Development of a California commercial building benchmarking database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinney, Satkartar; Piette, Mary Ann

2002-01-01

Building energy benchmarking is a useful starting point for commercial building owners and operators to target energy savings opportunities. There are a number of tools and methods for benchmarking energy use. Benchmarking based on regional data can provides more relevant information for California buildings than national tools such as Energy Star. This paper discusses issues related to benchmarking commercial building energy use and the development of Cal-Arch, a building energy benchmarking database for California. Currently Cal-Arch uses existing survey data from California's Commercial End Use Survey (CEUS), a largely underutilized wealth of information collected by California's major utilities. Doe's Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is used by a similar tool, Arch, and by a number of other benchmarking tools. Future versions of Arch/Cal-Arch will utilize additional data sources including modeled data and individual buildings to expand the database

Commercial Building Partnership Retail Food Sales Energy Savings Overview

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2013-03-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP) paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, national laboratories and private sector exports to explore energy efficiency measures across general merchandise commercial buildings.

Predictive Solar-Integrated Commercial Building Load Control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glasgow, Nathan [EdgePower Inc., Aspen, CO (United States)

2017-01-31

This report is the final technical report for the Department of Energy SunShot award number EE0007180 to EdgePower Inc., for the project entitled “Predictive Solar-Integrated Commercial Building Load Control.” The goal of this project was to successfully prove that the integration of solar forecasting and building load control can reduce demand charge costs for commercial building owners with solar PV. This proof of concept Tier 0 project demonstrated its value through a pilot project at a commercial building. This final report contains a summary of the work completed through he duration of the project. Clean Power Research was a sub-recipient on the award.

Development of a California commercial building benchmarking database

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinney, Satkartar; Piette, Mary Ann

2002-05-17

Building energy benchmarking is a useful starting point for commercial building owners and operators to target energy savings opportunities. There are a number of tools and methods for benchmarking energy use. Benchmarking based on regional data can provides more relevant information for California buildings than national tools such as Energy Star. This paper discusses issues related to benchmarking commercial building energy use and the development of Cal-Arch, a building energy benchmarking database for California. Currently Cal-Arch uses existing survey data from California's Commercial End Use Survey (CEUS), a largely underutilized wealth of information collected by California's major utilities. Doe's Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is used by a similar tool, Arch, and by a number of other benchmarking tools. Future versions of Arch/Cal-Arch will utilize additional data sources including modeled data and individual buildings to expand the database.

Industry Research and Recommendations for New Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hendron, B.; Leach, M.; Gregory, N.; Pless, S.; Selkowitz, S.; Matthew, P.

2014-05-01

Researchers evaluated industry needs and developed logic models to support possible future commercial new construction research and deployment efforts that could be led or supported by DOE's Commercial Building Integration program or other national initiatives. The authors believe that these recommendations support a proposed course of action from the current state of commercial building energy efficiency to a possible long-term goal of achieving significant market penetration of cost-effective NZE buildings in all building sectors and climates by 2030.

Energy Efficiency Building Code for Commercial Buildings in Sri Lanka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busch, John; Greenberg, Steve; Rubinstein, Francis; Denver, Andrea; Rawner, Esther; Franconi, Ellen; Huang, Joe; Neils, Danielle

2000-09-30

1.1.1 To encourage energy efficient design or retrofit of commercial buildings so that they may be constructed, operated, and maintained in a manner that reduces the use of energy without constraining the building function, the comfort, health, or the productivity of the occupants and with appropriate regard for economic considerations. 1.1.2 To provide criterion and minimum standards for energy efficiency in the design or retrofit of commercial buildings and provide methods for determining compliance with them. 1.1.3 To encourage energy efficient designs that exceed these criterion and minimum standards.

Energy Efficiency Building Code for Commercial Buildings in Sri Lanka

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Busch, John; Greenberg, Steve; Rubinstein, Francis; Denver, Andrea; Rawner, Esther; Franconi, Ellen; Huang, Joe; Neils, Danielle

2000-01-01

1.1.1 To encourage energy efficient design or retrofit of commercial buildings so that they may be constructed, operated, and maintained in a manner that reduces the use of energy without constraining the building function, the comfort, health, or the productivity of the occupants and with appropriate regard for economic considerations. 1.1.2 To provide criterion and minimum standards for energy efficiency in the design or retrofit of commercial buildings and provide methods for determining compliance with them. 1.1.3 To encourage energy efficient designs that exceed these criterion and minimum standards

U.S. Department of Energy Commercial Reference Building Models of the National Building Stock

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deru, M.; Field, K.; Studer, D.; Benne, K.; Griffith, B.; Torcellini, P.; Liu, B.; Halverson, M.; Winiarski, D.; Rosenberg, M.; Yazdanian, M.; Huang, J.; Crawley, D.

2011-02-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program has set the aggressive goal of producing marketable net-zero energy buildings by 2025. This goal will require collaboration between the DOE laboratories and the building industry. We developed standard or reference energy models for the most common commercial buildings to serve as starting points for energy efficiency research. These models represent fairly realistic buildings and typical construction practices. Fifteen commercial building types and one multifamily residential building were determined by consensus between DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and represent approximately two-thirds of the commercial building stock.

The Role of Energy Storage in Commercial Building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kintner-Meyer, Michael CW; Subbarao, Krishnappa; Prakash Kumar, Nirupama; Bandyopadhyay, Gopal K.; Finley, C.; Koritarov, V. S.; Molburg, J. C.; Wang, J.; Zhao, Fuli; Brackney, L.; Florita, A. R.

2010-09-30

Motivation and Background of Study This project was motivated by the need to understand the full value of energy storage (thermal and electric energy storage) in commercial buildings, the opportunity of benefits for building operations and the potential interactions between a building and a smart grid infrastructure. On-site or local energy storage systems are not new to the commercial building sector; they have been in place in US buildings for decades. Most building-scale storage technologies are based on thermal or electrochemical storage mechanisms. Energy storage technologies are not designed to conserve energy, and losses associated with energy conversion are inevitable. Instead, storage provides flexibility to manage load in a building or to balance load and generation in the power grid. From the building owner's perspective, storage enables load shifting to optimize energy costs while maintaining comfort. From a grid operations perspective, building storage at scale could provide additional flexibility to grid operators in managing the generation variability from intermittent renewable energy resources (wind and solar). To characterize the set of benefits, technical opportunities and challenges, and potential economic values of storage in a commercial building from both the building operation's and the grid operation's view-points is the key point of this project. The research effort was initiated in early 2010 involving Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to quantify these opportunities from a commercial buildings perspective. This report summarizes the early discussions, literature reviews, stakeholder engagements, and initial results of analyses related to the overall role of energy storage in commercial buildings. Beyond the summary of roughly eight months of effort by the laboratories, the report attempts to substantiate the importance of

Development and Analysis of Desiccant Enhanced Evaporative Air Conditioner Prototype

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kozubal, E.; Woods, J.; Judkoff, R.

2012-04-01

This report documents the design of a desiccant enhanced evaporative air conditioner (DEVAP AC) prototype and the testing to prove its performance. Previous numerical modeling and building energy simulations indicate a DEVAP AC can save significant energy compared to a conventional vapor compression AC (Kozubal et al. 2011). The purposes of this research were to build DEVAP prototypes, test them to validate the numerical model, and identify potential commercialization barriers.

Overview of Commercial Building Partnerships in Higher Education

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schatz, Glenn [Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Washington, DC (United States)

2013-03-01

Higher education uses less energy per square foot than most commercial building sectors. However, higher education campuses house energy-intensive laboratories and data centers that may spend more than this average; laboratories, in particular, are disproportionately represented in the higher education sector. The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems–including some considered too costly or technologically challenging–and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions.

Commercial building energy use in six cities in Southern China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Peng; Huang, Joe; Shen, Pengyuan; Ma, Xiaowen; Gao, Xuefei; Xu, Qiaolin; Jiang, Han; Xiang, Yong

2013-01-01

With China’s continuing economic growth, the percentage of government offices and large commercial buildings has increased tremendously; thus, the impact of their energy usage has grown drastically. In this survey, a database with more than 400 buildings was created and analyzed. We researched energy consumption by region, building type, building size and vintage, and we determined the total energy use and performed end use breakdowns of typical buildings in six cities in southern China. The statistical analysis shows that, on average, the annual building electricity use ranged from 50 to 100 kW h/m 2 for office buildings, 120 to 250 kW h/m 2 for shopping malls and hotels, and below 40 kW h/m 2 for education facilities. Building size has no direct correlation with building energy intensity. Although modern commercial buildings built in the 1990s and 2000s did not use more energy on average than buildings built previously, the highest electricity intensive modern buildings used much more energy than those built prior to 1990. Commercial buildings in China used less energy than buildings in equivalent weather locations in the US and about the same amount of energy as buildings in India. However, commercial buildings in China provide comparatively less thermal comfort than buildings in comparable US climates. - Highlights: ► The worst modern buildings use more energy than the worst old buildings. ► Government office buildings did not use more energy than private office buildings. ► Commercial buildings in China use less energy than buildings in the US. ► Modern commercial buildings don't use more energy than old buildings.

Building a parabolic solar concentrator prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escobar-Romero, J F M; Montiel, S Vazquez y; Granados-AgustIn, F; Rodriguez-Rivera, E; Martinez-Yanez, L; Cruz-Martinez, V M

2011-01-01

In order to not further degrade the environment, people have been seeking to replace non-renewable natural resources such as fossil fuels by developing technologies that are based on renewable resources. An example of these technologies is solar energy. In this paper, we show the building and test of a solar parabolic concentrator as a prototype for the production of steam that can be coupled to a turbine to generate electricity or a steam engine in any particular industrial process.

Commercial Building Partnerships Replication and Diffusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.; Dillon, Heather E.; Baechler, Michael C.

2013-09-16

This study presents findings from survey and interview data investigating replication efforts of Commercial Building Partnership (CBP) partners that worked directly with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL partnered directly with 12 organizations on new and retrofit construction projects, which represented approximately 28 percent of the entire U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CBP program. Through a feedback survey mechanism, along with personal interviews, PNNL gathered quantitative and qualitative data relating to replication efforts by each organization. These data were analyzed to provide insight into two primary research areas: 1) CBP partners’ replication efforts of technologies and approaches used in the CBP project to the rest of the organization’s building portfolio (including replication verification), and, 2) the market potential for technology diffusion into the total U.S. commercial building stock, as a direct result of the CBP program. The first area of this research focused specifically on replication efforts underway or planned by each CBP program participant. Factors that impact replication include motivation, organizational structure and objectives firms have for implementation of energy efficient technologies. Comparing these factors between different CBP partners revealed patterns in motivation for constructing energy efficient buildings, along with better insight into market trends for green building practices. The second area of this research develops a diffusion of innovations model to analyze potential broad market impacts of the CBP program on the commercial building industry in the United States.

Transactive Control of Commercial Buildings for Demand Response

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hao, He; Corbin, Charles D.; Kalsi, Karanjit; Pratt, Robert G.

2017-01-01

Transactive control is a type of distributed control strategy that uses market mechanism to engage self-interested responsive loads to achieve power balance in the electrical power grid. In this paper, we propose a transactive control approach of commercial building Heating, Ventilation, and Air- Conditioning (HVAC) systems for demand response. We first describe the system models, and identify their model parameters using data collected from Systems Engineering Building (SEB) located on our Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) campus. We next present a transactive control market structure for commercial building HVAC system, and describe its agent bidding and market clearing strategies. Several case studies are performed in a simulation environment using Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) and calibrated SEB EnergyPlus model. We show that the proposed transactive control approach is very effective at peak clipping, load shifting, and strategic conservation for commercial building HVAC systems.

The building of a prototype steering magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conradie, J.L.; Cornell, J.C.

1983-01-01

The report deals with the building of a prototype magnet. The magnet is completely symmetrical, and consists of 4 identical pieces of iron, 167 X 80 X 15 mm each. Magnetic flux density for 4 different magnet coils is given. Information is also given on the magnetic fields and the bending ability of the field through which the particles are supposed to move. The magnet coils and the form of the yoke are described

Characterization of commercial building appliances. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Patel, R.F.; Teagan, P.W.; Dieckmann, J.T.

1993-08-01

This study focuses on ``other`` end-uses category. The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of energy end-use functions other than HVAC and lighting for commercial buildings, and to identify general avenues and approaches for energy use reduction. Specific energy consuming technologies addressed include non-HVAC and lighting technologies in commercial buildings with significant energy use to warrant detailed analyses. The end-uses include office equipment, refrigeration, water heating, cooking, vending machines, water coolers, laundry equipment and electronics other than office equipment. The building types include offices, retail, restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels/motels, grocery stores, and warehouses.

Mechatronic Prototype of Parabolic Solar Tracker.

Science.gov (United States)

Morón, Carlos; Díaz, Jorge Pablo; Ferrández, Daniel; Ramos, Mari Paz

2016-06-15

In the last 30 years numerous attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the parabolic collectors in the electric power production, although most of the studies have focused on the industrial production of thermoelectric power. This research focuses on the application of this concentrating solar thermal power in the unexplored field of building construction. To that end, a mechatronic prototype of a hybrid paraboloidal and cylindrical-parabolic tracker based on the Arduido technology has been designed. The prototype is able to measure meteorological data autonomously in order to quantify the energy potential of any location. In this way, it is possible to reliably model real commercial equipment behavior before its deployment in buildings and single family houses.

Recovery Act: Training Program Development for Commercial Building Equipment Technicians

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leah Glameyer

2012-07-12

The overall goal of this project has been to develop curricula, certification requirements, and accreditation standards for training on energy efficient practices and technologies for commercial building technicians. These training products will advance industry expertise towards net-zero energy commercial building goals and will result in a substantial reduction in energy use. The ultimate objective is to develop a workforce that can bring existing commercial buildings up to their energy performance potential and ensure that new commercial buildings do not fall below their expected optimal level of performance. Commercial building equipment technicians participating in this training program will learn how to best operate commercial buildings to ensure they reach their expected energy performance level. The training is a combination of classroom, online and on-site lessons. The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) developed curricula using subject matter and adult learning experts to ensure the training meets certification requirements and accreditation standards for training these technicians. The training targets a specific climate zone to meets the needs, specialized expertise, and perspectives of the commercial building equipment technicians in that zone. The combination of efficient operations and advanced design will improve the internal built environment of a commercial building by increasing comfort and safety, while reducing energy use and environmental impact. Properly trained technicians will ensure equipment operates at design specifications. A second impact is a more highly trained workforce that is better equipped to obtain employment. Organizations that contributed to the development of the training program include TEEX and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) (both members of The Texas A&M University System). TEES is also a member of the Building Commissioning Association. This report includes a description of the project

ISO 50001 for US Commercial Buildings - Current Status and Opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Jingjing; Sheaffer, Paul

2017-12-01

''ISO 50001: 2011 Energy management systems – Requirements with guidance for use'' is a voluntary International Standard which provides organizations a proven framework to manage energy and continuously improve their energy performance. Implementing ISO 50001 in the commercial building sector has its unique opportunities and challenges in comparison with the industrial sector. The energy footprint of a portfolio of commercial buildings can be just as significant as a large industrial facility in comparison. There are many energy-saving opportunities in commercial buildings that can be addressed without capital investments, and the perceived risks for making energy improvements can be lower than in the industrial sector. In addition, the energy-consuming systems in commercial buildings are limited in types and have many similarities across buildings, which makes it much easier to standardize many ISO 50001 required processes, 5 procedures and documents to simplify implementation. There are also some sector-unique challenges, such as less familiar with ISO systems and the certification process. Another challenge arises from the complexity in some buildings’ ownership, tenancy, and O&M responsibilities. This whitepaper discusses these opportunities and issues in detail. The paper also recommends the characteristics of organizations in the commercial building sector that can benefit the most from adopting the ISO 50001 standard – namely the “suitable market”. Eight segments (education, food sales, retail, inpatient health care, hospitality, office buildings, laboratories and data centers) within the commercial building sector are highlighted.

Field Testing of a Prototype Heat Stress Monitor: System Performance and Applicability to Commercial Mining in Australia

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Matthew, William

1999-01-01

.... Overall system performance of three prototype HSMs was evaluated at a commercial oil production facility at Barrow Island, Australia, and a single prototype was evaluated for potential use in deep...

Project materials [Commercial High Performance Buildings Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2001-01-01

The Consortium for High Performance Buildings (ChiPB) is an outgrowth of DOE'S Commercial Whole Buildings Roadmapping initiatives. It is a team-driven public/private partnership that seeks to enable and demonstrate the benefit of buildings that are designed, built and operated to be energy efficient, environmentally sustainable, superior quality, and cost effective.

Mechatronic Prototype of Parabolic Solar Tracker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Morón

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the last 30 years numerous attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the parabolic collectors in the electric power production, although most of the studies have focused on the industrial production of thermoelectric power. This research focuses on the application of this concentrating solar thermal power in the unexplored field of building construction. To that end, a mechatronic prototype of a hybrid paraboloidal and cylindrical-parabolic tracker based on the Arduido technology has been designed. The prototype is able to measure meteorological data autonomously in order to quantify the energy potential of any location. In this way, it is possible to reliably model real commercial equipment behavior before its deployment in buildings and single family houses.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Rating Tool User's Guide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Na; Makhmalbaf, Atefe; Matsumoto, Steven W.

