The Effect of Occupant Behavior on Residential House Energy Consumption

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. F. Emery ◽  
C. J. Kippenhan
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Occupant Behavior ◽  
Average Difference ◽  
Outdoor Air ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Residential House

Space conditioning energy needs are strongly affected by occupant behavior. Generally, simulations ignore the behavior of the occupants in estimating the energy needed for heating and cooling. During winter heating, it is reasonable to assume that the electricity associated with appliances contributes to the space heating needs. This paper describes the monitoring of energy used for space heating over a 15 year period. The data suggest that estimates of energy savings can be based upon envelope thermal resistance for moderate occupant behavior. For these occupants space heating is well characterized by the daily average difference between house average space temperature and outside air temperature. Characterizing in terms of indoor temperature, outdoor air temperature, wind speed, and insolation gives a slightly better representation but requires more information than is usually available. However, vigorous conservation tactics can lead to substantially different energy needs and no correlation could be established when aggressive conservation made use of thermostat setback at every opportunity.

The Effects of Occupancy and Solar Energy on Homes in the Pacific Northwest Constructed According to Improved Thermal Standards

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Heerwagen ◽  
K. Nicoliasen ◽  
A. F. Emery
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Thermal Response ◽  
Solar Heating ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Occupant Behavior ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Heating Season ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
The Pacific

Abstract The space heating energy needed during the winter heating season in Seattle Washington, USA, was monitored over a 15 year period, 1987–2002. Single family residence houses were constructed to building code standards in force at the time of construction and two more to standards calling for envelopes with improved thermal resistance. Although space conditioning energy needs are strongly affected by occupant behavior, simulations generally ignore the temporal occupant behavior in estimating the energy needed for heating and cooling. Vigorous conservation tactics, which produce a thermal response that is highly transient, can lead to substantially different energy needs. No correlation could be established from the measured space heating when aggressive conservation made use of thermostat setback at every opportunity. In this paper we investigate the effects of occupant behavior and the effect of temporal solar heating of walls in the Seattle area for improved thermal construction.

Solar space heating with air and liquid systems

1980 ◽  
Vol 295 (1414) ◽  
pp. 349-359
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Solar Heating ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
Heating Systems ◽  
Fuel Prices ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Liquid Systems ◽  
And Storage

Seasonal and annual performance data are available on only a limited number of the several thousand solar space heating systems now in operation. The emerging information indicates that most of the heat required in buildings can be supplied by solar energy delivered from flat-plate collectors and stored overnight in tanks of water and bins of rock pebbles. Numerous mechanical and operational problems, mainly in liquid collection and storage systems, demand attention. Annual costs of solar heating equipment and its installation usually exceed current values of energy savings, but fuel prices are expected to escalate at rates which often favour solar purchase today. Detailed performance data on several types of solar heating and cooling systems in buildings of identical design are presented, compared and interpreted. Maintenance and repair requirements are noted and contrasted, and forecasts of use in various applications are presented.

scholarly journals Thermochromic Paints on External Surfaces: Impact Assessment for a Residential Building through Thermal and Energy Simulation

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1912 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasco Granadeiro ◽  
Margarida Almeida ◽  
Tiago Souto ◽  
Vítor Leal ◽  
João Machado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Step Transition ◽  
Linear Manner

This work addresses the effect of using thermochromic paints in residential buildings. Two different thermochromic paint types were considered: One that changes properties through a step transition at a certain temperature, and another that changes properties in a gradual/linear manner throughout a temperature range. The studied building was a two-floor villa, virtually simulated through a digital model with and without thermal insulation, and considering thermochromic paints applied both on external walls and on the roof. The performance assessment was done through the energy use for heating and cooling (in conditioned mode), as well as in terms of the indoor temperature (in free-floating mode). Three different cities/climates were considered: Porto, Madrid, and Abu Dhabi. Results showed that energy savings up to 50.6% could be reached if the building is operated in conditioned mode. Conversely, when operated in free-floating mode, optimally selected thermochromic paints enable reductions up to 11.0 °C, during summertime, and an increase up to 2.7 °C, during wintertime. These results point out the great benefits of using optimally selected thermochromic paints for obtaining thermal comfort, and also the need to further develop stable and cost-effective thermochromic pigments for outdoor applications, as well as to test physical models in a real environment.

