montero ◽  
Carmen Victoria Rojas
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Matter Content ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Dry Matter Content ◽  
Brewing Industry ◽  
Livestock Feed ◽  
Spent Grain ◽  
Very High ◽  
Animal Consumption

Brewing industry generates a main residue, brewers’ spent grain (BSG), which has good properties both for use in animal consumption and for thermal use, but contains a very high content of moisture (20–25% dry matter content), so that its elimination or treatment should be immediate, since it can cause degeneration problems of the product. Currently, brewers often supply this material at low cost for use as livestock feed. This solution is not efficiently carried out without reporting too much benefit to the brewers more than to eliminate waste from their facilities. However, BSG is a raw material of interest for application in different areas due to its low price, availability throughout the year and a valuable chemical composition, so it seems necessary to look for an alternative use to give value to these characteristics. In this paper a drying study is carried out in order to establish the foundations for its energy use by thermal of BSG. BSG has been used from a craft brewery located at Badajoz, Spain. Drying analysis was carried out for various temperatures and inlet air flow by means a convective dryer. The properties studied show that BSG can be used for thermal utilization in large installations, being necessary heat drying processes as a pretreatment in order to obtain a biofuel with acceptable efficiency.

scholarly journals Feature Identification for Non-Intrusively Extracting Occupant Energy-Use Information in Office Buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Nabizadeh Rafsanjani
Keyword(s):  
Capital Investment ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Specific Energy Consumption ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Specific Power ◽  
Feature Identification ◽  
Load Monitoring ◽  
Energy Consuming

Detailed energy-use information of office buildings’ occupants is necessary to implement proper simulation/intervention techniques. However, acquiring accurate occupant-specific energy consumption in office buildings at low cost is currently a challenging task since existing intrusive load monitoring (ILM) technologies require a large capital investment to provide high-resolution electricity usage data for individual occupants. On the other hand, non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) approaches have been proven as more cost effective and flexible approaches to provide energy-use information of individual appliances. Therefore, extending the concept of NILM to individual occupants would be beneficial. This paper proposes two occupancy-related energy-consuming features, delay interval and magnitude of power changes and evaluates their significances for extracting occupant-specific power changes in a non-intrusive manner. The proposed features were examined through implementing a logistic regression model as a predictor on aggregate energy load data collected from an office building. Hypotheses tests also confirmed that both features are statistically significant to non-intrusively derive individual occupants’ energy-use information. As the main contribution of this study, these features could be utilized in developing sophisticated NILM-based approaches to monitor individual occupant energy-consuming behavior.  

Teleradiology for Rural Hospitals: Analysis of a Field Study

1995 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 202-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Franken ◽  
K S Berbaum ◽  
W L Smith ◽  
P J Chang ◽  
D A Owen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Paired Comparison ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Plain Film ◽  
Kappa Statistic ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Rural Hospitals ◽  
Comparison Study ◽  
Plain Films ◽  
Teleradiology System

We compared the accuracy of a low-cost teleradiology system with plain film at a small rural hospital. The comparison was a case-control, paired-comparison study. In total 377 consecutive cases were read prospectively by teleradiology and later by independent interpretation of the plain films. ‘Truth’ was determined in discrepant cases by further investigation of available records and images. Sensitivity and specificity were determined for each modality, and agreement using the kappa statistic. There was 90% agreement between teleradiology and plain film, with no significant differences. Sensitivities (0.88, 0.89) and specificities (0.98, 0.98) of the two methods were almost identical. McNemar's test indicated no significant differences in the accuracy of the two modalities. We conclude that inexpensive teleradiology for small rural hospitals is equivalent to plain film for radiologists' interpretation.

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