2012-05-01

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Asset Rating Tool is a web-based system that is designed to allow building owners, managers, and operators to more accurately assess the energy performance of their commercial buildings. This document provide a step-by-step instruction on how to use the tool.

Development of a Training Program for Commercial Building Technicians

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rinholm, Rod

2013-05-31

This project focused on developing and deploying a comprehensive program of 22 training modules, including certification requirements, and accreditation standards for commercial building technicians, to help achieve the full savings potential of energy efficient buildings, equipment, and systems. This curriculum extended the currently available commercial building technician programs -- training a labor force in a growing market area focused on energy efficiency. The program helps to remove a major market impediment to low energy/zero energy commercial building system acceptance, namely a lack of operating personnel capable of handling more complex high efficiency systems. The project developed a training curriculum for commercial building technicians, with particular focus on high-efficiency building technology, and systems. In Phase 1, the project team worked collaboratively in developing a draft training syllabus to address project objectives. The team identified energy efficiency knowledge gaps in existing programs and plans and plans to address the gaps with either modified or new curricula. In Phase 2, appropriate training materials were developed to meet project objectives. This material was developed for alternative modes of delivery, including classroom lecture materials, e-learning elements, video segments, exercises, and hands-on training elements. A Certification and Accreditation Plan and a Commercialization and Sustainability Plan were also investigated and developed. The Project Management Plan was updated quarterly and provided direction on the management approaches used to accomplish the expected project objectives. GTI project management practices tightly coordinate project activities using management controls to deliver optimal customer value. The project management practices include clear scope definition, schedule/budget tracking, risk/issue resolution and team coordination.

Pre study. Prototype of CO2 heat pump system for heating and cooling of a larger building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stene, Joern; Jakobsen, Arne

2006-03-01

The activities concerning CO 2 heat pumps during NTNU-SINTEF's strategic research program SMARTBYGG (2002-2006) has lead to an increased interest in planning, building, installing and testing a prototype CO 2 heat pump for heating and cooling of a larger building. In cooperation with Statsbygg and Naeringslivets Idefond a p restudy was initiated in 2005, with the main aim to carry out a set of defined activities, preparing the ground for the realization of a prototype. The following subjects are treated in the p restudy: a technological assessment of the CO 2 heat pumps, a technological assessment of the interaction between the CO 2 heat pump and the secondary systems, a study of the possibilities regarding suitable CO 2 components including compressors, heat exchangers, valves etc., and a presentation of Teknotherm AS (Halden), a Norwegian industrial partner that can project, build and maintain a CO 2 heat pump prototype. During the project period Statsbygg has not found a suitable building where a prototype can be installed. It is recommended that further work is made on the realization of a CO 2 prototype plant by setting up a main project (ml)

A look at commercial buildings in 1995: Characteristics, energy consumption, and energy expenditures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-10-01

The commercial sector consists of business establishments and other organizations that provide services. The sector includes service businesses, such as retail and wholesale stores, hotels and motels, restaurants, and hospitals, as well as a wide range of facilities that would not be considered commercial in a traditional economic sense, such as public schools, correctional institutions, and religious and fraternal organizations. Nearly all energy use in the commercial sector takes place in, or is associated with, the buildings that house these commercial activities. Analysis of the structures, activities, and equipment associated with different types of buildings is the clearest way to evaluate commercial sector energy use. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is a national-level sample survey of commercial buildings and their energy suppliers conducted quadrennially (previously triennially) by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The target population for the 1995 CBECS consisted of all commercial buildings in the US with more than 1,000 square feet of floorspace. Decision makers, businesses, and other organizations that are concerned with the use of energy--building owners and managers, regulators, legislative bodies and executive agencies at all levels of government, utilities and other energy suppliers--are confronted with a buildings sector that is complex. Data on major characteristics (e.g., type of building, size, year constructed, location) collected from the buildings, along with the amount and types of energy the buildings consume, help answer fundamental questions about the use of energy in commercial buildings.

Procedure for Measuring and Reporting Commercial Building Energy Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barley, D.; Deru, M.; Pless, S.; Torcellini, P.

2005-10-01

This procedure is intended to provide a standard method for measuring and characterizing the energy performance of commercial buildings. The procedure determines the energy consumption, electrical energy demand, and on-site energy production in existing commercial buildings of all types. The performance metrics determined here may be compared against benchmarks to evaluate performance and verify that performance targets have been achieved.

Methodology for Modeling Building Energy Performance across the Commercial Sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Griffith, B.; Long, N.; Torcellini, P.; Judkoff, R.; Crawley, D.; Ryan, J.

2008-03-01

This report uses EnergyPlus simulations of each building in the 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) to document and demonstrate bottom-up methods of modeling the entire U.S. commercial buildings sector (EIA 2006). The ability to use a whole-building simulation tool to model the entire sector is of interest because the energy models enable us to answer subsequent 'what-if' questions that involve technologies and practices related to energy. This report documents how the whole-building models were generated from the building characteristics in 2003 CBECS and compares the simulation results to the survey data for energy use.

Building an evolvable prototype for a multiple GAAP accounting information system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanhoof, E.; De Bruyn, P.; Aerts, Walter; Verelst, J.; Aveiro, D.; Pergl, R.; Gouveia, D.

In this paper we build a prototype of an evolvable Accounting Information System (AIS) that supports multiple Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAP) reporting. Reporting in multiple GAAP can have different origins: differences in local and tax GAAP, belonging to an economic group or

Establishing a commercial building energy data framework for India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iyer, Maithili [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Kumar, Satish [Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, New Delhi (India); Mathew, Sangeeta [Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, New Delhi (India); Stratton, Hannah [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Mathew, Paul A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Singh, Mohini [Synurja, Inc. (India)

2018-04-18

Buildings account for over 40% of the world’s energy consumption and are therefore a key contributor to a country’s energy as well as carbon budget. Understanding how buildings use energy is critical to understanding how related policies may impact energy use. Data enables decision making, and good quality data arms consumers with the tools to compare their energy performance to their peers, allowing them to differentiate their buildings in the real estate market on the basis of their energy footprint. Good quality data are also essential for policy makers to prioritize their energy saving strategies and track implementation. The United States’ Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is an example of a successful data framework that is highly useful for governmental and nongovernmental initiatives related to benchmarking energy forecasting, rating systems and metrics, and more. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in India developed the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) and launched the Star Labeling program for a few energy-intensive building segments as a significant first step. However, a data driven policy framework for systematically targeting energy efficiency in both new construction and existing buildings has largely been missing. There is no quantifiable mechanism currently in place to track the impact of code adoption through regular reporting/survey of energy consumption in the commercial building stock. In this paper we present findings from our study that explored use cases and approaches for establishing a commercial buildings data framework for India.

Lost opportunities: Modeling commercial building energy code adoption in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, Hal T.

2012-01-01

This paper models the adoption of commercial building energy codes in the US between 1977 and 2006. Energy code adoption typically results in an increase in aggregate social welfare by cost effectively reducing energy expenditures. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, I test if relative state funding, a new, objective, multivariate regression-derived measure of government capacity, as well as a vector of control variables commonly used in comparative state research, predict commercial building energy code adoption. The research shows little political influence over historical commercial building energy code adoption in the sample. Colder climates and higher electricity prices also do not predict more frequent code adoptions. I do find evidence of high government capacity states being 60 percent more likely than low capacity states to adopt commercial building energy codes in the following year. Wealthier states are also more likely to adopt commercial codes. Policy recommendations to increase building code adoption include increasing access to low cost capital for the private sector and providing noncompetitive block grants to the states from the federal government. - Highlights: ► Model the adoption of commercial building energy codes from 1977–2006 in the US. ► Little political influence over historical building energy code adoption. ► High capacity states are over 60 percent more likely than low capacity states to adopt codes. ► Wealthier states are more likely to adopt commercial codes. ► Access to capital and technical assistance is critical to increase code adoption.

Maintenance and Safety Practices of Escalator in Commercial Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Afida Isnaini Janipha, Nurul; Nur Aina Syed Alwee, Sharifah; Ariff, Raihan Mohd; Ismail, Faridah

2018-02-01

The escalator is very crucial to transport a person from one place to another. Nevertheless, there are many cases recorded the accidents in relation to escalator. These may occur due to lack of maintenance which leads to systems breakdown, poor safety practices, wear and tear, users’ negligence and others. Thus, proper maintenance systems need to be improvised to prevent and reduce escalator accident in future. This research was aimed to determine the escalator maintenance activities and safety practices in a commercial building. Three case studies were selected within Selangor area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for collecting data from these three case studies. To achieve the aim of this research, the study was carried out on the maintenance activities, safety practices and cost related to escalator maintenance. As one of the important means of access in building, it is very crucial to increase effectiveness of escalator particularly in commercial building. It is expected that readers will get clear information on the maintenance activities and safety practices of escalator in commercial building.

Strategies for Demand Response in Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watson, David S.; Kiliccote, Sila; Motegi, Naoya; Piette, Mary Ann

2006-06-20

This paper describes strategies that can be used in commercial buildings to temporarily reduce electric load in response to electric grid emergencies in which supplies are limited or in response to high prices that would be incurred if these strategies were not employed. The demand response strategies discussed herein are based on the results of three years of automated demand response field tests in which 28 commercial facilities with an occupied area totaling over 11 million ft{sup 2} were tested. Although the demand response events in the field tests were initiated remotely and performed automatically, the strategies used could also be initiated by on-site building operators and performed manually, if desired. While energy efficiency measures can be used during normal building operations, demand response measures are transient; they are employed to produce a temporary reduction in demand. Demand response strategies achieve reductions in electric demand by temporarily reducing the level of service in facilities. Heating ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting are the systems most commonly adjusted for demand response in commercial buildings. The goal of demand response strategies is to meet the electric shed savings targets while minimizing any negative impacts on the occupants of the buildings or the processes that they perform. Occupant complaints were minimal in the field tests. In some cases, ''reductions'' in service level actually improved occupant comfort or productivity. In other cases, permanent improvements in efficiency were discovered through the planning and implementation of ''temporary'' demand response strategies. The DR strategies that are available to a given facility are based on factors such as the type of HVAC, lighting and energy management and control systems (EMCS) installed at the site.

Indoor-Outdoor Air Leakage of Apartments and Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, P.N.; Shehabi, A.; Chan, R.W.; Gadgil, A.J.

2006-06-01

We compiled and analyzed available data concerning indoor-outdoor air leakage rates and building leakiness parameters for commercial buildings and apartments. We analyzed the data, and reviewed the related literature, to determine the current state of knowledge of the statistical distribution of air exchange rates and related parameters for California buildings, and to identify significant gaps in the current knowledge and data. Very few data were found from California buildings, so we compiled data from other states and some other countries. Even when data from other developed countries were included, data were sparse and few conclusive statements were possible. Little systematic variation in building leakage with construction type, building activity type, height, size, or location within the u.s. was observed. Commercial buildings and apartments seem to be about twice as leaky as single-family houses, per unit of building envelope area. Although further work collecting and analyzing leakage data might be useful, we suggest that a more important issue may be the transport of pollutants between units in apartments and mixed-use buildings, an under-studied phenomenon that may expose occupants to high levels of pollutants such as tobacco smoke or dry cleaning fumes.

Analysis of institutional mechanisms affecting residential and commercial buildings retrofit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-09-01

Barriers to energy conservation in the residential and commercial sectors influence (1) the willingness of building occupants to modify their energy usage habits, and (2) the willingness of building owners/occupants to upgrade the thermal characteristics of the structures within which they live or work and the appliances which they use. The barriers that influence the willingness of building owners/occupants to modify the thermal efficiency characteristics of building structures and heating/cooling systems are discussed. This focus is further narrowed to include only those barriers that impede modifications to existing buildings, i.e., energy conservation retrofit activity. Eight barriers selected for their suitability for Federal action in the residential and commercial sectors and examined are: fuel pricing policies that in the short term do not provide enough incentive to invest in energy conservation; high finance cost; inability to evaluate contractor performance; inability to evaluate retrofit products; lack of well-integrated or one-stop marketing systems (referred to as lack of delivery systems); lack of precise or customized information; lack of sociological/psychological incentives; and use of the first-cost decision criterion (expanded to include short-term payback criterion for the commercial sector). The impacts of these barriers on energy conservation are separately assessed for the residential and commercial sectors.

Energy savings potential from improved building controls for the US commercial building sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, Nick; Katipamula, Srinivas; Wang, Weimin; Xie, Yulong; Zhao, Mingjie

2017-09-27

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Technologies Office (BTO) sponsored a study to determine the potential national savings achievable in the commercial building sector through widespread deployment of best practice controls, elimination of system and component faults, and use of better sensing. Detailed characterization of potential savings was one source of input to set research, development, and deployment (RD&D) goals in the field of building sensors and controls. DOE’s building energy simulation software, EnergyPlus, was employed to estimate the potential savings from 34 measures in 9 building types and across 16 climates representing almost 57% of commercial building sector energy consumption. In addition to estimating savings from individual measures, three packages of measures were created to estimate savings from the packages. These packages represented an 1) efficient building, 2) typical building, and 3) inefficient building. To scale the results from individual measures or a package to the national scale, building weights by building type and climate locations from the Energy Information Administration’s 2012 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) were used. The results showed significant potential for energy savings across all building types and climates. The total site potential savings from individual measures by building type and climate location ranged between 0% and 25%. The total site potential savings by building type aggregated across all climates (using the CBECS building weights) for each measure varied between 0% and 16%. The total site potential savings aggregated across all building types and climates for each measure varied between 0% and 11%. Some individual measures had negative savings because correcting underlying operational problems (e.g., inadequate ventilation) resulted in increased energy consumption. When combined into packages, the overall national savings potential is estimated to be 29

Commercial Buildings Partnerships - Overview of Higher education projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Robinson, Alastair [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Regnier, Cindy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2013-02-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems – including some considered too costly or technologically challenging – and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions. CBP design goals aimed to achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2004 for new construction, while retrofits are designed to consume at least 30 percent less energy than either Standard 90.1-2004 or current consumption. After construction and commissioning of the project, laboratory staff continued to work with partners to collect and analyze data for verification of the actual energy reduction. CBP projects represent diverse building types in commercial real estate, including lodging, grocery, retail, higher education, office, and warehouse/storage facilities. Partners also commit to replicating low-energy technologies and strategies from their CBP projects throughout their building portfolios. As a result of CBP projects, five sector overviews (Lodging, Food Sales, General Merchandise, Higher Education, Offices) were created to capture successful strategies and recommended energy efficiency measures that could broadly be applied across these sectors. These overviews are supplemented with individual case studies providing specific details on the decision criteria, modeling results, and lessons learned on specific projects. Sector overviews and CBP case studies will also be updated to reflect verified data and replication strategies as they become available.

Prototype Systems for Measuring Outdoor Air Intake Rates in Rooftop Air Handlers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisk, William J. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chan, Wanyu R. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hotchi, Toshifumi [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2015-01-01

The widespread absence of systems for real-time measurement and feedback control, of minimum outdoor air intake rates in HVAC systems contributes to the poor control of ventilation rates in commercial buildings. Ventilation rates affect building energy consumption and influence occupant health. The project designed fabricated and tested four prototypes of systems for measuring rates of outdoor air intake into roof top air handlers. All prototypes met the ±20% accuracy target at low wind speeds, with all prototypes accurate within approximately ±10% after application of calibration equations. One prototype met the accuracy target without a calibration. With two of four prototype measurement systems, there was no evidence that wind speed or direction affected accuracy; however, winds speeds were generally below usually 3.5 m s^-1 (12.6 km h^-1) and further testing is desirable. The airflow resistance of the prototypes was generally less than 35 Pa at maximum RTU air flow rates. A pressure drop of this magnitude will increase fan energy consumption by approximately 4%. The project did not have resources necessary to estimate costs of mass produced systems. The retail cost of components and materials used to construct prototypes ranged from approximately $1,200 to $1,700. The test data indicate that the basic designs developed in this project, particularly the designs of two of the prototypes, have considerable merit. Further design refinement, testing, and cost analysis would be necessary to fully assess commercial potential. The designs and test results will be communicated to the HVAC manufacturing community.

Prototyping Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramsgaard Thomsen, Mette; Tamke, Martin

2015-01-01

This paper examines the role of the prototyping in digital architecture. During the past decade, a new research field has emerged exploring the digital technology’s impact on the way we think, design and build our environment. In this practice the prototype, the pavilion, installation or demonstr......This paper examines the role of the prototyping in digital architecture. During the past decade, a new research field has emerged exploring the digital technology’s impact on the way we think, design and build our environment. In this practice the prototype, the pavilion, installation...

Accuracy of CO2 sensors in commercial buildings: a pilotstudy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisk, William J.; Faulkner, David; Sullivan, Douglas P.

2006-10-01

Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) sensors are often deployed in commercial buildings to obtain CO{sub 2} data that are used to automatically modulate rates of outdoor air supply. The goal is to keep ventilation rates at or above code requirements, but to also to save energy by avoiding over ventilation relative to code requirements. However, there have been many anecdotal reports of poor CO{sub 2} sensor performance in actual commercial building applications. This study evaluated the accuracy of 44 CO{sub 2} sensors located in nine commercial buildings to determine if CO{sub 2} sensor performance, in practice, is generally acceptable or problematic. CO{sub 2} measurement errors varied widely and were sometimes hundreds of parts per million. Despite its small size, this study provides a strong indication that the accuracy of CO{sub 2} sensors used in commercial buildings is frequently less than is needed to measure peak indoor-outdoor CO{sub 2} concentration differences with less than a 20% error. Thus, we conclude that there is a need for more accurate CO{sub 2} sensors and/or better sensor maintenance or calibration procedures.

