Design and Performance of the Van Geet Off-Grid Home

Solar Energy ◽  
2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Dennis Barley ◽  
Paul Torcellini ◽  
Otto Van Geet
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
And Performance

The Van Geet home near Denver, Colorado, demonstrates the successful integration of energy conservation measures and renewable energy supply in a beautiful, comfortable, energy-efficient, 295-m2 (3,176-ft2) off-grid home in a cold, sunny climate. Features include a tight envelope, energy-efficient appliances, passive solar heating (direct gain and Trombe wall), natural cooling, solar hot water, and photovoltaics. In addition to describing this house and its performance, this paper describes the recommended design process of (1) setting a goal for energy efficiency at the outset, (2) applying rules of thumb, and (3) using computer simulation to fine-tune the design. Performance monitoring and computer simulation are combined for the best possible analysis of energy performance. In this case, energy savings are estimated as 89% heating and cooling, 83% electrical, and nearly 100% domestic water heating. The heating and cooling energy use is 8.96 kJ/°C·day·m2 (0.44 Btu/°F·day·ft2).

Design and Performance of the Van Geet Off-Grid Home

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 738-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Dennis Barley ◽  
Paul Torcellini ◽  
Otto Van Geet
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
And Performance

The Van Geet home near Denver, Colorado, demonstrates the successful integration of energy conservation measures and renewable energy supply in a beautiful, comfortable, energy-efficient, 295-m23,176-ft2 off-grid home in a cold, sunny climate. Features include a tight envelope, energy-efficient appliances, passive solar heating (direct gain and Trombe wall), natural cooling, solar hot water, and photovoltaics. In addition to describing this house and its performance, this paper describes the recommended design process of (1) setting a goal for energy efficiency at the outset, (2) applying rules of thumb, and (3) using computer simulation to fine-tune the design. Performance monitoring and computer simulation are combined for the best possible analysis of energy performance. In this case, energy savings are estimated as 89% heating and cooling (compared to 95 MEC), 83% electrical, and nearly 100% domestic water heating. The heating and cooling energy use is 8.96kJ/°Cs˙days˙m20.44Btu/°Fs˙days˙ft2.

scholarly journals The Performance Gap in Energy-Efficient Office Buildings: How the Occupants Can Help?

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qadeer Ali ◽  
Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem ◽  
Fahim Ullah ◽  
Samad M. E. Sepasgozar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Occupant Behavior ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Performance Gap ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings

Rising demand and limited production of electricity are instrumental in spreading the awareness of cautious energy use, leading to the global demand for energy-efficient buildings. This compels the construction industry to smartly design and effectively construct these buildings to ensure energy performance as per design expectations. However, the research tells a different tale: energy-efficient buildings have performance issues. Among several reasons behind the energy performance gap, occupant behavior is critical. The occupant behavior is dynamic and changes over time under formal and informal influences, but the traditional energy simulation programs assume it as static throughout the occupancy. Effective behavioral interventions can lead to optimized energy use. To find out the energy-saving potential based on simulated modified behavior, this study gathers primary building and occupant data from three energy-efficient office buildings in major cities of Pakistan and categorizes the occupants into high, medium, and low energy consumers. Additionally, agent-based modeling simulates the change in occupant behavior under the direct and indirect interventions over a three-year period. Finally, energy savings are quantified to highlight a 25.4% potential over the simulation period. This is a unique attempt at quantifying the potential impact on energy usage due to behavior modification which will help facility managers to plan and execute necessary interventions and software experts to develop effective tools to model the dynamic usage behavior. This will also help policymakers in devising subtle but effective behavior training strategies to reduce energy usage. Such behavioral retrofitting comes at a much lower cost than the physical or technological retrofit options to achieve the same purpose and this study establishes the foundation for it.

scholarly journals Comparison Evaluations of VRF and RTU Systems Performance on Flexible Research Platform

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Je-hyeon Lee ◽  
Piljae Im ◽  
Jeffrey D. Munk ◽  
Mini Malhotra ◽  
Min-seok Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Coefficient Of Performance ◽  
Part Load ◽  
Variable Air Volume ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Load Conditions