scholarly journals Simulation of energy impact of an energy recovery ventilator in Northern housing

2021 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 10005
Author(s):  
Jing Li ◽  
Radu Zmeureanu ◽  
Hua Ge
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Recovery ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Airflow Rate ◽  
Outdoor Air ◽  
Energy Impact ◽  
Core Energy ◽  
Air Intake

The single core Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) used in this study is equipped with defrost control that recirculates the exhaust indoor air, while keeps the outdoor air intake damper closed. This defrost strategy has the disadvantage of reducing the outdoor air supplied to the house, which may affect the indoor air quality. First, this paper presents new correlation-based models of supply air temperature T2 after the energy recovery core during normal and defrost operation modes based on laboratory experimental data. A pre-heating coil heats the supply air from T2 to indoor air temperature. Second, a house in Montreal (4356 HDD) is simulated as a reference using TRNSYS program. Since the program cannot simulate the operation under defrost mode, the new models are connected in TRNSYS using equation boxes. The energy use of houses at three locations in northern Canada with HDD of 8798 (Inuvik), 8888 (Kuujjuaq) and 12208 (Resolute), are also simulated, without and with ERV unit. The seasonal energy used for heating the house and pre-heating the supply air is compared with results from Montreal. Compared to the case without heat recovery, the ERV unit leads to energy savings: 24% (Montreal), 26% (Inuvik), 27% (Kuujjuaq), and 27% (Resolute). Compared to the minimum standard requirements, the outdoor airflow rate due to defrost is reduced by 4.7% (223 hours) in Montreal, 19% (1043 hours) in Inuvik, 13% (701 hours) in Kuujjuaq, and 24% (1379 hours) in Resolute.

scholarly journals Improving Building Energy Performance Using Dual VAV Configuration Integrated with Dedicated Outdoor Air System

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Nabil Nassif ◽  
Iffat Ridwana
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Cooling Load ◽  
Outdoor Air ◽  
System A ◽  
Cooling Loads

As building systems account for almost half of the total energy consumed by the building sector to provide space heating, cooling, and ventilation, efficiently designing these systems can be the key to energy conservation in buildings. Dual VAV systems with an effective control strategy can substantially reduce the energy consumption in buildings, providing a significant scope of further research on this system configuration. This paper proposes to utilize the warm air duct of the dual VAV system as a dedicated outdoor air (DOA) unit when no heating is required, which allows the cooling load to be effectively distributed between two ducts. A specific control sequence is proposed with different supply air temperature reset strategies to estimate the heating, cooling loads, and fan power energy consumption of the proposed system. A simple two-zone office building is taken as a preliminary case study to simulate the airflow rates and fan power of a single duct VAV and proposed dual VAV systems to illustrate the concept. Finally, a larger multi-zone office building is simulated to measure the annual heating, cooling loads, and fan power energy and compare the energy savings among the systems. The results show significant fan power reduction ranging from 1.7 to 9% and notable heating energy reduction up to 76.5% with a small amount of cooling load reduction varying from 0.76 to 2.56% depending on the different locations for the proposed dual VAV systems. Further energy savings from different supply air temperature reset strategies demonstrate the opportunity of employing them according to climates and case studies. The proposed dual VAV system proves to have the potential to be adapted in buildings for the purpose of sustainability and energy savings.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Impact of Occupants’ Behavior and Climate Change on Heating and Cooling Energy Needs of Buildings

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 6468
Author(s):  
Gianmarco Fajilla ◽  
Marilena De Simone ◽  
Luisa F. Cabeza ◽  
Luís Bragança
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
Occupant Behavior ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Energy Simulations ◽  
The Impact