Analysis for Building Envelopes and Mechanical Systems Using 2012 CBECS Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winiarski, David W.; Halverson, Mark A.; Butzbaugh, Joshua B.; Cooke, Alan L.; Bandyopadhyay, Gopal K.; Elliott, Douglas B.

2018-03-14

This report describes the aggregation and mapping of certain building characteristics data available in the most recent Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) (DOE EIA 2012) to describe most typical building construction practices. This report provides summary data for potential use in the support of modifications to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s commercial building prototypes used for building energy code analysis. Specifically, this report outlines findings and most typical design choices for certain building envelope and heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system choices.

End-use energy consumption estimates for U.S. commercial buildings, 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belzer, D.B.; Wrench, L.E.

1997-03-01

An accurate picture of how energy is used in the nation`s stock of commercial buildings can serve a variety of program planning and policy needs of the US Department of Energy, utilities, and other groups seeking to improve the efficiency of energy use in the building sector. This report describes an estimation of energy consumption by end use based upon data from the 1992 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). The methodology used in the study combines elements of engineering simulations and statistical analysis to estimate end-use intensities for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, refrigeration, hot water, cooking, and miscellaneous equipment. Statistical Adjusted Engineering (SAE) models were estimated by building type. The nonlinear SAE models used variables such as building size, vintage, climate region, weekly operating hours, and employee density to adjust the engineering model predicted loads to the observed consumption (based upon utility billing information). End-use consumption by fuel was estimated for each of the 6,751 buildings in the 1992 CBECS. The report displays the summary results for 11 separate building types as well as for the total US commercial building stock. 4 figs., 15 tabs.

Impacts of Commercial Building Controls on Energy Savings and Peak Load Reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, Nicholas E.P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Katipamula, Srinivas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wang, Weimin [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Xie, YuLong [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhao, Mingjie [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Corbin, Charles D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2017-05-30

Commercial buildings in the United States use about 18 Quadrillion British thermal units (Quads) of primary energy annually . Studies have shown that as much as 30% of building energy consumption can be avoided by using more accurate sensing, using existing controls better, and deploying advanced controls; hence, the motivation for the work described in this report. Studies also have shown that 10% to 20% of the commercial building peak load can be temporarily managed/curtailed to provide grid services. Although many studies have indicated significant potential for reducing the energy consumption in commercial buildings, very few have documented the actual savings. The studies that did so only provided savings at the whole building level, which makes it difficult to assess the savings potential of each individual measure deployed.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Score Program Overview and Technical Protocol (Version 1.1)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Na; Goel, Supriya; Makhmalbaf, Atefe

2013-08-09

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a voluntary national scoring system for commercial buildings to help building owners and managers assess a building’s energy-related systems independent of operations. The goal of the score is to facilitate cost-effective investment in energy efficiency improvements of commercial buildings. The system, known as the Commercial Building Energy Asset Score, will allow building owners and managers to compare their building infrastructure against peers and track building upgrades over time. The system will also help other building stakeholders (e.g., building investors, tenants, financiers, and appraisers) understand the relative efficiency of different buildings in a way that is independent from operations and occupancy. This report outlines the technical protocol used to generate the energy asset score, explains the scoring methodology, and provides additional details regarding the energy asset scoring tool. The alternative methods that were considered prior to developing the current approach are described in the Program Overview and Technical Protocol Version 1.0.

Ventilation Relevant Contaminants of Concern in Commercial Buildings Screening Process and Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parthasarathy, Srinandini [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); McKone, Thomas E. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Apte, Michael G. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2011-04-29

This report summarizes the screening procedure and its results for selecting contaminants of concern (COC), whose concentrations are affected by ventilation in commercial buildings. Many pollutants comprising criteria pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and biological contaminants are found in commercial buildings. In this report, we focus primarily on identifying potential volatile organic COC, which are impacted by ventilation. In the future we plan to extend this effort to inorganic gases and particles. Our screening considers compounds detected frequently in indoor air and compares the concentrations to health-guidelines and thresholds. However, given the range of buildings under consideration, the contaminant sources and their concentrations will vary depending on the activity and use of the buildings. We used a literature review to identify a large list of chemicals found in commercial-building indoor air. The VOCs selected were subject to a two stage screening process, and the compounds of greater interest are included in priority List A. Other VOCs that have been detected in commercial buildings are included in priority List B. The compounds in List B, were further classified into groups B1, B2, B3, B4 in order of decreasing interest.

The analysis of energy consumption of a commercial building in Tianjin, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Jing; Zhu Neng; Wu Yong

2009-01-01

According to statistics and field investigation, the energy consumption situation and reality of commercial building is described in this paper. As the first step of large-scale public building energy efficiency supervision system encouraged by central government of China, the energy consumption of several typical commercial buildings and public buildings was analyzed in detail. The main contents of investigation are as follows: basic information of building, operational record of energy consumption equipment, energy consumption of indoor equipments, energy-efficiency assessment of energy consumption systems and equipments, investigation of behavior energy saving, etc. On this basis further analysis and diagnosis including indoor thermal and humid environment, operation state of air-conditioning water system, operation state of air-conditioning duct system and operation management of air-conditioning system were implemented. The results show that the most energy consumption of buildings in this city is commercial buildings, which can reach to about 240 W/m 2 per year. Further analysis tells that air conditioning systems play the major role of building energy consumption, and building energy saving has great potential in this city. In this paper, the ways of diagnosis work for building energy consumption are also described and discussed. Reasonable test, diagnosis and analysis are meaningful for building energy efficiency retrofit and management.

Studies on switch-based event building systems in RD13

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bee, C.P.; Eshghi, S.; Jones, R.

1996-01-01

One of the goals of the RD13 project at CERN is to investigate the feasibility of parallel event building system for detectors at the LHC. Studies were performed by building a prototype based on the HiPPI standard and by modeling this prototype and extended architectures with MODSIM II. The prototype used commercially available VME-HiPPI interfaces and a HiPPI switch together with a modular software. The setup was tested successfully as a parallel event building system in different configurations and with different data flow control schemes. The simulation program was used with realistic parameters from the prototype measurements to simulate large-scale event building systems. This includes simulations of a realistic setup of the ATLAS event building system. The influence of different parameters and scaling behavior were investigated. The influence of realistic event size distributions was checked with data from off-line simulations. Different control schemes for destination assignment and traffic shaping were investigated as well as a two-stage event building system. (author)

Energy and Energy Cost Savings Analysis of the IECC for Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jian; Athalye, Rahul A.; Hart, Philip R.; Rosenberg, Michael I.; Xie, YuLong; Goel, Supriya; Mendon, Vrushali V.; Liu, Bing

2013-08-30

The purpose of this analysis is to assess the relative energy and energy cost performance of commercial buildings designed to meet the requirements found in the commercial energy efficiency provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Section 304(b) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act (ECPA), as amended, requires the Secretary of Energy to make a determination each time a revised version of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 is published with respect to whether the revised standard would improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. As many states have historically adopted the IECC for both residential and commercial buildings, PNNL has evaluated the impacts of the commercial provisions of the 2006, 2009, and 2012 editions of the IECC. PNNL also compared energy performance with corresponding editions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 to help states and local jurisdictions make informed decisions regarding model code adoption.

The Reality and Future Scenarios of Commercial Building Energy Consumption in China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Nan; Lin, Jiang

2007-08-01

While China's 11th Five Year Plan called for a reduction of energy intensity by 2010, whether and how the energy consumption trend can be changed in a short time has been hotly debated. This research intends to evaluate the impact of a variety of scenarios of GDP growth, energy elasticity and energy efficiency improvement on energy consumption in commercial buildings in China using a detailed China End-use Energy Model. China's official energy statistics have limited information on energy demand by end use. This is a particularly pertinent issue for building energy consumption. The authors have applied reasoned judgments, based on experience of working on Chinese efficiency standards and energy related programs, to present a realistic interpretation of the current energy data. The bottom-up approach allows detailed consideration of end use intensity, equipment efficiency, etc., thus facilitating assessment of potential impacts of specific policy and technology changes on building energy use. The results suggest that: (1) commercial energy consumption in China's current statistics is underestimated by about 44%, and the fuel mix is misleading; (2) energy efficiency improvements will not be sufficient to offset the strong increase in end-use penetration and intensity in commercial buildings; (3) energy intensity (particularly electricity) in commercial buildings will increase; (4) different GDP growth and elasticity scenarios could lead to a wide range of floor area growth trajectories , and therefore, significantly impact energy consumption in commercial buildings.

Regression Tree-Based Methodology for Customizing Building Energy Benchmarks to Individual Commercial Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Kaskhedikar, Apoorva Prakash

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, commercial buildings represent about 40% of the United State's energy consumption of which office buildings consume a major portion. Gauging the extent to which an individual building consumes energy in excess of its peers is the first step in initiating energy efficiency improvement. Energy Benchmarking offers initial building energy performance assessment without rigorous evaluation. Energy benchmarking tools based on the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) database are investigated in this thesis. This study proposes a new benchmarking methodology based on decision trees, where a relationship between the energy use intensities (EUI) and building parameters (continuous and categorical) is developed for different building types. This methodology was applied to medium office and school building types contained in the CBECS database. The Random Forest technique was used to find the most influential parameters that impact building energy use intensities. Subsequently, correlations which were significant were identified between EUIs and CBECS variables. Other than floor area, some of the important variables were number of workers, location, number of PCs and main cooling equipment. The coefficient of variation was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the new model. The customization technique proposed in this thesis was compared with another benchmarking model that is widely used by building owners and designers namely, the ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager. This tool relies on the standard Linear Regression methods which is only able to handle continuous variables. The model proposed uses data mining technique and was found to perform slightly better than the Portfolio Manager. The broader impacts of the new benchmarking methodology proposed is that it allows for identifying important categorical variables, and then incorporating them in a local, as against a global, model framework for EUI

Load shape development for Swedish commercial and public buildings - methodologies and results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noren, C.

1999-06-01

The knowledge concerning electricity consumption, and especially load demand, in Swedish commercial buildings is very limited. The current study deals with methods for electricity consumption indicator development and application of the different methodologies on measured data. Typical load shapes and consumption indicators are developed for four different types of commercial buildings: schools, hotels, grocery stores and department stores. Two different methodologies for consumption indicator development are presented and discussed. The influence on load demand from different factors such as, installations, outdoor temperature and building activities is studied. It is suggested that building floor area is not an accurate determinant of building electricity consumption and it is necessary to consider other factors as those just mentioned to understand commercial building electricity consumption. The application of the two methodologies on measured data shows that typical load shapes can be developed with reasonable accuracy. For most of the categories it is possible to use the typical load shapes for approximation of whole-building load shapes with error rates about 10-25% depending on day-type and building type. Comparisons of the developed load shapes with measured data show good agreement 49 refs, 22 figs, 3 tabs

Energy Efficiency Potential in Existing Commercial Buildings: Review of Selected Recent Studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belzer, David B.

2009-04-03

This report reviews six recent studies (from 2002 through 2006) by states and utilities to assess the energy saving potential in existing commercial buildings. The studies cover all or portions of California, Connecticut, Vermont, Colorado, Illinois, and the Pacific Northwest. The studies clearly reveal that lighting remains the single largest and most cost effective end use that can be reduced to save energy. Overall the study indicated that with existing technologies and costs, a reasonable range of economic savings potential in existing commercial buildings is between 10 and 20 percent of current energy use. While not a focus of the study, an additional conclusion is that implementation of commercial building monitoring and controls would also play an important role in the nation’s efforts to improve energy efficiency of existing buildings.

Radon concentrations inside public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, B L; Kulwicki, D R; Warner, Jr, K R; Grassi, C L

1984-09-01

Radon concentrations in ambient air from numerous schools, stores and other public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh, PA, area were measured by grab sampling. This is more appropriate than using long-term integrating monitors because of the correlation between times of occupancy and Rn levels. Results indicate that Rn concentrations in these buildings are nearly an order of magnitude less than in homes, and not much higher than outdoors. Variations among sites is also much less than for homes, probably because there is less variability in ventilation and building maintenance practices. Colleges and universities have somewhat higher Rn levels and a larger degree of variability than commercial buildings or hospitals. There was no indication of higher Rn levels in cold weather than in warm weather, or of correlations with the age of the building.

Radon concentrations inside public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh area.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, B L; Kulwicki, D R; Warner, K R; Grassi, C L

1984-09-01

Radon concentrations in ambient air from numerous schools, stores and other public and commercial buildings in the Pittsburgh, PA, area were measured by grab sampling. This is more appropriate than using long-term integrating monitors because of the correlation between times of occupancy and Rn levels. Results indicate that Rn concentrations in these buildings are nearly an order of magnitude less than in homes, and not much higher than outdoors. Variations among sites is also much less than for homes, probably because there is less variability in ventilation and building maintenance practices. Colleges and universities have somewhat higher Rn levels and a larger degree of variability than commercial buildings or hospitals. There was no indication of higher Rn levels in cold weather than in warm weather, or of correlations with the age of the building.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Rating Program -- Market Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McCabe, Molly J.; Wang, Na

2012-04-19

Under contract to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, HaydenTanner, LLC conducted an in-depth analysis of the potential market value of a commercial building energy asset rating program for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The market research objectives were to: (1) Evaluate market interest and need for a program and tool to offer asset rating and rapidly identify potential energy efficiency measures for the commercial building sector. (2) Identify key input variables and asset rating outputs that would facilitate increased investment in energy efficiency. (3) Assess best practices and lessons learned from existing national and international energy rating programs. (4) Identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to adopt a voluntary asset rating program and, as a consequence, deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings. (5) Identify leverage factors and incentives that facilitate increased investment in these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a review of the relevant literature, examination of existing and emergent asset and operational rating systems, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implication of an asset label on asset valuation. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion, and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on the market need and potential value impacts of an asset labeling and diagnostic tool to encourage high-performance new buildings and building efficiency retrofit projects.

SUPERVISORY CONTROL FOR PEAK REDUCTION IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS WHILE MAINTAINING COMFORT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nutaro, James J [ORNL; Olama, Mohammed M [ORNL; Kuruganti, Teja [ORNL

2016-01-01

This paper describes a supervisory control strategy for limiting peak power demand by small and medium commercial buildings while still meeting the business needs of the occupants. This control strategy has two features that make it relevant to new and existing buildings. First, it is designed to operate with building equipment, such as air conditioning and refrigeration systems, as they are presently installed in most small and medium commercial buildings. Because of this, the supervisory control could be realized as a software-only retrofit to existing building management systems. Second, the proposed control acts as a supervisory management layer over existing control systems, rather than replacing them outright. The primary idea of this approach is that the controls for individual building equipment request energy resources for a control action and the supervisory control examines the requests and decides which control actions to allow while satisfying a limit on peak power demand.

Solar-Energy System for a Commercial Building--Topeka, Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

Report describes a solar-energy system for space heating, cooling and domestic hot water at a 5,600 square-foot (520-square-meter) Topeka, Kansas, commercial building. System is expected to provide 74% of annual cooling load, 47% of heating load, and 95% of domestic hot-water load. System was included in building design to maximize energy conservation.

Energy consumption in commercial buildings: A comparison with BEPS budgets

Science.gov (United States)

1980-09-01

Metered energy consumption data were collected on existing commercial buildings to help establish the proposed building energy performance standards (BEPS). The search has identified 84 buildings whose metered energy consumption is equal to or less than that proposed for their BEPS budgets and another 7 buildings whose metered consumption is less than 20 percent above their BEPS budgets. The methodology used to identify the buildings and to collect their metered energy consumption data are described. The data are analyzed and summarized and conclusions are drawn.

Energy Savings Potential and Research, Development, & Demonstration Opportunities for Commercial Building Appliances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zogg, Robert [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Ahlfeldt, Christopher [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Hiraiwa, Hirokazu [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Sathe, Amul [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Sutherland, Timothy [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States)

2009-12-01

This study characterizes and assesses the appliances used in commercial buildings. The primary objectives of this study were to document the energy consumed by commercial appliances and identify research, development and demonstration (RD&D) opportunities for efficiency improvements, excluding product categories such as HVAC, building lighting, refrigeration equipment, and distributed generation systems. The study included equipment descriptions, characteristics of the equipment’s market, national energy consumption, estimates of technical potential for energy-saving technologies, and recommendations for U.S. Department of Energy programs that can promote energy savings in commercial appliances.

