The effect of floor insulation on indoor air temperature and energy consumption of residential buildings in moderate climates

Energy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 138 ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Staszczuk ◽  
Magdalena Wojciech ◽  
Tadeusz Kuczyński
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Residential Buildings

scholarly journals Energy-saving potential of intermittent heating system: Influence of composite phase change wall and optimization strategy

2020 ◽  
pp. 014459872096921
Author(s):  
Yanru Li ◽  
Enshen Long ◽  
Lili Zhang ◽  
Xiangyu Dong ◽  
Suo Wang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Phase Change ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Optimization Strategy ◽  
Indoor Thermal Environment ◽  
Indoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Intermittent Heating

In the Yangtze River zone of China, the heating operation in buildings is mainly part-time and part-space, which could affect the indoor thermal comfort while making the thermal process of building envelope different. This paper proposed to integrate phase change material (PCM) to building walls to increase the indoor thermal comfort and attenuate the temperature fluctuations during intermittent heating. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of this kind of composite phase change wall (composite-PCW) on the indoor thermal environment and energy consumption of intermittent heating, and further develop an optimization strategy of intermittent heating operation by using EnergyPlus simulation. Results show that the indoor air temperature of the building with the composite-PCW was 2–3°C higher than the building with the reference wall (normal foamed concrete wall) during the heating-off process. Moreover, the indoor air temperature was higher than 18°C and the mean radiation temperature was above 20°C in the first 1 h after stopping heating. Under the optimized operation condition of turning off the heating device 1 h in advance, the heat release process of the composite-PCW to the indoor environment could maintain the indoor thermal environment within the comfortable range effectively. The composite-PCW could decrease 4.74% of the yearly heating energy consumption compared with the reference wall. The optimization described can provide useful information and guidance for the energy saving of intermittently heated buildings.

scholarly journals Comparative thermal performance of static sunshade and brick cavity wall for energy efficient building envelope in composite climate

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 925-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghana Charde ◽  
Sourabh Bhati ◽  
Ayushman Kheterpal ◽  
Rajiv Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Cavity Wall ◽  
Outdoor Air ◽  
Reduce Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient Building

Energy efficient building technologies can reduce energy consumption in buildings. In present paper effect of designed static sunshade, brick cavity wall with brick projections and their combined effect on indoor air temperature has been analyzed by constructing three test rooms each of habitable dimensions (3.0 m ? 4.0 m ? 3.0 m) and studying hourly temperatures on typical days for one month in summer and winter each. The three rooms have also been simulated using a software and the results have been compared with the experimental results. Designed static sunshade increased indoor air temperature in winter while proposed brick cavity wall with brick projections lowered it in summer. Combined effect of building elements lowered indoor air temperature in summer and increased it in winter as compared to outdoor air temperature. It is thus useful for energy conservation in buildings in composite climate.

Role of Indoor Air Distribution in Performance of Heat Pump Systems in Energy-Efficient Residential Buildings

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali A. Jal-Alzadeh-Azar ◽  
Ren Anderson ◽  
Keith Gawlik
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Air Distribution ◽  
Air Mixing ◽  
Heating Mode

This paper demonstrates the potential impact of indoor air distribution on the energy consumption of central HVAC systems with cognizance of human thermal comfort. The study focuses on a hypothetical high-performance house incorporating a split heat pump system. The air distribution of this building incorporates high sidewall supply-air registers and near-floor, wall-mounted return-air grilles. Heating-mode stratification resulting from this prevalent configuration is a prime example of situations in which challenges regarding energy efficiency, comfort, and ventilation effectiveness emerge. These challenges underline the importance of adopting a comprehensive design strategy for high-performance buildings. Two indoor air distribution scenarios were analyzed: (1) theoretically well mixed and (2) poorly mixed, representing a realistic case. The former scenario was evaluated using an analytical approach, whereas the latter was investigated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. For heating mode, the results indicated the presence of a pronounced thermal stratification resulting from poor air mixing. At 50% of the design heating load, for the well-mixed case, the HVAC system energy consumption was significantly higher. Considerably better air distribution performance was observed with cooling mode, in which the relative energy penalty for the well-mixed scenario was noticeably less. In real-world applications where measures must be taken to achieve near perfectly mixed indoor conditions for better comfort, the energy use is expected to be even higher. However, in the absence of such measures, the thermostat setpoint is likely to be readjusted, leading to a higher energy use without necessarily improving the overall comfort level, as demonstrated in this paper. The limitation of increasing the supply-air flow rate to enhance air mixing and diffusion is also discussed in terms of the system moisture removal capability.

scholarly journals Development of Thermal Comfort-Based Controller and Potential Reduction of the Cooling Energy Consumption of a Residential Building in Kuwait

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 3348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaesung Park ◽  
Taeyeon Kim ◽  
Chul-sung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Influential Factor ◽  
Electric Energy Consumption ◽  
Residential Electricity ◽  
The Government