The energy performance of a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system was evaluated using an occupancy-emulated research building in the southeastern region of the United States. Full- and part-load performance of the VRF system in heating and cooling seasons was compared with a conventional rooftop unit (RTU) variable-air-volume system with electric resistance heating. During both the heating and cooling seasons, full- and part-load conditions (i.e., 100%, 75%, and 50% thermal loads) were maintained alternately for 2 to 3 days each, and the energy use, thermal conditions, and coefficient of performance (COP) for the RTU and VRF system were measured. During the cooling season, the VRF system had an average COP of 4.2, 3.9, and 3.7 compared with 3.1, 3.0, and 2.5 for the RTU system under 100%, 75%, and 50% load conditions and resulted in estimated energy savings of 30%, 37%, and 47%, respectively. During the heating season, the VRF system had an average COP ranging from 1.2 to 2.0, substantially higher than the COPs of the RTU system, and resulted in estimated energy savings of 51%, 47%, and 27% under the three load conditions, respectively.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Impact of the Fireplace Heating on the Energy Performance of the Family House

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-149
Author(s):  
Rastislav Ingeli ◽  
Peter Buday
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Energy Class ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
The Impact

Reduction of energy use in buildings is an important measure to achieve climate changes of mitigation. It is essential to minimize heat losses when designing energy efficient buildings. For energy efficient building in a cold climate, a large part of the space heating demand is caused by transmission losses through the building envelope. In compliance with the today's trend of designing sustainable and energy-saving architecture, it is necessary firstly to solve the factors influencing the energy balance. This year the subsidy for houses has been valued at € 8,000. The condition is that the building is classified in the energy class A0 according to the Energy Performance Act. Energy class A0 characterizes nearly zero energy buildings. The main concern is for the public to become interested in such buildings. The subsidy is designed to reward and promote those buildings that their heat and technical characteristics and modern technical equipment that meet energy class. In addition to a good plan to raise the profile of such buildings, there has been a lot of speculation to help make buildings in energy class A0. They are mainly owners of family houses where there is no gasification and are forced to have electricity as a source of heat and hot water. Electricity has a high primary energy factor, which means that buildings do not have to be approved.

Design Optimization of Energy Efficient Office Buildings in Tunisia

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pyeongchan Ihm ◽  
Moncef Krarti
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Heating And Cooling

Optimal and cost-effective energy efficiency design and operation options are evaluated for office buildings in Tunisia. In the analysis, several design and operation features are considered including orientation, window location and size, high performance glazing types, wall and roof insulation levels, energy efficient lighting systems, daylighting controls, temperature settings, and energy efficient heating and cooling systems. First, the results of the optimization results from a sequential search technique are compared against those obtained by a more time consuming brute-force optimization approach. Then, the optimal design features for a prototypical office building are determined for selected locations in Tunisia. The optimization results indicate that utilizing daylighting controls, energy efficient lighting fixtures, and low-e double glazing, and roof insulation are required energy efficiency measures to design high energy performance office buildings throughout climatic zones in Tunisia. In particular, it is found that implementing these measures can cost-effectively reduce the annual energy use by 50% compared to the current design practices of office buildings in Tunisia.

scholarly journals Embodied Energy versus Operational Energy. Showing the Shortcomings of the Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD)

2012 ◽  
Vol 730-732 ◽  
pp. 587-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Pacheco-Torgal ◽  
Joana Faria ◽  
Saíd Jalali
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Mineral Admixtures ◽  
High Efficient ◽  
Operational Energy

Energy is a key issue for Portugal, it is responsible for the higher part of its imports and since almost 30% of Portuguese energy is generated in power stations it is also responsible for high CO2 emissions. Between 1995 and 2005 Portuguese GNP rise 28%, however the imported energy in the same period increased 400%, from 1500 million to 5500 million dollars. As to the period between 2005 and 2007 the energy imports reach about 10,000 million dollars. Although recent and strong investments in renewable energy, Portugal continue to import energy and fossil fuels. This question is very relevant since a major part of the energy produced in Portugal is generated in power plants thus emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs). Therefore, investigations that could minimize energy use are needed. This paper presents a case study of a 97 apartment-type building (27.647 m2) located in Portugal, concerning both embodied energy as well as operational energy (heating, hot water, electricity). The operational energy was an average of 187,2 MJ/m2/yr and the embodied energy accounts for aprox. 2372 MJ/m2, representing just 25,3% of the former for a service life of 50 years. Since Portuguese energy efficiency building regulation made under the Energy Performance Building Directive (2002/91/EC-EPBD) will lead to a major decrease of operational energy this means that the energy required for the manufacturing of building materials could represent in a near future almost 400% of operational energy. Replacement up to 75% of Portland cement with mineral admixtures could allow energy savings needed to operate a very high efficient 97 apartment-type building during 50 years.