Project Management Plan/Progress Report UT/GTKS Training Program Development for Commercial Building Operators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2013-03-31

Universidad del Turabo (UT), in a collaborative effort with Global Turn Key Services, Inc. (GTKS), proposed to develop a training program and a commercialization plan for the development of Commercial Building Operators (CBOs). The CBOs will operate energy efficient buildings to help maintain existing buildings up to their optimal energy performance level, and ensure that net-zero-energy buildings continuously operate at design specifications, thus helping achieve progress towards meeting BTP Strategic Goals of creating technologies and design approaches that enable net-zero-energy buildings at low incremental costs by 2025. The proposed objectives were then: (1) Develop a Commercial Building Operator (CBO) training program and accreditation that will in turn provide a certification to participants recognized by Accreditation Boards such as the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) and Leadership in Energy & Environmental Designs (LEED). (2) Develop and implement a commercialization and sustainability plan that details marketing, deployment, financial characterization, job placement, and other goals required for long-term sustainability of the project after the funding period. (3) After program development and deployment, provide potential candidates with the knowledge and skill sets to obtain employment in the commercial building green energy (net-zero-energy building) job market. The developed CBO training program will focus on providing skills for participants, such as displaced and unemployed workers, to enter the commercial building green energy (net-zeroenergy building) job market. This course was designed to allow a participant with minimal to no experience in commercial building green technology to obtain the required skill sets to enter the job market in as little as 12 weeks of intensive multi-faceted learning. After completion of the course, the CBO staff concluded the participant will meet minimum established accreditation

An analysis of heating and cooling conservation features in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutherland, R.J.

1990-01-01

One purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship in commercial buildings between conservation investments, fuel prices, building occupancy and building characteristics for new buildings and for existing buildings. The data base is a nationwide survey of energy in commercial buildings conducted by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in 1986. Some simple cross-tabulations indicate that conservation measures vary with building size, building age, type of building, and fuel used for building heating. Regression estimates of a conservation model indicate that the number of conservation features installed during construction is a positive function of the price of the heating fuel at the time of construction. Subsequent additions of conservation features are positively correlated with increases in heating fuel prices. Given the EIA projection of relatively stable future energy prices, the number of retrofits may not increase significantly. Also, energy efficiency in new buildings may not continue to increase relative to current new buildings. If fuel prices affect consumption via initial conservation investments, current fuel prices, marginal or average, are not the appropriate specification. The fuel price regression results indicate that conservation investments in new buildings are responsive to market signals. Retrofits are less responsive to market signals. The number of conservation features in a building is not statistically related to the type of occupancy (owner versus renter), which implies that conservation strategies are not impeded by the renting or leasing of buildings

Building energy, building leadership : recommendations for the adoption, development, and implementation of a commercial building energy code in Manitoba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akerstream, T. [Manitoba Hydro, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Allard, K. [City of Thompson, Thompson, MB (Canada); Anderson, N.; Beacham, D. [Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Andrich, R. [The Forks North Portage Partnership, MB (Canada); Auger, A. [Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Office of Energy Efficiency; Downs, R.G. [Shindico Realty Inc., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Eastwood, R. [Number Ten Architectural Group, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Hewitt, C. [SMS Engineering Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Joshi, D. [City of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Klassen, K. [Manitoba Dept. of Energy Science and Technology, Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Phillips, B. [Unies Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Wiebe, R. [Ben Wiebe Construction Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Woelk, D. [Bockstael Construction Ltd., Winnipeg, MB (Canada); Ziemski, S. [CREIT Management LLP, Winnipeg, MB (Canada)

2006-09-15

This report presented a strategy and a set of recommendations for the adoption, development and implementation of an energy code for new commercial construction in Manitoba. The report was compiled by an advisory committee comprised of industry representatives and government agency representatives. Recommendations were divided into 4 categories: (1) advisory committee recommendations; (2) code adoption recommendations; (3) code development recommendations; and (4) code implementation recommendations. It was suggested that Manitoba should adopt an amended version of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (1997) as a regulation under the Buildings and Mobile Homes Act. Participation in a national initiative to update the Model National Energy Code for Buildings was also advised. It was suggested that the energy code should be considered as the first step in a longer-term process towards a sustainable commercial building code. However, the code should be adopted within the context of a complete market transformation approach. Other recommendations included: the establishment of a multi-stakeholder energy code task group; the provision of information and technical resources to help build industry capacity; the establishment of a process for energy code compliance; and an ongoing review of the energy code to assess impacts and progress. Supplemental recommendations for future discussion included the need for integrated design by building design teams in Manitoba; the development of a program to provide technical assistance to building design teams; and collaboration between post-secondary institutions to develop and deliver courses on integrated building design to students and professionals. 17 refs.

Technology data characterizing water heating in commercial buildings: Application to end-use forecasting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sezgen, O.; Koomey, J.G.

1995-12-01

Commercial-sector conservation analyses have traditionally focused on lighting and space conditioning because of their relatively-large shares of electricity and fuel consumption in commercial buildings. In this report we focus on water heating, which is one of the neglected end uses in the commercial sector. The share of the water-heating end use in commercial-sector electricity consumption is 3%, which corresponds to 0.3 quadrillion Btu (quads) of primary energy consumption. Water heating accounts for 15% of commercial-sector fuel use, which corresponds to 1.6 quads of primary energy consumption. Although smaller in absolute size than the savings associated with lighting and space conditioning, the potential cost-effective energy savings from water heaters are large enough in percentage terms to warrant closer attention. In addition, water heating is much more important in particular building types than in the commercial sector as a whole. Fuel consumption for water heating is highest in lodging establishments, hospitals, and restaurants (0.27, 0.22, and 0.19 quads, respectively); water heating`s share of fuel consumption for these building types is 35%, 18% and 32%, respectively. At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, we have developed and refined a base-year data set characterizing water heating technologies in commercial buildings as well as a modeling framework. We present the data and modeling framework in this report. The present commercial floorstock is characterized in terms of water heating requirements and technology saturations. Cost-efficiency data for water heating technologies are also developed. These data are intended to support models used for forecasting energy use of water heating in the commercial sector.

Prototype dining hall energy efficiency study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazzucchi, R.P.; Bailey, S.A.; Zimmerman, P.W.

1988-06-01

The energy consumption of food service facilities is among the highest of any commercial building type, owing to the special requirements for food preparation, sanitation, and ventilation. Consequently, the US Air Force Engineering and Services Center (AFESC) contracted with Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) to collect and analyze end-use energy consumption data for a prototypical dining hall and make specific recommendations on cost-effective energy conservation options. This information will be used to establish or update criteria for dining hall designs and retrofits as appropriate. 6 refs., 21 figs., 23 tabs.

In-Depth Analysis of Energy Efficiency Related Factors in Commercial Buildings Using Data Cube and Association Rule Mining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Byeongjoon Noh

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Significant amounts of energy are consumed in the commercial building sector, resulting in various adverse environmental issues. To reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings, it is necessary to develop effective methods for analyzing building energy use. In this study, we propose a data cube model combined with association rule mining for more flexible and detailed analysis of building energy consumption profiles using the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS dataset, which has accumulated over 6700 existing commercial buildings across the U.S.A. Based on the data cube model, a multidimensional commercial sector building energy analysis was performed based upon on-line analytical processing (OLAP operations to assess the energy efficiency according to building factors with various levels of abstraction. Furthermore, the proposed analysis system provided useful information that represented a set of energy efficient combinations by applying the association rule mining method. We validated the feasibility and applicability of the proposed analysis model by structuring a building energy analysis system and applying it to different building types, weather conditions, composite materials, and heating/cooling systems of the multitude of commercial buildings classified in the CBECS dataset.

Energy consumption quota management of Wanda commercial buildings in China

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, D. B.; Xiao, H.; Wang, X.; Liu, J. J.; Wang, X.; Jin, X. Q.; Wang, J.; Xie, X. K.

2016-08-01

There is limited research of commercial buildings’ energy use data conducted based on practical analysis in China nowadays. Some energy consumption quota tools like Energy Star in U.S or VDI 3807 in Germany have limitation in China's building sector. This study introduces an innovative methodology of applying energy use quota model and empirical management to commercial buildings, which was in accordance of more than one hundred opened shopping centers of a real estate group in China. On the basis of statistical benchmarking, a new concept of “Modified coefficient”, which considers weather, occupancy, business layout, operation schedule and HVAC efficiency, is originally introduced in this paper. Our study shows that the average energy use quota increases from north to south. The average energy use quota of sample buildings is 159 kWh/(m2.a) of severe cold climate zone, 179 kWh/(m2.a) of cold zone, 188 kWh/(m2.a) of hot summer and cold winter zone, and 200 kWh/(m2.a) of hot summer and warm winter zone. The energy use quota model has been validated in the property management for year 2016, providing a new method of commercial building energy management to the industry. As a key result, there is 180 million energy saving potential based on energy quota management in 2016, equals to 6.2% saving rate of actual energy use in 2015.

VOLTTRON™: Tech-to-Market Best-Practices Guide for Small- and Medium-Sized Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, Katherine A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Haack, Jereme N. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Katipamula, Srinivas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Nicholls, Andrew K. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-07-11

VOLTTRON™ is an open-source distributed control and sensing platform developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. It was developed to be used by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to support transactive controls research and deployment activities. VOLTTRON is designed to be an overarching integration platform that could be used to bring together vendors, users, and developers and enable rapid application development and testing. The platform is designed to support modern control strategies, including the use of agent- and transaction-based controls. It also is designed to support the management of a wide range of applications, including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; electric vehicles; and distributed-energy and whole-building loads. This report was completed as part of the Building Technologies Office’s Technology-to-Market Initiative for VOLTTRON’s Market Validation and Business Case Development efforts. The report provides technology-to-market guidance and best practices related to VOLTTRON platform deployments and commercialization activities for use by entities serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings. The report characterizes the platform ecosystem within the small- and medium-sized commercial building market and articulates the value proposition of VOLTTRON for three core participants in this ecosystem: 1) platform owners/adopters, 2) app developers, and 3) end-users. The report also identifies key market drivers and opportunities for open platform deployments in the small- and medium-sized commercial building market. Possible pathways to the market are described—laboratory testing to market adoption to commercialization. We also identify and address various technical and market barriers that could hinder deployment of VOLTTRON. Finally, we provide “best practice” tech-to-market guidance for building energy-related deployment efforts serving small- and

Implementation of Energy Code Controls Requirements in New Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, Michael I. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hart, Philip R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hatten, Mike [Solarc Energy Group, LLC, Seattle, WA (United States); Jones, Dennis [Group 14 Engineering, Inc., Denver, CO (United States); Cooper, Matthew [Group 14 Engineering, Inc., Denver, CO (United States)

2017-03-24

Most state energy codes in the United States are based on one of two national model codes; ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1 (Standard 90.1) or the International Code Council (ICC) International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Since 2004, covering the last four cycles of Standard 90.1 updates, about 30% of all new requirements have been related to building controls. These requirements can be difficult to implement and verification is beyond the expertise of most building code officials, yet the assumption in studies that measure the savings from energy codes is that they are implemented and working correctly. The objective of the current research is to evaluate the degree to which high impact controls requirements included in commercial energy codes are properly designed, commissioned and implemented in new buildings. This study also evaluates the degree to which these control requirements are realizing their savings potential. This was done using a three-step process. The first step involved interviewing commissioning agents to get a better understanding of their activities as they relate to energy code required controls measures. The second involved field audits of a sample of commercial buildings to determine whether the code required control measures are being designed, commissioned and correctly implemented and functioning in new buildings. The third step includes compilation and analysis of the information gather during the first two steps. Information gathered during these activities could be valuable to code developers, energy planners, designers, building owners, and building officials.

Ready to Retrofit: The Process of Project Team Selection, Building Benchmarking, and Financing Commercial Building Energy Retrofit Projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanders, Mark D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Parrish, Kristen [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mathew, Paul [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-05-01

This guide presents a process for three key activities for the building owner in preparing to retrofit existing commercial buildings: selecting project teams, benchmarking the existing building, and financing the retrofit work. Although there are other essential steps in the retrofit process, the three activities presented in this guide are the critical elements where the building owner has the greatest influence on the outcome of the project.

Analysis of variables that influence electric energy consumption in commercial buildings in Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carvalho, M.M.Q. [Technical Drawing Department, Fluminense Federal University, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Energy Planning Program, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Research and Graduate Studies in Engineering - COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); La Rovere, E.L. [Energy Planning Program, Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Research and Graduate Studies in Engineering - COPPE, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Goncalves, A.C.M. [Program for Graduate Studies in Architecture, School of Architecture and Urbanism, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

2010-12-15

Air conditioning systems in commercial buildings in Brazil are responsible for about 70% share of their energy consumption. According to BEN 2009 (The Brazilian Energy Balance), energy consumption in the residential, commercial and public sectors, where most buildings are found, represents 9.3% of the final energy consumption in Brazil. This paper aims to examine design factors that could contribute to greater reductions of electric energy consumption in commercial buildings, with emphasis on air conditioning. Simulations were carried out using shades and different types of glass, walls, flooring and roofing. The VisualDOE 2.61 was used as a simulation tool for calculating energy consumption of the analyzed building. This paper shows that the energy performance of the building is considerably influenced by the facade protection and shows, through tables, the impact that decisions related to the top-level and facades have on the energy consumption of the building. The authors concluded that the results confirm the importance of taking energy use into account in the very first design stages of the project, since appropriate choices of types of glass, external shading and envelope materials have a significant impact on energy consumption. (author)

Results and Lessons Learned From the DOE Commercial Building Partnerships: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirsch, A.; Deru, M.; Langner, R.; Stark, G.; Doebber, I.; Scheib, J.; Sheppy, M.; Bonnema, E.; Pless, S.; Livingood, B.; Torcellini, P.

2014-09-01

Over the course of 5 years, NREL worked with commercial building owners and their design teams in the DOE Commercial Building Partnerships (CBP) to cut energy consumption by 50% in new construction (versus code) and by 30% in existing building pilot projects (versus code or pre-retrofit operational energy use depending on the preference of the Partner) using strategies that could be replicated across their building portfolios. A number of different building types were addressed, including supermarket, retail merchandise, combination big box (general merchandise and food sales), high rise office space, and warehouse. The projects began in pre-design and included a year of measurement data to evaluate performance against design expectations. Focused attention was required throughout the entire process to achieve a design with the potential to hit the energy performance target and to operate the resulting building to reach this potential. This paper will report quantitative results and cover both the technical and the human sides of CBP, including the elements that were required to succeed and where stumbling blocks were encountered. It will also address the impact of energy performance goals and intensive energy modeling on the design process innovations and best practices.

Opportunities for low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Ping; Keith Tovey, N.

2009-01-01

China's building sector consumes one quarter of total energy consumption in the country and plays an important role in long-term ability of the country to achieve sustainable development. This paper discusses a comprehensive approach to achieving low carbon sustainability in large commercial buildings in China incorporating both energy and carbon-reduction strategies. The approach concentrates primarily on three complementary aspects: (a) the introduction of an effective energy management system; (b) the incorporation of relevant advanced energy saving technologies and measures and (c) the promotion of awareness among occupants to make changes in their behaviour towards a more environmental-friendly behaviour. However, reference is also made to the role that renewable energy and offsetting may have in the effective management and environmental performance of buildings. Nine examples of large commercial buildings in Beijing and Shanghai were studied and the average electricity consumption of around 153 kWh/m 2 per annum is about 5 times higher than average electricity use in residential buildings. At the same time the associated green house gas (GHG) emissions are around 158 kg/m 2 per annum.

Ninety-six hours to build a prototype robot showing human emotions

CERN Multimedia

Stefania Pandolfi

2016-01-01

Thirty-five Master's students in the fields of business, design and engineering participated in an intensive five-day project-based introduction to programming and advanced electronics. The goal of the initiative was to build a fully functional prototype robot able to communicate and show at least four basic human emotions.    A group of students is presenting a prototype robot showing human emotions at IdeaSquare. With no previous experience in electronics or coding, groups of students from Portugal, Italy, Norway and Estonia were introduced to the basics of sensors, integrated circuits and actuators, and after just 96 hours they presented their functioning robots at IdeaSquare on Friday, 15 January. These robots, mostly built around Arduino boards and recycled materials, were able to display different human emotions as a response to external environmental inputs. The five-day workshop, called öBot, was organised by the IdeaSquare te...

Energy Code Compliance in a Detailed Commercial Building Sample: The Effects of Missing Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biyani, Rahul K.; Richman, Eric E.

2003-09-30

Most commercial buildings in the U.S. are required by State or local jurisdiction to meet energy standards. The enforcement of these standards is not well known and building practice without them on a national scale is also little understood. To provide an understanding of these issues, a database has been developed at PNNL that includes detailed energy related building characteristics of 162 commercial buildings from across the country. For this analysis, the COMcheck? compliance software (developed at PNNL) was used to assess compliance with energy codes among these buildings. Data from the database for each building provided the program input with percentage energy compliance to the ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999 energy as the output. During the data input process it was discovered that some essential data for showing compliance of the building envelope was missed and defaults had to be developed to provide complete compliance information. This need for defaults for some data inputs raised the question of what the effect on documenting compliance could be due to missing data. To help answer this question a data collection effort was completed to assess potential differences. Using the program Dodge View, as much of the missing envelope data as possible was collected from the building plans and the database input was again run through COMcheck?. The outputs of both compliance runs were compared to see if the missing data would have adversely affected the results. Both of these results provided a percentage compliance of each building in the envelope and lighting categories, showing by how large a percentage each building either met or fell short of the ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999 energy code. The results of the compliance runs showed that 57.7 % of the buildings met or exceeded envelope requirements with defaults and that 68 % met or exceeded envelope requirements with the actual data. Also, 53.6 % of the buildings met or surpassed the lighting requirements

Nationwide Analysis of U.S. Commercial Building Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Breakeven Conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davidson, Carolyn [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gagnon, Pieter [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Denholm, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Margolis, Robert [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-10-01

The commercial sector offers strong potential for solar photovoltaics (PV) owing to abundant available roof space suitable for PV and the opportunity to offset the sector's substantial retail electricity purchases. This report evaluated the breakeven price of PV for 15 different building types and various financing options by calculating electricity savings based on detailed rate structures for most U.S. utility territories (representing approximately two thirds of U.S. commercial customers). We find that at current capital costs, an estimated 1/3 of U.S. commercial customers break even in the cash scenario and approximately 2/3 break even in the loan scenario. Variation in retail rates is a stronger driver of breakeven prices than is variation in building load or solar generation profiles. At the building level, variation in the average breakeven price is largely driven by the ability for a PV system to reduce demand charges.