In Kuwait, where the government subsidizes approximately 95% of residential electricity bills, most of the country’s energy consumption is for residential use. In particular, air-conditioning (AC) systems for cooling, which are used throughout the year, are responsible for residential electric energy consumption. This study aimed to reduce the amount of energy consumed for cooling purposes by developing a thermal comfort-based controller. Our study commenced by using a simulation model to investigate the possibility of energy reduction when using the predicted mean vote (PMV) for optimal control. The result showed that control optimization would enable the cooling energy consumption to be reduced by 33.5%. The influence of six variables on cooling energy consumption was then analyzed to develop a thermal comfort-based controller. The analysis results showed that the indoor air temperature was the most influential factor, followed by the mean radiant temperature, the metabolic rate, and indoor air velocity. The thermal comfort-based controller-version 1 (TCC-V1) was developed based on the analysis results and experimentally evaluated to determine the extent to which the use of the controller would affect the energy consumed for cooling. The experiments showed that the implementation of TCC-V1 control made it possible to reduce the electric energy consumption by 39.5% on a summer representative day. The results of this study indicate that it is possible to improve indoor thermal comfort while saving energy by using the thermal comfort-based controller in residential buildings in Kuwait.

scholarly journals Probabilistic modeling of the indoor climates of residential buildings using EnergyPlus

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Buechler ◽  
Simon Pallin ◽  
Philip Boudreaux ◽  
Michaela Stockdale
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Oak Ridge ◽  
Simulation Engine

The indoor air temperature and relative humidity in residential buildings significantly affect material moisture durability, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system performance, and occupant comfort. Therefore, indoor climate data are generally required to define boundary conditions in numerical models that evaluate envelope durability and equipment performance. However, indoor climate data obtained from field studies are influenced by weather, occupant behavior, and internal loads and are generally unrepresentative of the residential building stock. Likewise, whole-building simulation models typically neglect stochastic variables and yield deterministic results that are applicable to only a single home in a specific climate. The purpose of this study was to probabilistically model homes with the simulation engine EnergyPlus to generate indoor climate data that are widely applicable to residential buildings. Monte Carlo methods were used to perform 840,000 simulations on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory supercomputer (Titan) that accounted for stochastic variation in internal loads, air tightness, home size, and thermostat set points. The Effective Moisture Penetration Depth model was used to consider the effects of moisture buffering. The effects of location and building type on indoor climate were analyzed by evaluating six building types and 14 locations across the United States. The average monthly net indoor moisture supply values were calculated for each climate zone, and the distributions of indoor air temperature and relative humidity conditions were compared with ASHRAE 160 and EN 15026 design conditions. The indoor climate data will be incorporated into an online database tool to aid the building community in designing effective heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems and moisture durable building envelopes.

scholarly journals Theoretical Study on the Relationship of Building Thermal Insulation with Indoor Thermal Comfort Based on APMV Index and Energy Consumption of Rural Residential Buildings

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8565
Author(s):  
Jinzhe Nie ◽  
Yuxin Pang ◽  
Congcong Wang ◽  
Han Zhang ◽  
Kuichao Yin
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Energy And Environment ◽  
Indoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Adaptive Thermal Comfort ◽  
Insulation Thickness ◽  
The Relationship

In the field investigation of rural dwellings, it was found that thermal feelings are significantly different with varied envelopes even under the same indoor air temperature, and this paper explores the phenomenon in simulation. Based on building thermal investigations in several villages of North China, a typical energy and environment simulation model for rural residences was developed using DeST, and the hourly parameters of temperature and humidity were used to calculate the adaptive thermal comfort (APMV) of the rooms. The results show that the main reason for the different thermal comfort at the same air temperature is the large difference in the inner surface temperature. By adjusting the insulation thickness of the envelope structure, the relationship between it and the APMV value is obtained. By adjusting the insulation thickness of the enclosure structure and getting the correlation between it and the APMV value, it is obtained that when the heat transfer coefficient of the enclosure structure meets 0.5 W/ (m2−K), the indoors can be in thermal comfort. This paper considers that the indoor air temperature cannot represent the APMV to evaluate the indoor thermal comfort, and the APMV value should be used to evaluate the thermal comfort of the renovated building and calculate the corresponding energy saving rate.

The Analysis of the Influence of Boundary Conditions on the Energy Performance of Houses

2014 ◽  
Vol 1020 ◽  
pp. 513-517
Author(s):  
Kateřina Kubenková ◽  
Barbora Hrubá ◽  
Michal Kraus ◽  
Darja Kubečková
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Intensity ◽  
Statistical Evaluation ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Final Energy ◽  
The Individual

The analysis focuses on the influence of boundary conditions on the final energy intensity of selected groups of houses. The individual energy intensity will be set for the selected buildings. For these buildings, the standard boundary conditions will change (indoor air temperature). The deviation values of resulting energy consumption will be defined by statistical evaluation.

Field Survey on Occupant Thermal Comfort of Cold Regions in Transition Season

2013 ◽  
Vol 805-806 ◽  
pp. 1620-1624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wan Ying Qu
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Cold Regions ◽  
Indoor Thermal Environment ◽  
Transition Season

A thermal comfort field study was investigated in residential buildings of cold regions in transition season during which the indoor thermal environment conditions are measured, the thermal sensation value of the occupants is questioned and recorded. A seven-point thermal sensation scale was used to evaluate the thermal sensation. The statistical method was used to analyze the data and the conclusions are as follows in transition season: clothing increase in 0.1clo when the indoor air temperature is lowered by 1°C; and clothing will be a corresponding increase in 0.06clo when the outdoor air temperature is lowered by 1°C; clothing also varies with gender, age, weight and thermal history and other related; the measured thermal neutral temperature is 21.3°C; and the minimum accepted temperature is 11.4 °C in transition season in cold regions. Most people choose to change clothes, switch and other passive measures, and occasionally take active measures of heater, electric fans and others.

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