Design of Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings in Developing Countries

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Essam E. Khalil
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Domestic Water ◽  
Common Procedure ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings

Energy Performance of Buildings should include a general framework for the calculation of energy performance and building categories together with thermal characteristics of building, air conditioning, ventilation, lighting and appliances aspects considered. These include Active solar systems contribution to domestic water heating based on renewable energy sources, CPH production and District cooling systems. This paper reviews the energy sources available in Egypt, their distribution and utilization in commercial sectors. The paper demonstrates the importance of incorporating an energy performance directive as a Standard in our region such a goal will aid energy savings in large buildings and set regulations to energy efficient designs that are based on Standard calculation methods. The proposed Standard would be largely based on International Standards and appropriately modified to suit local practices. The target is to develop standardized tools for the calculation of the energy performance of buildings, with defined system boundaries for the different building categories and different cooling/heating systems. The present work is to provide transparent information regarding output data (reference values, benchmarks, etc.) and to define comparable energy related key values (kWh/m2, kWh per person, kWh per apartment, kWh per produced unit etc.). Proposals to develop a common procedure for an “energy performance certificate” and CO2 emissions are given.

scholarly journals Energy Performance Monitoring and Analysis of NetZero Energy Homes (NZEHs)

2015 ◽  
pp. 449-456
Author(s):  
Hong Xian Li ◽  
Haitao Yu ◽  
Mustafa Gul ◽  
Mohamed Al-Hussein ◽  
Ahmad Alrifai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Performance Monitoring ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Consumption Energy

Residential building operations consume a considerable amount of energy, especially in coldclimate regions. The National Energy Board of Canada (NEB) analyzed energy consumption in 2011, and found that energy use in the residential sector, including space heating/cooling, hot water heating, lighting, appliances, and other energy-using devices, accounts for 14% of the total energy consumption nationally. The concept of NetZero-energy homes (NZEHs) has emerged as a solution to reduce the energy demands of residential building operations. Following efforts to develop NZEHs, the actual energy performance of these homes needs to be examined, and sensor technology is capable of measuring this energy consumption in detail. In this research, sensor instrumentation is customized for NZEH projects developed by Landmark Group of Builders in Edmonton, Canada. Data is collected for the first month and following winter months, then the collected data is validated and cleaned and is analyzed in terms of energy consumption, energy generation, and energy balance. Based on the analysis, recommendations for the operation of NZEHs are proposed.

scholarly journals Mind the Energy Performance Gap: testing the accuracy of building Energy Performance Certificates in Ireland

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Coyne ◽  
Eleanor Denny
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Performance Gap ◽  
Household Energy ◽  
Sample Average ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Climate Action Plan

AbstractIreland’s Climate Action Plan aims upgrade 500,000 homes to B2 Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standard by 2030. Evidence of an Energy Performance Gap, where actual energy use differs from the EPC, could undermine progress towards such targets. This paper studies the energy performance gap for a general housing sample (n = 9923) over multiple years. It provides a novel comparison between whole-home energy use (electricity and gas) that accounts for fuel switching and removes potential rebound effects by excluding households that may have changed their behaviour following a retrofit. Results suggest that actual energy use is unresponsive to the EPC, with a range of 457 kWh/year observed across EPC-level averages for the entire sample. This difference equated to less than 5% of the sample average annual energy use observed. The Energy Performance Gap range features an average deficit of 17% below theoretical energy use. The least energy efficient dwellings feature an average difference ranging from − 15 to − 56% of the relevant EPC. Conversely, energy efficient houses display higher-than-theoretical energy use, with average surpluses ranging from 39 to 54% of the relevant EPC. Results sound a note of caution for policymakers that rely on a theoretical EPC to deliver real energy savings. Future EPCs could be improved by incorporating historical household energy usage to help improve models.

Buildings

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Rez
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
The Difference ◽  
As If

Most of the energy used by buildings goes into heating and cooling. For small buildings, such as houses, heat transfer by conduction through the sides is as much as, if not greater than, the heat transfer from air exchanges with the outside. For large buildings, such as offices and factories, the greater volume-to-surface ratio means that air exchanges are more significant. Lights, people and equipment can make significant contributions. Since the energy used depends on the difference in temperature between the inside and the outside, local climate is the most important factor that determines energy use. If heating is required, it is usually more efficient to use a heat pump than to directly burn a fossil fuel. Using diffuse daylight is always more energy efficient than lighting up a room with artificial lights, although this will set a limit on the size of buildings.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document