Small- and Medium-Sized Commercial Building Monitoring and Controls Needs: A Scoping Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katipamula, Srinivas; Underhill, Ronald M.; Goddard, James K.; Taasevigen, Danny J.; Piette, M. A.; Granderson, J.; Brown, Rich E.; Lanzisera, Steven M.; Kuruganti, T.

2012-10-31

Buildings consume over 40% of the total energy consumption in the U.S. A significant portion of the energy consumed in buildings is wasted because of the lack of controls or the inability to use existing building automation systems (BASs) properly. Much of the waste occurs because of our inability to manage and controls buildings efficiently. Over 90% of the buildings are either small-size (<5,000 sf) or medium-size (between 5,000 sf and 50,000 sf); these buildings currently do not use BASs to monitor and control their building systems from a central location. According to Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), about 10% of the buildings in the U.S. use BASs or central controls to manage their building system operations. Buildings that use BASs are typically large (>100,000 sf). Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) were asked by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Technologies Program (BTP) to identify monitoring and control needs for small- and medium-sized commercial buildings and recommend possible solutions. This study documents the needs and solutions for small- and medium-sized buildings.

Prototypic implementations of the building block for component based open Hypermedia systems (BB/CB-OHSs)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mohamed, Omer I. Eldai

2005-01-01

In this paper we describe the prototypic implementations of the BuildingBlock (BB/CB-OHSs) that proposed to address some of the Component-based Open Hypermedia Systems (CB-OHSs) issues, including distribution and interoperability [4, 11, 12]. Four service implementations were described below. The...

Control of disturbing loads in residential and commercial buildings via geometric algebra.

Science.gov (United States)

Castilla, Manuel-V

2013-01-01

Many definitions have been formulated to represent nonactive power for distorted voltages and currents in electronic and electrical systems. Unfortunately, no single universally suitable representation has been accepted as a prototype for this power component. This paper defines a nonactive power multivector from the most advanced multivectorial power theory based on the geometric algebra (GA). The new concept can have more importance on harmonic loads compensation, identification, and metering, between other applications. Likewise, this paper is concerned with a pioneering method for the compensation of disturbing loads. In this way, we propose a multivectorial relative quality index δ(~) associated with the power multivector. It can be assumed as a new index for power quality evaluation, harmonic sources detection, and power factor improvement in residential and commercial buildings. The proposed method consists of a single-point strategy based of a comparison among different relative quality index multivectors, which may be measured at the different loads on the same metering point. The comparison can give pieces of information with magnitude, direction, and sense on the presence of disturbing loads. A numerical example is used to illustrate the clear capabilities of the suggested approach.

Energy and Energy Cost Savings Analysis of the 2015 IECC for Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jian [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Xie, YuLong [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Athalye, Rahul A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhuge, Jing Wei [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Rosenberg, Michael I. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hart, Philip R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Liu, Bing [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-06-01

As required by statute (42 USC 6833), DOE recently issued a determination that ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013 would achieve greater energy efficiency in buildings subject to the code compared to the 2010 edition of the standard. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted an energy savings analysis for Standard 90.1-2013 in support of its determination . While Standard 90.1 is the model energy standard for commercial and multi-family residential buildings over three floors (42 USC 6833), many states have historically adopted the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for both residential and commercial buildings. This report provides an assessment as to whether buildings constructed to the commercial energy efficiency provisions of the 2015 IECC would save energy and energy costs as compared to the 2012 IECC. PNNL also compared the energy performance of the 2015 IECC with the corresponding Standard 90.1-2013. The goal of this analysis is to help states and local jurisdictions make informed decisions regarding model code adoption.

Energy and Energy Cost Savings Analysis of the 2015 IECC for Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Jian [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Xie, YuLong [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Athalye, Rahul A. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhuge, Jing Wei [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Rosenberg, Michael I. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hart, Philip R. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Liu, Bing [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-09-01

As required by statute (42 USC 6833), DOE recently issued a determination that ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013 would achieve greater energy efficiency in buildings subject to the code compared to the 2010 edition of the standard. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted an energy savings analysis for Standard 90.1-2013 in support of its determination . While Standard 90.1 is the model energy standard for commercial and multi-family residential buildings over three floors (42 USC 6833), many states have historically adopted the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for both residential and commercial buildings. This report provides an assessment as to whether buildings constructed to the commercial energy efficiency provisions of the 2015 IECC would save energy and energy costs as compared to the 2012 IECC. PNNL also compared the energy performance of the 2015 IECC with the corresponding Standard 90.1-2013. The goal of this analysis is to help states and local jurisdictions make informed decisions regarding model code adoption.

A comprehensive framework to quantify energy savings potential from improved operations of commercial building stocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azar, Elie; Menassa, Carol C.

2014-01-01

While studies highlight the significant impact of actions performed by occupants and facility managers on building energy performance, current policies ignore the importance of human actions and the potential energy savings from a more efficient operation of building systems. This is mainly attributed to the lack of methods that evaluate non-technological drivers of energy use for large stocks of commercial buildings to support policy making efforts. Therefore, this study proposes a scientific approach to quantifying the energy savings potential due to improved operations of any stock of commercial buildings. The proposed framework combines energy modeling techniques, studies on human actions in buildings, and surveying and sampling methods. The contributions of this study to energy policy are significant as they reinforce the role of human actions in energy conservation, and support efforts to integrate operation-focused solutions in energy conservation policy frameworks. The framework's capabilities are illustrated in a case study performed on the stock of office buildings in the United States (US). Results indicate a potential 21 percent reduction in the current energy use levels of these buildings through realistic changes in current building operation patterns. - Highlights: • Human actions highly influence energy performance of commercial building stocks. • It is challenging to quantify operation-related energy savings potential. • The proposed framework quantifies potential energy savings from improved operations. • The framework can be applied on any stock of commercial buildings. • Applications include support for operation-focused solutions in energy policies

India Commercial Buildings Data Framework: A Summary of Potential Use Cases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathew, Paul [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mathew, Sangeeta [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kumar, Satish [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Singh, Mohini [Synurja, LLC, Vienna, VA (United States); Stratton, Hannah [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Iyer, Maithili [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2016-05-01

This report details a potential set of use cases for India’s Commercial Buildings Data Framework. The use cases are aimed at enabling data-driven, evidence-based policy making and at transforming the market for energy efficiency in the building sector by facilitating the adoption of (1) superior energy-efficient building design and operation and maintenance practices, and (2) better specification and procurement of end-use equipment and systems.

40 CFR 745.228 - Accreditation of training programs: public and commercial buildings, bridges and superstructures...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Accreditation of training programs: public and commercial buildings, bridges and superstructures. [Reserved] 745.228 Section 745.228... Accreditation of training programs: public and commercial buildings, bridges and superstructures. [Reserved] ...

Potential for energy technologies in residential and commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Glesk, M.M.

1979-11-01

The residential-commercial energy technology model was developed as a planning tool for policy analysis in the residential and commercial building sectors. The model and its procedures represent a detailed approach to estimating the future acceptance of energy-using technologies both in new construction and for retrofit into existing buildings. The model organizes into an analytical framework all relevant information and data on building energy technology, building markets, and government policy, and it allows for easy identification of the relative importance of key assumptions. The outputs include estimates of the degree of penetration of the various building energy technologies, the levels of energy use savings associated with them, and their costs - both private and government. The model was designed to estimate the annual energy savings associated with new technologies compared with continued use of conventional technology at 1975 levels. The amount of energy used under 1975 technology conditions is referred to as the reference case energy use. For analytical purposes the technologies were consolidated into ten groupings: electric and gas heat pumps; conservation categories I, II, and III; solar thermal (hot water, heating, and cooling); photovoltaics, and wind systems. These groupings clearly do not allow an assessment of the potential for individual technologies, but they do allow a reasonable comparison of their roles in the R/C sector. Assumptions were made regarding the technical and economic performances of the technologies over the period of the analysis. In addition, the study assessed the non-financial characteristics of the technologies - aesthetics, maintenance complexity, reliability, etc. - that will also influence their market acceptability.

Performance of a prototype micro wind turbine in the manmade wind field from air conditioner of buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. H. Goh

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Harnessing waste energy from the manmade air fields of buildings presents a new area of renewable energy to explore. Due to the unpredictability of the natural wind, this study is to evaluate the practicality for harnessing waste energy from the air conditioner exhaust units which are a more constant and predictable source available in the buildings. A prototype of the micro wind turbine has been designed to minimize the negative effect of the exhaust sources. After the micro wind turbine was manufactured, the performance of the turbine was tested in the selected air conditioner exhaust unit. Increasing the rotor solidity and decreasing the resistance of the generator contribute to improved starting torque and decreased generator break in torque respectively in the design. The power generation of the micro wind turbine increases with an increase of the rotor speed. The 24-hour operation of the prototype presents an observation for both exhaust performance and power generation prediction when the prototype is mounted on the exhaust unit.

Indoor air quality issues related to the acquisition of conservation in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baechler, M.C.; Hadley, D.L.; Marseille, T.J.

1990-09-01

The quality of indoor air in commercial buildings is dependent on the complex interaction between sources of indoor pollutants, environmental factors within buildings such as temperature and humidity, the removal of air pollutants by air-cleaning devices, and the removal and dilution of pollutants from outside air. To the extent that energy conservation measures (ECMs) may affect a number of these factors, the relationship between ECMs and indoor air quality is difficult to predict. Energy conservation measures may affect pollutant levels in other ways. Conservation measures, such as caulking and insulation, may introduce sources of indoor pollutants. Measures that reduce mechanical ventilation may allow pollutants to build up inside structures. Finally, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems may provide surface areas for the growth of biogenic agents, or may encourage the dissemination of pollutants throughout a building. Information about indoor air quality and ventilation in both new and existing commercial buildings is summarized in this report. Sick building syndrome and specific pollutants are discussed, as are broader issues such as ventilation, general mitigation techniques, and the interaction between energy conservation activities and indoor air quality. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) prepared this review to aid the Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) in its assessment of potential environmental effects resulting from conservation activities in commercial buildings. 76 refs., 2 figs., 19 tabs.

Utilizing a Rapid Prototyping Approach in the Building of a Hypermedia-Based Reference Station.

Science.gov (United States)

Sell, Dan

This paper discusses the building of a hypermedia-based reference station at the Wright Laboratory Technical Library, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Following this, the paper focuses on an electronic user survey from which data is collected and analysis is made. The survey data is used in a rapid prototyping approach, which is defined as…

"Watts per person" paradigm to design net zero energy buildings: Examining technology interventions and integrating occupant feedback to reduce plug loads in a commercial building

Science.gov (United States)

Yagi Kim, Mika

As building envelopes have improved due to more restrictive energy codes, internal loads have increased largely due to the proliferation of computers, electronics, appliances, imaging and audio visual equipment that continues to grow in commercial buildings. As the dependency on the internet for information and data transfer increases, the electricity demand will pose a challenge to design and operate Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs). Plug Loads (PLs) as a proportion of the building load has become the largest non-regulated building energy load and represents the third highest electricity end-use in California's commercial office buildings, accounting for 23% of the total building electricity consumption (Ecova 2011,2). In the Annual Energy Outlook 2008 (AEO2008), prepared by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that presents long-term projections of energy supply and demand through 2030 states that office equipment and personal computers are the "fastest growing electrical end uses" in the commercial sector. This thesis entitled "Watts Per Person" Paradigm to Design Net Zero Energy Buildings, measures the implementation of advanced controls and behavioral interventions to study the reduction of PL energy use in the commercial sector. By integrating real world data extracted from an energy efficient commercial building of its energy use, the results produce a new methodology on estimating PL energy use by calculating based on "Watts Per Person" and analyzes computational simulation methods to design NZEBs.

New Air Cleaning Strategies for Reduced Commercial Building Ventilation Energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sidheswaran, Meera; Destaillats, Hugo; Sullivan, Douglas P.; Fisk, William J.

2010-10-27

Approximately ten percent of the energy consumed in U.S. commercial buildings is used by HVAC systems to condition outdoor ventilation air. Reducing ventilation rates would be a simple and broadly-applicable energy retrofit option, if practical counter measures were available that maintained acceptable concentrations of indoor-generated air pollutants. The two general categories of countermeasures are: 1) indoor pollutant source control, and 2) air cleaning. Although pollutant source control should be used to the degree possible, source control is complicated by the large number and changing nature of indoor pollutant sources. Particle air cleaning is already routinely applied in commercial buildings. Previous calculations indicate that particle filtration consumes only 10percent to 25percent of the energy that would otherwise be required to achieve an equivalent amount of particle removal with ventilation. If cost-effective air cleaning technologies for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were also available, outdoor air ventilation rates could be reduced substantially and broadly in the commercial building stock to save energy. The research carried out in this project focuses on developing novel VOC air cleaning technologies needed to enable energy-saving reductions in ventilation rates. The minimum required VOC removal efficiency to counteract a 50percent reduction in ventilation rate for air cleaning systems installed in the HVAC supply airstream is modest (generally 20percent or less).

Evaluation of a energy consumption index for commercial buildings in Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Jose Eduardo Correa Santana; Hernandez Neto, Alberto [Universidade de Sao Paulo (EP/USP), SP (Brazil). Escola Politecnica], Emails: jose.edu@gmail.com, ahneto@usp.br

2010-07-01

The present paper proposes a energy consumption index for commercial buildings located in four different Brazilian climates. For such evaluations, the building simulation tool EnergyPlus was used and a sensitivity analysis was made for some of the main parameters of an air-conditioned building. The analysis showed that the electrical power and lighting density as well as the COP of the air conditioning system promotes the higher variations on the proposed energy index. (author)

Commercializing Government-sponsored Innovations: Twelve Successful Buildings Case Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, M. A.; Berry, L. G.; Goel, R. K.

1989-01-01

This report examines the commercialization and use of R and D results funded by DOE's Office of Buildings and Community Systems (OBCS), an office that is dedicated to improving the energy efficiency of the nation's buildings. Three goals guided the research described in this report: to improve understanding of the factors that hinder or facilitate the transfer of OBCS R and D results, to determine which technology transfer strategies are most effective and under what circumstances each is appropriate, and to document the market penetration and energy savings achieved by successfully-commercialized innovations that have received OBCS support. Twelve successfully-commercialized innovations are discussed here. The methodology employed involved a review of the literature, interviews with innovation program managers and industry personnel, and data collection from secondary sources. Six generic technology transfer strategies are also described. Of these, contracting R and D to industrial partners is found to be the most commonly used strategy in our case studies. The market penetration achieved to date by the innovations studied ranges from less than 1% to 100%. For the three innovations with the highest predicted levels of energy savings (i.e., the flame retention head oil burner, low-E windows, and solid-state ballasts), combined cumulative savings by the year 2000 are likely to approach 2 quads. To date the energy savings for these three innovations have been about 0.2 quads. Our case studies illustrate the important role federal agencies can play in commercializing new technologies.

The role of grid-connected, building-integrated photovoltaic generation in commercial building energy and power loads in a warm and sunny climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, P.; Ruether, R.

2010-01-01

For large commercial buildings, power load delivery limits are contracted with the local electricity distribution utility, and are usually fixed at one or more levels over the year, according to the seasonal building loads, and depending on the specific country regulations. Especially in warm and sunny climates, solar electricity generation using building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) can assist in reducing commercial building loads, offering peak-shaving (power) benefits on top of the on-site generation of electricity (energy). This on-site power delivery capability gives these consumers the possibility of renegotiating demand contracts with their distribution utility. Commercial buildings that operate during daytime quite often have an energy consumption profile that is well matched by solar radiation availability, and depending on the building's available surface areas, BIPV can generate considerable portions of the energy requirements. In this work we present the role of grid-connected BIPV in reducing the load demands of a large and urban commercial building located in a warm climate in Brazil. The building and adjacent car parking lots can accommodate a 1 MWp BIPV generator, which closely matches the building's typical maximum power demands. Based on real solar radiation data and simultaneous building electricity demands for the year 2007, simulation of the annual solar generation profile of this on-site generator showed that the 1 MWp BIPV system could account for around 30% of the total building's energy consumption. In addition to the energy benefit, maximum power demands were reduced due to a good match between midday air-conditioning cooling loads and solar radiation availability on both a daily and seasonal basis. Furthermore, we have simulated the effect of this considerably large urban-sited generator on the local distribution network load, and have shown that the 1 MWp BIPV installation can also offer considerable benefits to the local utility in

PhoneSat: Ground Testing of a Phone-Based Prototype Bus

Science.gov (United States)

Felix, Carmen; Howard, Benjamin; Reyes, Matthew; Snarskiy, Fedor; Hickman, Ryan; Boshuizen, Christopher; Marshall, William

2010-01-01

Most of the key capabilities that are requisite of a satellite bus are housed in today's smart phones. PhoneSat refers to an initiative to build a ground-based prototype vehicle that could all the basic functionality of a satellite, including attitude control, using a smart Phone as its central hardware. All components used were also low cost Commercial off the Shelf (COTS). In summer 2009, an initial prototype was created using the LEGO Mindstorm toolkit demonstrating simple attitude control. Here we report on a follow up initiative to design, build and test a vehicle based on the Google s smart phone Nexus One. The report includes results from initial thermal-vacuum chamber tests and low altitude sub-orbital rocket flights which show that, at least for short durations, the Nexus One phone is able to withstand key aspects of the space environment without failure. We compare the sensor data from the Phone's accelerometers and magnetometers with that of an external microelectronic inertial measurement unit.

