Engineering Commons^™

Why Doesn't 25 Years Of An Evolving Energy Code Make More Of A Difference?, Florida Solar Energy Center, Charles Withers, Jr.

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This paper was presented at the 2015 Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference (BECC). New and more stringent building energy codes are implemented with the assumption and expectation that significant energy conservation will occur. While simulation and various analysis methodologies may be reasonably sound at estimating the energy impact, the actual impact is largely dependent upon new code enforcement and occupant behavior. This work is based upon the research question: Do homes built to a newer energy code deliver measurable energy savings compared to homes built to a much earlier energy code? This residential research study was focused on comparing …

Simulating The Energy Performance Of A Foam Roof System, Florida Solar Energy Center, Jeffrey Sonne

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Annual residential simulations were run in 13 US cities to determine the energy savings of using an insulated foam tile roof in retrofit applications where ceiling insulation was only R-11 or R-19. Variations included leaving the attic vented and sealing the attic space.

Investigation Of The Effectiveness And Failure Rates Of Whole-House Mechanical Ventilation Systems In Florida, Florida Solar Energy Center, Jeffrey Sonne

FSEC Energy Research Center®

This report presents the results of a field investigation of the effectiveness and failure rates of whole-house mechanical ventilation systems installed in Florida homes over the last 15 years. The report includes homeowner survey and ventilation system testing results and code modification recommendations based on study findings.

Cooling And Heating Season Impacts Of Right-Sizing Of Fixed- And Variable-Capacity Heat Pumps With Attic And Indoor Ductwork, Florida Solar Energy Center, James Cummings

FSEC Energy Research Center®

The U.S. Department of Energy's research team Building America Partnership for Advanced Residential Construction implemented two phases of experiments to examine the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of a variable-capacity 2-ton SEER 22 heat pump versus a 3-ton variable-capacity SEER 21 heat pump with attic ducts and indoor ducts. The experiments also compared the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of 2-ton versus 3-ton fixed-capacity SEER 13 heat pumps with attic ducts and indoor ducts.

Developing Exhaust Air Energy Recovery Credits For The Florida Energy Code, Florida Solar Energy Center, Bereket Nigusse

FSEC Energy Research Center®

Energy recovery ventilator (ERV) or Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) devices recover energy from building's exhaust air to precondition outdoor air. Energy savings of ERV/HRV devices were determined for various commercial buildings in Florida climate using whole building energy simulation tool. The annual HVAC energy percent savings due to ERV/HRV device were calculated from HVAC energy use of a standard reference building without and with ERV/HRV device using EnergyPlus. The annual HVAC energy savings potential (ERV Credits) will be used for code compliance calculation when a compliance software does not have ERV modeling capability. The ERV/HRV credits were reported by building …

Maximum Energy Efficiency Cost Effectiveness In New Home Construction, Florida Solar Energy Center, Philip Fairey

FSEC Energy Research Center®

EnergyGauge® USA (v.4.0.00) is used to examine the cost effectiveness of high performance homes that are improved to significantly exceed the minimum requirements of the 2015 IECC. The objective of the study is to determine the maximum level of energy efficiency that can be considered cost effective to the consumer. For these purposes, it is the cost effectiveness of the entire package of measures that is considered by the analysis rather than the cost effectiveness of individual measures. Optimization and rank ordering of the individual improvement measures in the package is not considered by the analysis.

One-story 2,000 ft^{2 …}

Prediction Of Shear Strength And Ductility Of Cyclically Loaded Reinforced Concrete Columns Using Artificial Intelligence, Nicholas Gordon

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The shear strength and deformation capacities of reinforced concrete (RC) columns are governed by a multitude of variables related to material properties of the steel and concrete used in the design and construction of the columns. Predicting performance of RC columns using design variables is a complex, non-linear problem. The prediction of shear strength and ductility for these types of structural members has historically been performed using empirically or semi-empirically derived formulae based on experimental results. The introduction of cyclical lateral loading, such as the forces imposed on a structure during an earthquake, can result in severe degradation of shear …

Microgrids Of Commercial Buildings: Strategies To Manage Mode Transfer From Grid Connected To Islanded Mode, Lasantha Meegahapola, Duane A. Robinson, Ashish Agalgaonkar, Sarath Perera, Philip Ciufo

Dr Philip Ciufo

Microgrid systems located within commercial premises are becoming increasingly popular and their dynamic behavior is still uncharted territory in modern power networks. Improved understanding in design and operation is required for the electricity utility and building services design sectors. This paper evaluates the design requirements for a commercial building microgrid system to facilitate seamless mode transition considering an actual commercial building microgrid system. A dynamic simulation model of the proposed microgrid system is established (utilizing DIgSILENT Power Factory) to aid the development of planning and operational philosophy for the practical system. An economic operational criterion is developed for the microgrid …

Syllabus: Solar Energy Systems And Building Design, Ho-Sung Kim

Sustainability Education Resources

This course introduces the fundamental concepts of solar building design and energy systems. Through project based study and possible field visits, students will explore the theory, technologies, applications, and benefits of solar design of buildings and discover how to utilize solar energy systems for residential and commercial buildings. Students will be required to research and document technology and complete a semester case study project in which they will examine various energy conservation aspects and economics underlying solar energy systems.

Using Solar Photovoltaic Thermal Collectors In Phase Change Materials Enhanced Buildings For Thermal Performance Management, Zhenjun Ma, Wenye Lin, Mohammed I. Sohel

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

This paper presents the investigation of using air-based solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collectors in phase change materials (PCMs) enhanced buildings for effective thermal management. PVT collectors are used to generate electricity and provide low grade heating energy to buildings for winter space heating. PCMs are either integrated into building walls to increase the local thermal mass or used as a temporary centralized thermal storage to store the low grade thermal energy derived from the PVT collectors. The thermal performance of buildings due to the integration of the PVT collectors and PCMs is tested and evaluated through computer simulations. It is …