Energy performance of buildings is a worldwide increasing investigated field, due to ever more stringent energy standards aimed at reducing the buildings’ impact on the environment. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact that occupant behavior and climate change have on the heating and cooling needs of residential buildings. With this aim, data of a questionnaire survey delivered in Southern Italy were used to obtain daily use profiles of natural ventilation, heating, and cooling, both in winter and in summer. Three climatic scenarios were investigated: The current scenario (2020), and two future scenarios (2050 and 2080). The CCWorldWeatherGen tool was used to create the weather files of future climate scenarios, and DesignBuilder was applied to conduct dynamic energy simulations. Firstly, the results obtained for 2020 demonstrated how the occupants’ preferences related to the use of natural ventilation, heating, and cooling systems (daily schedules and temperature setpoints) impact on energy needs. Heating energy needs appeared more affected by the heating schedules, while cooling energy needs were mostly influenced by both natural ventilation and usage schedules. Secondly, due to the temperature rise, substantial decrements of the energy needs for heating and increments of cooling energy needs were observed in all the future scenarios where in addition, the impact of occupant behavior appeared amplified.

Energy Savings of PCM-Incorporated Building in Hot Dry Climate

2019 ◽  
Vol 821 ◽  
pp. 518-524
Author(s):  
Meruyert Sovetova ◽  
Shazim Ali Memon ◽  
Jong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Meteorological Factors ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Energy Consumption Reduction ◽  
Al Ain ◽  
Consumption Reduction ◽  
Residential House

Phase change materials is one of the innovative technologies to reduce the heating and cooling demand of buildings. In this research, the thermal performance and energy efficiency of PCM-incorporated residential house located in Sharjah and Al-Ain cities using DesignBuilder software have been evaluated. According to the simulation results, for both cities PCM 32 was found to be the most effective with energy consumption reduction around 19%. The optimum PCM decreased the maximum temperature by up to 1.09°C and was able to reduce temperature fluctuations. For constant volume, the influence of different thicknesses and surface area on energy savings was evaluated and it was found that energy savings increased with the increase in surface area and decrease in thickness of PCM layer. Finally, from correlation analysis, it was found that relationship between energy savings and meteorological factors like wind speed, temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation exist.

Contribution to the Study of the Energy Needs for a Building in the City of Errachidia Influence of Orientation and Local Materials

2019 ◽  
Vol 820 ◽  
pp. 18-28
Author(s):  
Lamya Lairgi ◽  
Abdelmajid Daya ◽  
Rabie Elotmani ◽  
Mohammed Touzani
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Balance ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Surplus Energy ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
The City ◽  
Local Materials

Given the share of buildings in energy demand, improving the energy efficiency of buildings in Morocco is an important source of energy savings. In order to finally get surplus energy balance buildings to maintain a stable indoor temperature, this work investigated the influence of orientation and local building materials with and without insulation on energy needs of a building in the city of Errachidia using the ECOTECT ANALYSIS 2011 software dedicated to the Thermal Simulation of Buildings.

Energy Efficient Data Centers Using Evaporative Cooling and Air Side Economizers

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhusudan Iyengar ◽  
Roger Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Data Center ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Data Centers ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Water Evaporation ◽  
Outdoor Air ◽  
Data Center Cooling ◽  
The Usa

Information Technology (IT) data centers consume a large amount of electricity in the US and world-wide. Cooling has been found to contribute about one third of this energy use. The two primary contributors to the data center cooling energy use are the refrigeration chiller (about 50% of cooling) and the Computer Room Air Conditioning units (about 33% of cooling). This paper focuses on a data center configuration that eliminates the use of the chiller plant thereby yielding substantial energy savings. One method of eliminating the chiller plant is to directly pump outdoor air into a data center with some amount of conditioning (particulate filtration). This configuration is can be called Direct Air Side Economizer (ASE). Since computer equipment is usually designed with the assumption that the rack air inlet temperatures are in the 15–32 °C range, the use of ASE is constrained to use only in those geographies where the outdoor air conditions allow such direct air use. One method to reduce the sensible air temperature of the outdoor air that is being ducted into a data center room is water evaporation directly into the air stream. Such a method can be called Evaporative Air Side Economizer (EASE). This paper discusses the benefits of EASE data center configurations in the context of the climate in the USA and realizable energy savings compared with traditional chiller plant based cooling loops. Hour by hour outdoor air temperature data for a typical year and psychometric charts are utilized in conjunction with simple transfer functions to model cooling via evaporative media. Phoenix, a US city in a hot climate is used to illustrate the use of the relatively new method of data center cooling. A comparison to the traditional chiller plant based approach resulted in about 30% of energy savings at the data center level.

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