Analysis of Potential Benefits and Costs of Adopting a Commercial Building Energy Standard in South Dakota

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belzer, David B.; Cort, Katherine A.; Winiarski, David W.; Richman, Eric E.

2005-03-04

The state of South Dakota is considering adopting a commercial building energy standard. This report evaluates the potential costs and benefits to South Dakota residents from requiring compliance with the most recent edition of the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2001 Energy Standard for Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. These standards were developed in an effort to set minimum requirements for the energy efficient design and construction of new commercial buildings. The quantitative benefits and costs of adopting a commercial building energy code are modeled by comparing the characteristics of assumed current building practices with the most recent edition of the ASHRAE Standard, 90.1-2001. Both qualitative and quantitative benefits and costs are assessed in this analysis. Energy and economic impacts are estimated using results from a detailed building simulation tool (Building Loads Analysis and System Thermodynamics [BLAST] model) combined with a Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) approach to assess corresponding economic costs and benefits.

Energy Savings Modeling and Inspection Guidelines for Commercial Building Federal Tax Deductions for Buildings in 2016 and Later

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deru, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Field-Macumber, Kristin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-09-01

This document provides guidance for modeling and inspecting energy-efficient property in commercial buildings for certification of the energy and power cost savings related to Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) enacted in Section 1331 of the 2005 Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, noted in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notices 2006-52 (IRS 2006), 2008-40 (IRS 2008) and 2012-26 (IRS 2012), and updated by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. Specifically, Section 179D provides federal tax deductions for energy-efficient property related to a commercial building's envelope; interior lighting; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC); and service hot water (SHW) systems. This document applies to buildings placed in service on or after January 1, 2016.

Energy retrofit of commercial buildings. Case study and applied methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aste, N.; Del Pero, C. [Department of Building Environment Science and Technology (BEST), Politecnico di Milano, Via Bonardi 3, 20133 Milan (Italy)

2013-05-15

Commercial buildings are responsible for a significant share of the energy requirements of European Union countries. Related consumptions due to heating, cooling, and lighting appear, in most cases, very high and expensive. Since the real estate is renewed with a very small percentage each year and current trends suggest reusing the old structures, strategies for improving energy efficiency and sustainability should focus not only on new buildings, but also and especially on existing ones. Architectural renovation of existing buildings could provide an opportunity to enhance their energy efficiency, by working on the improvement of envelopes and energy supply systems. It has also to be noted that the measures aimed to improve the energy performance of buildings should pay particular attention to the cost-effectiveness of the interventions. In general, there is a lack of well-established methods for retrofitting, but if a case study achieves effective results, the adopted strategies and methodologies can be successfully replicated for similar kinds of buildings. In this paper, an iterative methodology for energy retrofit of commercial buildings is presented, together with a specific application on an existing office building. The case study is particularly significant as it is placed in an urban climatic context characterized by cold winters and hot summers; consequently, HVAC energy consumption is considerable throughout the year. The analysis and simulations of energy performance before and after the intervention, along with measured data on real energy performance, demonstrate the validity of the applied approach. The specifically developed design and refurbishment methodology, presented in this work, could be also assumed as a reference in similar operations.

Software Prototype Design for Managing Housing and Communal Services in Apartment Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana A.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The paper presents the disign and implementation of a computer program for the housing and utilities services. The Housing Code of the Russian Federation allows creating an apartment building council. The residents of a house choose the members this council to control providing services, manage an apartment building and represent their interests. The authors suggest using a special computer program for this purpose. Materials and Methods: The authors used the qualitative analysis of the data obtained from house bills and from the State housing and communal sector information system. The data processing and software development were performed through using the Ruby object-oriented language, the Ruby On Rails framework, the PostgreSQL database management system, the Slim templating, and Sass CSS extensions. Results: The authors developed a prototype software system to automate the activities of the apartment building council. This software helps to increase the quality of life of the apartment building residents. Discussion and Conclusions: This research provides an information framework for improving the quality of utilities services. The results of this study can be applied to the solution of many problems of housing and utilities sector.

BEPS redesign of 168 commercial buildings: summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoops, J.L.; Deringer, J.J.; Moreno, S.; Misuriello, H.P.

1984-05-01

The objective of this report is to present, in usable form, summary data from the Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) Phase II commercial buildings energy research conducted in 1978-1979. Summary data presented were obtained from two major research efforts: the BEPS Phase II Redesign experiment; and the related research on ASHRAE Standard 90-75R. The bulk of this report consists of data tabulations of key energy parameters for the 168 sample buildings, which were tabulated from computer-stored files of the 1978-1979 data. Two kinds of tabulations are included: numerical tabulations that extracted information from the computer-stored data base for the 168 sample buildings; and graphic presentations of the computer-generated data, plus data extracted from other sources. The intent is to provide a single data compendium of key energy-related factors from the 1978 redesign experiment and the associated 1978-1979 ASHRAE Standard 90-75R research. This report also supplements the information for which there was not space in the magazine articles. Thus, for some building types, additional analysis, comments, and data tabulations are included that could not be included in the articles because space was limited. These additional analysis items are not consistent across building types because both the energy conservation opportunities and the design strategies applied by the building designers varied considerably by building type. The chapters have been entered individually into EDB and ERA.

Prototype of Emapps.com Environment as Agent for Building the Learning Communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vilma Butkute

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The Information Society and Education need to be combined in order to achieve successful active citizenship and economical development with a natural and mutual interdependency. Project eMapps.com game platform can be an example of cross- connected eLearning, mobile and life environment contribution to education. It can increase effectiveness of education both for educational needs in XXI Century and to create a basis for further research on ICT mediation in Information Society. The positive outcomes on learners motivation are explored by the scientific modelling of the future educational environment prototype as agent for building up the learning communities of common intelligence at internal, local and international level. The key finding of this paper is that an eMapps.com game platform prototype can be used to ensure that technology, pedagogy and social networking context are closely aligned in order to realise the educational stimulation in secondary education.

29 CFR 779.336 - Sales of building materials for commercial property construction.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... property construction. Sales of building materials to a contractor or speculative builder for the... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Sales of building materials for commercial property construction. 779.336 Section 779.336 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION...

Correlation between temperature satisfaction and unsolicited complaint rates in commercial buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, D; Federspiel, C C; Arens, E

2005-02-01

This paper analyzes the relation between temperature satisfaction ratings expressed on a questionnaire and unsolicited complaint rates recorded in a maintenance database. The key findings are as follows: (i) the satisfaction ratings and complaint rates are negatively correlated with a moderate magnitude (r(s) = -0.31 to -0.36), and the correlation is statistically significant (P = 0.01-0.005), and (ii) the percent dissatisfied with temperature and the complaint rate are positively correlated with moderate magnitude (r(s) = 0.31-0.36), and the correlation is statistically significant (P = 0.01-0.004). Both data sets contain 'real-world' measures of temperature satisfaction, with the complaints contributing directly to the cost of operations and maintenance. The relationship between two validates a new method of assessing the economic cost of thermal discomfort in commercial buildings. Complaints in commercial buildings indicate occupants' dissatisfaction to their environments. It not only deteriorates occupants' performance and organization productivity, but also increases building maintenance and operating cost. Nailing economic consequences of complaints will enable monetary comparison of discomfort cost with building and operating costs. This comparison may be desirable for building owners and tenants to make well-informed decisions on construction, rental, and retrofit. It may also be used to evaluate complaint diagnostic and eliminating techniques.

Evaluation and simulation of event building techniques for a detector at the LHC

CERN Document Server

Spiwoks, R

1995-01-01

The main objectives of future experiments at the Large Hadron Collider are the search for the Higgs boson (or bosons), the verification of the Standard Model and the search beyond the Standard Model in a new energy range up to a few TeV. These experiments will have to cope with unprecedented high data rates and will need event building systems which can offer a bandwidth of 1 to 100GB/s and which can assemble events from 100 to 1000 readout memories at rates of 1 to 100kHz. This work investigates the feasibility of parallel event building sys- tems using commercially available high speed interconnects and switches. Studies are performed by building a small-scale prototype and by modelling this proto- type and realistic architectures with discrete-event simulations. The prototype is based on the HiPPI standard and uses commercially available VME-HiPPI interfaces and a HiPPI switch together with modular and scalable software. The setup operates successfully as a parallel event building system of limited size in...

Commercializing government-sponsored innovations: Twelve successful buildings case studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, M.A.; Berry, L.G.; Goel, R.K.

1989-01-01

This report examines the commercialization and use of R and D results funded by DOE's Office of Buildings and Community Systems (OBCS), an office that is dedicated to improving the energy efficiency of the nation's buildings. Three goals guided the research described in this report: to improve understanding of the factors that hinder or facilitate the transfer of OBCS R and D results, to determine which technology transfer strategies are most effective and under what circumstances each is appropriate, and to document the market penetration and energy savings achieved by successfully-commercialized innovations that have received OBCS support. Twelve successfully-commercialized innovations are discussed here. The methodology employed involved a review of the literature, interviews with innovation program managers and industry personnel, and data collection from secondary sources. Six generic technology transfer strategies are also described. Of these, contracting R and D to industrial partners is found to be the most commonly used strategy in our case studies. The market penetration achieved to date by the innovations studied ranges from less than 1% to 100%. For the three innovations with the highest predicted levels of energy savings (i.e., the flame retention head oil burner, low-E windows, and solid-state ballasts), combined cumulative savings by the year 2000 are likely to approach 2 quads. To date the energy savings for these three innovations have been about 0.2 quads. Our case studies illustrate the important role federal agencies can play in commercializing new technologies. 27 refs., 21 figs., 4 tabs.

Assessment of the Technical Potential for Achieving Net Zero-Energy Buildings in the Commercial Sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Griffith, B.; Long, N.; Torcellini, P.; Judkoff, R.; Crawley, D.; Ryan, J.

2007-12-01

This report summarizes the findings from research conducted at NREL to assess the technical potential for zero-energy building technologies and practices to reduce the impact of commercial buildings on the U.S. energy system. Commercial buildings currently account for 18% of annual U.S. energy consumption, and energy use is growing along with overall floor area. Reducing the energy use of this sector will require aggressive research goals and rapid implementation of the research results.

Technical comparison of the commercialized Racon model 21000 Portable, Reconfigurable Line Sensor (PRLS) and original Sandia/USAF prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blattman, D.A.

1993-01-01

The military has been moving from a global strategic response with fixed site asset protection to regional tactical response requirements. This change necessitates high security sensor systems that can be easily relocated and rapidly placed in operation by unskilled operators. The Portable, Reconfigurable Line Sensor (PRLS) was developed by Sandia National Laboratories with United States Air Force funding. Racon, Inc. is now commercializing the PRLS through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) with the United States Air Force. The commercialized design of the new PRLS bi-static radar sensor benefits from the extensive field testing of the original Sandia/USAF-developed engineering prototype systems of the 1980s. Tests conducted in hot, cold, wind, rain, and snow conditions verified exceptional intruder detection capability, resistance to spoofing attempts, and insusceptibility to mutual interference and nuisance alarms caused by birds or small animals. The use of 1990's implementation technology combined with extensive testing information has resulted in significant product performance enhancements as well as cost savings. This paper compares technical features of the original Sandia/USAF prototypes with the new commercialized Racon model 21000 Portable, Reconfigurable Line Sensor. The PRLS advances the art of outdoor security to meet the Relocatable Sensor System (RSS) challenge of the 1990s

Obtention process of phosphorus 32 starting from commercial sulfur and design and construction of the radiochemical separation prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duarte A, C.; Alanis M, J.; Gutierrez R, C.

2002-01-01

In this work an obtention process of phosphorus 32 ( 32 P) in orthophosphoric acid form (H 3 32 PO 4 ) is described starting from commercial sulfur. Also the design and construction of the experimental prototype used in the radiochemical separation and their results in three tests carried out is reported. (Author)

Comparative study of commercial building energy-efficiency retrofit policies in four pilot cities in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou, Jing; Liu, Yisheng; Wu, Yong; Zhou, Nan; Feng, Wei

2016-01-01

The energy efficiency of existing commercial buildings is more challenging to regulate and improve than the energy efficiency of new constructions. In 2011 and 2012, the Chinese Government selected four cities- Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen, and Chongqing- to implement pilot commercial building energy efficiency retrofit program. Based on site surveys and expert interviews in these pilot cities, this research conducted a comparative analysis on incentive policies of local city level. The analysis results show that policy designs of existing commercial buildings should be further improved. The aspects that influence the implementation effect in the future, such as subsidy level, installments, and business model promotion, should be specified in the policy clauses. Referring to the technical solution and cost-benefit in Chongqing, we found that lighting system is the most common retrofit objects while envelope system is the least common one. And the subsidy incentive is greatest for educational buildings, followed by office buildings. In the end, we further discussed the problems and obstacles in commercial building retrofit market, and provided a series of recommendations. - Highlights: • Data and information were collected through site surveys to the four pilot cities. • Policy design and effectiveness in four cities were comparatively analyzed. • Well-designed policy increases market response, energy savings and EMC adoption. • Lighting is the most common retrofit while envelope is the least common one. • Subsidy incentive is greatest for educational buildings due to the utility tariff.

The potential for energy efficiency gains in the Canadian commercial building sector: A stochastic frontier study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buck, J.; Young, D.

2007-01-01

The achievement of energy efficiency in commercial buildings is a function of the activities undertaken, the technology in place, and the extent to which those technologies are used efficiently. We study the factors that affect efficient energy use in the Canadian commercial sector by applying a stochastic frontier approach to a cross-section of Canadian commercial buildings included in the Commercial and Institutional Building Energy Use Survey (CIBEUS). Structural and climate-control features of the buildings as well as climatic conditions are assumed to determine the location of the frontier, while management-related variables including such factors as ownership type and activities govern whether or not the maximally attainable efficiency along the frontier is achieved. Our results indicate that although, on average, buildings appear to be fairly efficient, certain types of operations are more likely than others to exhibit energy efficiencies that are significantly worse than average. These results, along with those related to the effects of physical characteristics on the stochastic efficiency frontier, suggest that there is scope for focused policy initiatives to increase energy efficiency in this sector

Using DOE Commercial Reference Buildings for Simulation Studies: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Field, K.; Deru, M.; Studer, D.

2010-08-01

The U.S. Department of Energy developed 256 EnergyPlus models for use in studies that aim to characterize about 70% of the U.S. commercial building stock. Sixteen building types - including restaurants, health care, schools, offices, supermarkets, retail, lodging, and warehouses - are modeled across 16 cities to represent the diversity of U.S. climate zones. Weighting factors have been developed to combine the models in proportions similar to those of the McGraw-Hill Construction Projects Starts Database for 2003-2007. This paper reviews the development and contents of these models and their applications in simulation studies.

From prototype to product

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Tariq Osman; Bansler, Jørgen P.; Kensing, Finn

2017-01-01

This paper delves into the challenges of engaging patients, clinicians and industry stakeholders in the participatory design of an mHealth platform for patient-clinician collaboration. It follows the process from the development of a research prototype to a commercial software product. In particu......This paper delves into the challenges of engaging patients, clinicians and industry stakeholders in the participatory design of an mHealth platform for patient-clinician collaboration. It follows the process from the development of a research prototype to a commercial software product....... In particular, we draw attention to four major challenges of (a) aligning the different concerns of patients and clinicians, (b) designing according to clinical accountability, (c) ensuring commercial interest, and (d) dealing with regulatory constraints when prototyping safety critical health Information...... Technology. Using four illustrative cases, we discuss what these challenges entail and the implications they pose to Participatory Design. We conclude the paper by presenting lessons learned....

The potential for distributed generation in Japanese prototype buildings: A DER-CAM analysis of policy, tariff design, building energy use, and technology development (English Version)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Nan; Marnay, Chris; Firestone, Ryan; Gao, Weijun; Nishida, Masaru

2004-10-15

global optimization, albeit idealized, that shows how the necessary useful energy loads can be provided for at minimum cost by selection and operation of on-site generation, heat recovery, cooling, and efficiency improvements. This study examines five prototype commercial buildings and uses DER-CAM to select the economically optimal DER system for each. The five building types are office, hospital, hotel, retail, and sports facility. Each building type was considered for both 5,000 and 10,000 square meter floor sizes. The energy consumption of these building types is based on building energy simulation and published literature. Based on the optimization results, energy conservation and the emissions reduction were also evaluated. Furthermore, a comparison study between Japan and the U.S. has been conducted covering the policy, technology and the utility tariffs effects on DER systems installations. This study begins with an examination of existing DER research. Building energy loads were then generated through simulation (DOE-2) and scaled to match available load data in the literature. Energy tariffs in Japan and the U.S. were then compared: electricity prices did not differ significantly, while commercial gas prices in Japan are much higher than in the U.S. For smaller DER systems, the installation costs in Japan are more than twice those in the U.S., but this difference becomes smaller with larger systems. In Japan, DER systems are eligible for a 1/3 rebate of installation costs, while subsidies in the U.S. vary significantly by region and application. For 10,000 m{sup 2} buildings, significant decreases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and energy costs were seen in the economically optimal results. This was most noticeable in the sports facility, followed the hospital and hotel. This research demonstrates that office buildings can benefit from CHP, in contrast to popular opinion. For hospitals and sports facilities, the use of waste heat is particularly

2020 Leadership Agenda for Existing Commercial and Multifamily Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burr, Andrew [Dept. of Energy (DOE), Washington DC (United States). Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Goldthwaite, Carolyn Sarno [Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), Boston, MA (United States). High Performance Buildings; Coffman, Eric [Montgomery County Dept. of General Services, Rockville, MD (United States). Office of Energy and Sustainability

2016-01-21

Leadership by state and local governments is critical to unlock national energy efficiency opportunities and deliver the benefits of efficiency to all Americans. But related to building energy efficiency, what will it mean to be a public sector leader over the next several years? What are the energy efficiency solutions that cities, counties, and states are implementing today that will make their communities more affordable, livable, healthy, and economically competitive? The SEE Action Network 2020 Leadership Agenda for Existing Commercial and Multifamily Buildings establishes a benchmark for state and local government leadership on improving the energy efficiency of buildings and seeks two-way collaboration among state, local, and federal officials. It defines a suite of innovative, yet practical policies and programs for policymakers to consider implementing by 2020, focusing on six important areas.

Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Commercial Building HVAC Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Shandross, Richard [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Young, Jim [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Petritchenko, Oxana [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Ringo, Decker [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); McClive, Sam [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States)

2017-12-01

The Building Technologies Office (BTO) commissioned this characterization and technology assessment of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems for commercial buildings. The main objectives of this study: Identify a wide range of technology options in varying stages of development that could reduce commercial HVAC energy consumption; Characterize these technology options based on their technical energy-savings potential, development status, non-energy benefits, and other factors affecting end-user acceptance and the ability to compete with conventional HVAC technologies; Make specific recommendations to DOE and other stakeholders on potential research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities that would support further development of the most promising technology options.

BizWatts: A modular socio-technical energy management system for empowering commercial building occupants to conserve energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulbinas, R.; Jain, R.K.; Taylor, J.E.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We developed a socio-technical commercial building energy management system. • It was designed for directly engaging and connecting building occupants via feedback. • We collected an array of clickstream data for internal design validation. • A pilot study validated its ability to drive energy savings in commercial buildings. - Abstract: Commercial buildings represent a significant portion of energy consumption and environmental emissions worldwide. To help mitigate the environmental impact of building operations, building energy management systems and behavior-based campaigns designed to reduce energy consumption are becoming increasingly popular. In this paper, we describe the development of a modular socio-technical energy management system, BizWatts, which combines the two approaches by providing real-time, appliance-level power management and socially contextualized energy consumption feedback. We describe in detail the physical and virtual architecture of the system, which simultaneously engages building occupants and facility managers, as well as the main principles behind the interface design and component functionalities. A discussion about how the data collection capabilities of the system enable insightful commercial building energy efficiency studies and quantitative network analysis is also included. We conclude by commenting on the validation of the system, identifying current system limitations and introducing new research avenues that the development and deployment of BizWatts enables

A novel prototyping method for die-level monolithic integration of MEMS above-IC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cicek, Paul-Vahe; Zhang, Qing; Saha, Tanmoy; Mahdavi, Sareh; Allidina, Karim; Gamal, Mourad El; Nabki, Frederic

2013-01-01

This work presents a convenient and versatile prototyping method for integrating surface-micromachined microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) directly above IC electronics, at the die level. Such localized implementation helps reduce development costs associated with the acquisition of full-sized semiconductor wafers. To demonstrate the validity of this method, variants of an IC-compatible surface-micromachining MEMS process are used to build different MEMS devices above a commercial transimpedance amplifier chip. Subsequent functional assessments for both the electronics and the MEMS indicate that the integration is successful, validating the prototyping methodology presented in this work, as well as the suitability of the selected MEMS technology for above-IC integration. (paper)

Start point to savings - Better load demand analysis in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abaravicius, Juozas; Pyrko, Jurek [Lund Univ., Dept of Energy Sciences (Sweden)

2007-07-01

Existing installations and energy systems in most commercial buildings could be used in a more efficient way to provide savings - both in terms of energy and load demand. The key for effective operation is a thorough and detailed analysis of energy use patterns that creates essential baseline for energy savings and the development of demand response (DR) strategies. The knowledge of energy demand variations is still very limited and the use of methods to analyse the load demand is rare. Many utilities have recently installed interval (hourly) metering even for smaller commercial users and households. This is a big step forward; however, experience shows that the data is being used only to a limited extent, mostly for billing purposes only. This paper reports about a study conducted with the objective of developing a detailed load demand analysis for commercial buildings. The study results should provide essential information for the formation and evaluation of future DR and energy efficiency strategies. This study was performed in collaboration with IKEA and E.ON and contributes to an ongoing IKEA energy efficiency programme. Two sample department stores in Sweden were selected and analysed within this project. The demand data analysis covers almost 3 years period, 2004-2006.This study contributes to new knowledge of energy use patterns (load demand) in commercial buildings. It proposes solutions of load-related problems, evaluates energy and load savings potential, identifies and analyses the needs, motives and barriers for participation in DR programmes. The study provides recommendations for ongoing and future efficiency and DR strategies and discusses the potential economic benefits from the DR measures.

Regulation proposal for voluntary energy efficiency labelling of commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamberts, Roberto; Goulart, Solange; Carlo, Joyce; Westphal, Fernando

2006-01-01

Despite of Brazil not being between the major world energy consumers, the consumption of electricity has significantly increased in the late years. The National Energy Balance of 2005, published by the Brazilian Ministry of Energy, showed an increasing of the participation of electricity in the final energy consumption of 15.7% in 2002 to 16.2% in 2004. Initially, a brief review of the initiatives taken by Brazilian Government aiming to limit and control the energy consumption in buildings is presented. Then, the regulation proposal containing the technical requirements to classify the energy efficiency level of buildings is shown. The purpose of this voluntary regulation is to provide conditions to certify the energy efficiency level of Brazilian buildings (commercial and public). It specifies the methods for energy efficiency rating of buildings and includes requirements to attend energy conservation measures in three main issues: lighting system; air conditioning system and envelope. The regulation applies to large buildings (minimum total area of 500 m 2 or when the energy demand is greater than or equal to 2,3 kV, including: Conditioned buildings; Partially conditioned buildings and Naturally ventilated buildings. (author)

Using the fuzzy linear regression method to benchmark the energy efficiency of commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, William

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Fuzzy linear regression method is used for developing benchmarking systems. ► The systems can be used to benchmark energy efficiency of commercial buildings. ► The resulting benchmarking model can be used by public users. ► The resulting benchmarking model can capture the fuzzy nature of input–output data. -- Abstract: Benchmarking systems from a sample of reference buildings need to be developed to conduct benchmarking processes for the energy efficiency of commercial buildings. However, not all benchmarking systems can be adopted by public users (i.e., other non-reference building owners) because of the different methods in developing such systems. An approach for benchmarking the energy efficiency of commercial buildings using statistical regression analysis to normalize other factors, such as management performance, was developed in a previous work. However, the field data given by experts can be regarded as a distribution of possibility. Thus, the previous work may not be adequate to handle such fuzzy input–output data. Consequently, a number of fuzzy structures cannot be fully captured by statistical regression analysis. This present paper proposes the use of fuzzy linear regression analysis to develop a benchmarking process, the resulting model of which can be used by public users. An illustrative example is given as well.

Energy optimization methodology of multi-chiller plant in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thangavelu, Sundar Raj; Myat, Aung; Khambadkone, Ashwin

2017-01-01

This study investigates the potential energy savings in commercial buildings through optimized operation of a multi-chiller plant. The cooling load contributes 45–60% of total power consumption in commercial and office buildings, especially at tropics. The chiller plant operation is not optimal in most of the existing buildings because the chiller plant is either operated at design condition irrespective of the cooling load or optimized locally due to lack of overall chiller plant behavior. In this study, an overall energy model of chiller plant is developed to capture the thermal behavior of all systems and their interactions including the power consumption. An energy optimization methodology is proposed to derive optimized operation decisions for chiller plant at regular intervals based on building thermal load and weather condition. The benefits of proposed energy optimization methodology are examined using case study problems covering different chiller plant configurations. The case studies result confirmed the energy savings achieved through optimized operations is up to 40% for moderate size chiller plant and around 20% for small chiller plant which consequently reduces the energy cost and greenhouse gas emissions. - Highlights: • Energy optimization methodology improves the performance of multi-chiller plant. • Overall energy model of chiller plant accounts all equipment and the interactions. • Operation decisions are derived at regular interval based on time-varying factors. • Three case studies confirmed 20 to 40% of energy savings than conventional method.

Development of whole-building energy design targets for commercial buildings: Phase 1, Planning: Volume 1, Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crawley, D.B.; Briggs, R.S.; Jones, J.W.; Seaton, W.W.; Kaufman, J.E.; Deringer, J.J.; Kennett, E.W.

1987-04-01

This report describes background research for preparation of a plan for development of whole-building energy targets for new commercial buildings. The lead laboratory for this program is the Pacific Northwest Laboratory. A wide variety of expertise and resources from industry, academia, other government entities, and other DOE laboratories are used in planning, reviewing and conducting research activities. Cooperative and complementary research development, and technology transfer activities with other interested organizations are actively pursued.

Review of California and National Methods for Energy PerformanceBenchmarking of Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matson, Nance E.; Piette, Mary Ann

2005-09-05

This benchmarking review has been developed to support benchmarking planning and tool development under discussion by the California Energy Commission (CEC), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and others in response to the Governor's Executive Order S-20-04 (2004). The Executive Order sets a goal of benchmarking and improving the energy efficiency of California's existing commercial building stock. The Executive Order requires the CEC to propose ''a simple building efficiency benchmarking system for all commercial buildings in the state''. This report summarizes and compares two currently available commercial building energy-benchmarking tools. One tool is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Energy Performance Rating System, which is a national regression-based benchmarking model (referred to in this report as Energy Star). The second is Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Cal-Arch, which is a California-based distributional model (referred to as Cal-Arch). Prior to the time Cal-Arch was developed in 2002, there were several other benchmarking tools available to California consumers but none that were based solely on California data. The Energy Star and Cal-Arch benchmarking tools both provide California with unique and useful methods to benchmark the energy performance of California's buildings. Rather than determine which model is ''better'', the purpose of this report is to understand and compare the underlying data, information systems, assumptions, and outcomes of each model.

Ventilation, temperature, and HVAC characteristics in small and medium commercial buildings in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, D H; Fisk, W; Apte, M G; Wu, X; Trout, A; Faulkner, D; Sullivan, D

2012-08-01

This field study of 37 small and medium commercial buildings throughout California obtained information on ventilation rate, temperature, and heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system characteristics. The study included seven retail establishments; five restaurants; eight offices; two each of gas stations, hair salons, healthcare facilities, grocery stores, dental offices, and fitness centers; and five other buildings. Fourteen (38%) of the buildings either could not or did not provide outdoor air through the HVAC system. The air exchange rate averaged 1.6 (s.d. = 1.7) exchanges per hour and was similar between buildings with and without outdoor air supplied through the HVAC system, indicating that some buildings have significant leakage or ventilation through open windows and doors. Not all buildings had sufficient air exchange to meet ASHRAE 62.1 Standards, including buildings used for fitness centers, hair salons, offices, and retail establishments. The majority of the time, buildings were within the ASHRAE temperature comfort range. Offices were frequently overcooled in the summer. All of the buildings had filters, but over half the buildings had a filter with a minimum efficiency reporting value rating of 4 or lower, which are not very effective for removing fine particles. Most U.S. commercial buildings (96%) are small- to medium-sized, using nearly 18% of the country's energy, and sheltering a large population daily. Little is known about the ventilation systems in these buildings. This study found a wide variety of ventilation conditions, with many buildings failing to meet relevant ventilation standards. Regulators may want to consider implementing more complete building inspections at commissioning and point of sale. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

An Examination of the Performance Based Building Code on the Design of a Commercial Building

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Greenwood

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The Building Code of Australia (BCA is the principal code under which building approvals in Australia are assessed. The BCA adopted performance-based solutions for building approvals in 1996. Performance-based codes are based upon a set of explicit objectives, stated in terms of a hierarchy of requirements beginning with key general objectives. With this in mind, the research presented in this paper aims to analyse the impact of the introduction of the performance-based code within Western Australia to gauge the effect and usefulness of alternative design solutions in commercial construction using a case study project. The research revealed that there are several advantages to the use of alternative designs and that all parties, in general, are in favour of the performance-based building code of Australia. It is suggested that change in the assessment process to streamline the alternative design path is needed for the greater use of the performance-based alternative. With appropriate quality control measures, minor variations to the deemed-to-satisfy provisions could easily be managed by the current and future building surveying profession.

Design of micro-reactors and solar photocatalytic prototypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores E, R.M.; Hernandez H, M.; Perusquia del Cueto, M.R.; Bonifacio M, J.; Jimenez B, J.; Ortiz O, H.B.; Castaneda J, G.; Lugo H, M.

2007-01-01

In the ININ is carried out research in heterogeneous photocatalysis using artificial light for to degrade organic compounds. In this context, it is sought to use the solar radiation as energy source to knock down costs. Of equal form it requires to link the basic and applied research. For it, a methodology that allows to design and to build micro-reactors and plants pilot has been developed, like previous step, to request external supports and to a future commercialization. The beginning of these works gave place to the partial construction of a prototype of photocatalytic reactor of the cylinder-parabolic composed type (CPC)

Close encounters of the prototype kind

CERN Multimedia

2005-01-01

CERN is building a new control centre for the operation of its entire accelerator complex and technical infrastructure. The prototype console for the new centre has just been installed and tested. Close encounters of the prototype kind CERN is building a new control centre for the operation of its entire accelerator complex and technical infrastructure. The prototype console for the new centre has just been installed and tested. The prototype of the control consoles that will be at the heart of the future CERN Control Centre (CCC) has just been installed in the Roy Billinge Room in Building 354. Until now, there have been four separate control rooms for the CERN accelerators and technical infrastructure. The CCC, which will be located on the Prévessin site, will bring them all together in a single room. The Centre will consist of 40 consoles for four different areas (LHC, SPS, PS complex and technical infrastructure). The prototype was tested by the technicians for a month. Following installation and con...

Job/Task Analysis: Enhancing the Commercial Building Workforce Through the Development of Foundational Materials; Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Studer, D.; Kemkar, S.

2012-09-01

For many commercial building operation job categories, industry consensus has not been reached on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that practitioners should possess. The goal of this guidance is to help streamline the minimum competencies taught or tested by organizations catering to building operations and maintenance personnel while providing a basis for developing and comparing new and existing training programs in the commercial building sector. The developed JTAs will help individuals identify opportunities to enhance their professional skills, enable industry to identify an appropriately skilled workforce, and allow training providers to ensure that they are providing the highest quality product possible.

Valuation of Green Commercial Office Building: A Preliminary Study of Malaysian Valuers' Insight

OpenAIRE

Tuti Haryati Jasimin; Hishamuddin Mohd Ali

2015-01-01

Malaysia's green building development is gaining momentum and green buildings have become a key focus area, especially within the commercial sector with the encouragement of government legislation and policy. Due to the emerging awareness among the market players' views of the benefits associated with the ownership of green buildings in Malaysia, there is a need for valuers to incorporate consideration of sustainability into their assessments of property market value to e...

Software-Defined Solutions for Managing Energy Use in Small to Medium Sized Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peffer, Therese [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), Portland, ME (United States); Blumstein, Carl [Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), Portland, ME (United States); Culler, David [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS); Modera, Mark [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC); Meier, Alan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2015-09-10

The Project uses state-of-the-art computer science to extend the benefits of Building Automation Systems (BAS) typically found in large buildings (>100,000 square foot) to medium-sized commercial buildings (<50,000 sq ft). The BAS developed in this project, termed OpenBAS, uses an open-source and open software architecture platform, user interface, and plug-and-play control devices to facilitate adoption of energy efficiency strategies in the commercial building sector throughout the United States. At the heart of this “turn key” BAS is the platform with three types of controllers—thermostat, lighting controller, and general controller—that are easily “discovered” by the platform in a plug-and-play fashion. The user interface showcases the platform and provides the control system set-up, system status display and means of automatically mapping the control points in the system.

A review study of maintenance and management issues in Malaysian commercial building towards sustainable future practice

Science.gov (United States)

Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Baharum, Faizal; Ibrahim, Siti Halipah; Riazi, Salman Riazi Mehdi

2017-10-01

Good management of the building will be able to influence the quality of the buildings that remain long, safe and beautiful without any damage and problems. This research paper aims to explore the issue of maintenance and management that appear in managing the commercial building in Malaysian construction and property industry. The data in this research has been gathered through the reviewing process of secondary data such as journals, proceeding, thesis etc. in the area that related to maintenance and management issue in commercial building. As highlighted by previous study, building a good management can ensure that the facilities available in the building are well and meet the standard. Thus, exposure to the problems and needs in the management of the building would be able to improve the quality of building management systems to be more effective and fulfil the client needs and features.

Measurement Issues for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings: Productivity and Performance Uncertainties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, D.W.

2002-05-16

In previous reports, we have identified two potentially important issues, solutions to which would increase the attractiveness of DOE-developed technologies in commercial buildings energy systems. One issue concerns the fact that in addition to saving energy, many new technologies offer non-energy benefits that contribute to building productivity (firm profitability). The second issue is that new technologies are typically unproven in the eyes of decision makers and must bear risk premiums that offset cost advantages resulting from laboratory calculations. Even though a compelling case can be made for the importance of these issues, for building decision makers to incorporate them in business decisions and for DOE to use them in R&D program planning there must be robust empirical evidence of their existence and size. This paper investigates how such measurements could be made and offers recommendations as to preferred options. There is currently little systematic information on either of these concepts in the literature. Of the two there is somewhat more information on non-energy benefits, but little as regards office buildings. Office building productivity impacts can be observed casually, but must be estimated statistically, because buildings have many interacting attributes and observations based on direct behavior can easily confuse the process of attribution. For example, absenteeism can be easily observed. However, absenteeism may be down because a more healthy space conditioning system was put into place, because the weather was milder, or because firm policy regarding sick days had changed. There is also a general dearth of appropriate information for purposes of estimation. To overcome these difficulties, we propose developing a new data base and applying the technique of hedonic price analysis. This technique has been used extensively in the analysis of residential dwellings. There is also a literature on its application to commercial and industrial

Strategies for Controlling Plug Loads. A Tool for Reducing Plug Loads in Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torcellini, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bonnema, Eric [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sheppy, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pless, Shanti [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-09-01

Plug loads are often not considered as part of the energy savings measures in Commercial Buildings; however, they can account for up to 50% of the energy used in the building. These loads are numerous and often scattered throughout a building. Some of these loads are purchased by the owner and some designed into the building or the tenant finishes for a space. This document provides a strategy and a tool for minimizing these loads.

Saving energy by using underfloor-air-distribution (UFAD) system in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alajmi, Ali; El-Amer, Wid

2010-01-01

The number of attempts by researchers to reduce building energy consumption has increased, ever since global warming became a serious issue. In this trend, a relatively new approach of air distribution, underfloor-air-distribution system (UFAD), has been widely used in new commercial buildings. This technique is simply accomplished by supplying air through a raised floor using different types of distribution configurations and outlets. In UFAD, the air is directly supplied to the occupants' area (occupied zone) causing occupants plumes and zone heat load stratify to the upper layer of the zone (unoccupied zone), which are later extracted from return points at high level. This flow pattern gives UFAD the advantage of using less energy than a conventional air-distribution system, ceiling-based air distribution (CBAD) due to lower pressure drop and lower air flow rate. This paper investigates the effectiveness of UFAD systems in commercial buildings for various types of application and at different air supply temperatures in a hot climate (The State of Kuwait). The findings show that UFAD has a significant saving of energy compared to CBAD (∼30%); in particular with high ceiling building types, as well as providing satisfactory comfort conditions for the occupants. Ultimately, more investigations should be done on conventional building heights (offices) to optimize the utilization of thermal stratification at design and operation stages.

Space Heaters, Computers, Cell Phone Chargers: How Plugged In AreCommercial Buildings?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez, Marla; Webber, Carrie; Brown, Richard; Busch, John; Pinckard, Margaret; Roberson, Judy

2007-02-28

Evidenceof electric plug loads in commercial buildings isvisible everyday: space heaters, portable fans, and the IT technician'stwo monitors connected to one PC. The Energy Information Administrationestimates that office and miscellaneous equipment together will consume2.18 quads in 2006, nearly 50 percent of U.S. commercial electricity use.Although the importance of commercial plug loads is documented, its verynature (diverse product types, products not installed when buildinginitially constructed, and products often hidden in closets) makes itdifficult to accurately count and categorize the end use.We auditedsixteen buildings in three cities (San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh)including office, medical and education building types. We inventoriedthe number and types of office and miscellaneous electric equipment aswell as estimated total energy consumption due to these product types. Intotal, we audited approximately 4,000 units of office equipment and 6,000units of miscellaneous equipment and covered a diverse range of productsranging from electric pencil sharpeners with a unit energy consumption(UEC) of 1 kWh/yr to a kiln with a UEC of 7,000 kWh/yr. Our paperpresents a summary of the density and type of plug load equipment foundas well as the estimated total energy consumption of the equipment.Additionally, we present equipment trends observed and provide insightsto how policy makers can target energy efficiency for this growing enduse.

Characterization of changes in commercial building structure, equipment, and occupants: End-Use Load and Consumer Assessment Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lucas, R.G.; Taylor, Z.T.; Miller, N.E.; Pratt, R.G.

1990-12-01

Changes in commercial building structure, equipment, and occupants result in changes in building energy use. The frequency and magnitude of those changes have substantial implications for conservation programs and resource planning. For example, changes may shorten the useful lifetime of a conservation measure as well as impact the savings from that measure. This report summarizes the frequency of changes in a commercial building sample that was end-use metered under the End-Use Load and Consumer Assessment Program (ELCAP). The sample includes offices, dry good retails, groceries, restaurants, warehouses, schools, and hotels. Two years of metered data, site visit records, and audit data were examined for evidence of building changes. The observed changes were then classified into 12 categories, which included business type, equipment, remodel, vacancy, and operating schedule. The analysis characterized changes in terms of frequency of types of change; relationship to building vintage and floor area; and variation by building type. The analysis also examined the energy impacts of various changes. The analysis determined that the rate of change in commercial buildings is high--50% of the buildings experienced one type of change during the 2 years for which monitoring data were examined. Equipment changes were found to be most frequent in offices and retail stores. Larger, older office buildings tend to experience a wider variety of changes more frequently than the smaller, newer buildings. Key findings and observations are presented in Section 2. Section 3 provides the underlying motivation and objectives. In Section 4, the methodology used is documented, including the commercial building sample and the data sources used. Included are the definitions of change events and the overall approach taken. Results are analyzed in Section 5, with additional technical details in Appendixes. 2 refs., 46 figs., 22 tabs. (JF)

Residential and commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svendsen, Svend; Furbo, S.

2012-11-15

Low-energy buildings can make a major contribution to general sustainable development by providing a solution to problems related to the use of fossil fuels. The EPBD (EU Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings) requirements that by 2020 new building shall be constructed to use nearly zero energy, and no fossil fuels, can be accomplished by combining low-energy buildings with renewable energy via low-temperature district heating in cities and suburbs, and via heat pumps for low-density settlements. Based on experience with passive houses, low-energy buildings meeting the energy performance requirements of 2020 are expected to cost only a few percent more than conventional buildings. The very large and rapid changes needed in the energy performance of buildings is a challenge for the building sector, but one that can be overcome by better methods of developing products and designing, constructing and operating buildings. Simulation-based analysis and optimisation, and considerations of durability, will be important here. Building may thus be transformed from an experience-based sector to one based on knowledge and research, with high-quality sustainable products and good business opportunities. (Author)

Solution Prototype

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Efeoglu, Arkin; Møller, Charles; Serie, Michel

2013-01-01

This paper outlines an artifact building and evaluation proposal. Design Science Research (DSR) studies usually consider encapsulated artifact that have relationships with other artifacts. The solution prototype as a composed artifact demands for a more comprehensive consideration in its systematic...... environment. The solution prototype that is composed from blending product and service prototype has particular impacts on the dualism of DSR’s “Build” and “Evaluate”. Since the mix between product and service prototyping can be varied, there is a demand for a more agile and iterative framework. Van de Ven......’s research framework seems to fit this purpose. Van de Ven allows for an iterative research approach to problem solving with flexible starting point. The research activity is the result between the iteration of two dimensions. This framework focuses on the natural evaluation, particularly on ex...

Development of an Online Toolkit for Measuring Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Performance -- Scoping Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Na

2013-03-13

This study analyzes the market needs for building performance evaluation tools. It identifies the existing gaps and provides a roadmap for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a toolkit with which to optimize energy performance of a commercial building over its life cycle.

LEARNING FROM COMMERCIAL VERNACULAR BUILDING TYPES: A NORTH AMERICAN CASE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen Verderber

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A substantial literature exists on commercial vernacular architecture in North America. This literature has examined everyday places and iconic building types including suburbia, roadside motels, vintage diners, fast food franchises, residential trailer parks, signage, unique commercial establishments, and shopping malls. These places and buildings are generally classified as expressions of folk vernacular culture. In response, Attention Restoration Theory, an environmental cognition perspective based in human information processing research, provided the foundation for an investigation of the food truck/ trailer and its immediate installation context within a North American case study context. Visual documentation, interviews, and archival fieldwork provided the basis for the articulation of a typology. These structures were found to express automaticity, as satisfying the timeless human preference for association with nature, a sense of psychological respite, and as a physical setting visually distinct from its larger urban environment context. Directions for future research on this topic are outlined together with insights for application by architects and urban planners.

Building the Commercial Education Professional Competency Profile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Araya-Muñoz

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a complete description of the Commercial Education Professional Competency Profile that resulted from the curricular diagnosis of the Licenciatura en Educación Comercial , at the Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.  The methodological strategy used relies on the principles of research on education. Upon expert validation, written questionnaires were applied to first-year students, students of the licenciatura, practicing professionals and employers. The objective was to describe a particular education situation. Data was analyzed according to two categories: intentions/principles and scope/development. The findings resulted in the characteristics of the Commercial Education professionals, i.e. characteristics related to the discipline, characteristics related to the administrative management of teaching, specific and general characteristics of education and pedagogy, and characteristics associated to human development. Based on those criteria, on the curricular requirements of the information sources and on the curricular perspectives of the Academic Unit, ideas were put into practice to build the competency profile. The ideas proposed comprise the curricular fundamentals of the educational project on which the profile is set out, which include the subject of the study program, the global competency or training goal, the generic competencies as cross-cutting approaches, as well as the –pedagogical and disciplinary− specific competencies. The specific competencies of the discipline are focused on four competency areas: document production, organizational support, technological resources and information management. (1 Translator’s Note: One-year post-Bachelor study program in Commercial Education.

Lux level enhancement and reduction in electricity cost in commercial buildings by retrofitting with PMR luminaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mariun, N.; Mohibullah; Jasni, J.; Lam, S.Y.

2006-01-01

Most of the existing commercial buildings are illuminated by luminaries systems during broad daylight and night which is provided by the renowned lighting industry. However, back in 1980s, the installed luminaries within the office compound were limited in choice of luminaire selection and cost factor impact. Some of the old commercial building are still using prismatic acrylic lens diffuser luminaries in order to brighten up the building for their business activities and a large number of luminaries are needed to illuminate equivalent illumination level as per requirement of the building bye-laws code. With the advancement in luminaries technology, the lighting industries have offered better solution to reduce energy costs by 50% or more, also able to improve the quality of light and reducing the quantity of luminaries requirement by introducing the parabolic mirror reflector (PMR) luminaries system. The selected commercial building as a case study to support this luminaries retrofitting program by comparing the existing luminaries with the retrofit luminaries in terms of the lux measurement and energy cost saving calculation is presented in this paper. Nevertheless, some general lighting design principle rules are also discussed

A Statistical Analysis of the Economic Drivers of Battery Energy Storage in Commercial Buildings: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Long, Matthew; Simpkins, Travis; Cutler, Dylan; Anderson, Katie

2016-11-01

There is significant interest in using battery energy storage systems (BESS) to reduce peak demand charges, and therefore the life cycle cost of electricity, in commercial buildings. This paper explores the drivers of economic viability of BESS in commercial buildings through statistical analysis. A sample population of buildings was generated, a techno-economic optimization model was used to size and dispatch the BESS, and the resulting optimal BESS sizes were analyzed for relevant predictor variables. Explanatory regression analyses were used to demonstrate that peak demand charges are the most significant predictor of an economically viable battery, and that the shape of the load profile is the most significant predictor of the size of the battery.

Commercial mitigation techniques used in remediating a 2200 pCi/L public building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, J.G.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on commercial mitigation techniques used in remediating a 2200 pCi/L public building. In March of 1989 EPA and Pa. DER officials were amazed to discover a school in Pennsylvania with levels in its library of 2200 pCi/L. The library was a 30 year old, three story slab-on-grade structure more like a commercial building than a typical school structure. It had three separate and complex HVAC systems. Initial diagnostics indicated radon levels under the slab at over 80,000 pCi/L. Further investigations revealed major entry routes and a HVAC system terribly out of balance. Remediation consisted of installing a complex sub-slab depressurization system with an exterior commercial fan unit, major entry route sealing, and working closely with a mechanical contractor to bring the HVAC systems back into balance. Initial post remediation testing showed a 99% drop in radon levels. Refinements to the system are still in progress

Building communities and social potential: Between and beyond organizations and individuals in commercial properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janda, Kathryn B.

2014-01-01

Axon et al., (2012) argue that maximizing the potential for energy efficiency and demand reduction in tenanted commercial properties requires a “building communities” approach. This paper develops and extends Axon et al.′s proposed framework in two ways. First, by extending its applicability from tenanted to owner-occupied properties. Second, by situating it within the literature related to organizational culture, occupant behaviours, and technology adoption. The paper begins with a brief review of the existing research on people, energy and commercial buildings. This literature tends to address either organizational choices, or occupant behavior, but it rarely crosses the analytical boundaries between these two groups. The paper then explores these different levels of analysis within a 3Cs – “concern, capacity, and conditions” – framework, which was developed to describe and distinguish organizational responses to an energy crisis. The combination of the “building communities” and 3Cs frames reveals gaps and grey areas between organizational culture, occupant behaviour, and technology adoption where further conservation opportunities may lie. These understudied areas suggest that there may be “social potential” for change that is between and beyond the frames used by previous research in the field. - Highlights: • We discuss literature on occupant behaviour and organisational factors in commercial buildings. • We introduce two frameworks drawn from previous research: “3Cs” (concern, capacity, and conditions) and “building communities”. • Gaps in the literature call for a “building communities” approach to the 3Cs, which we recommend for near-term research. • We introduce the concept of “social potential” as a counterpoint to technical potential for longer-term research

A progress report of the switch-based data acquisition system prototype project and the application of switches from industry to high-energy physics event building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barsotti, E.; Booth, A.; Bowden, M.; Swoboda, C.

1990-01-01

A prototype of a data acquisition system based on a new scalable, highly-parallel, open-system architecture is being developed at Fermilab. The major component of the new architecture, the parallel event builder, is based on a telecommunications industry technique used in the implementation of switching systems, a barrel-shift switch. The architecture is scalable both in the expandability of the number of input channels and in the throughput of the system. Because of its scalability, the system is well suited for low to high-rate experiments, test beams and all SSC detectors. The architecture is open in that as new technologies are developed and made into commercial products (e.g., arrays of processors and workstations and standard data links), these new products can be easily integrated into the system with minimal system modifications and no modifications to the system's basic architecture. Scalability and openness should guarantee that the data acquisition system does not become obsolete during the lifetime of the experiment. The paper first gives a description of the architecture and the prototype project and then details both the prototype project's software and hardware status including details of some architecture simulation studies. Suggestions for future R and D work on the new data acquisition system architecture are then described. The paper concludes by examining interconnection networks from industry and their application to event building and to other areas of high-energy physics data acquisition systems

The Power of Flexibility: Autonomous Agents That Conserve Energy in Commercial Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Kwak, Jun-young

Agent-based systems for energy conservation are now a growing area of research in multiagent systems, with applications ranging from energy management and control on the smart grid, to energy conservation in residential buildings, to energy generation and dynamic negotiations in distributed rural communities. Contributing to this area, my thesis presents new agent-based models and algorithms aiming to conserve energy in commercial buildings. More specifically, my thesis provides three sets of algorithmic contributions. First, I provide online predictive scheduling algorithms to handle massive numbers of meeting/event scheduling requests considering flexibility , which is a novel concept for capturing generic user constraints while optimizing the desired objective. Second, I present a novel BM-MDP ( Bounded-parameter Multi-objective Markov Decision Problem) model and robust algorithms for multi-objective optimization under uncertainty both at the planning and execution time. The BM-MDP model and its robust algorithms are useful in (re)scheduling events to achieve energy efficiency in the presence of uncertainty over user's preferences. Third, when multiple users contribute to energy savings, fair division of credit for such savings to incentivize users for their energy saving activities arises as an important question. I appeal to cooperative game theory and specifically to the concept of Shapley value for this fair division. Unfortunately, scaling up this Shapley value computation is a major hindrance in practice. Therefore, I present novel approximation algorithms to efficiently compute the Shapley value based on sampling and partitions and to speed up the characteristic function computation. These new models have not only advanced the state of the art in multiagent algorithms, but have actually been successfully integrated within agents dedicated to energy efficiency: SAVES, TESLA and THINC. SAVES focuses on the day-to-day energy consumption of individuals and

Thermal energy storage for cooling of commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akbari, H. (Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)); Mertol, A. (Science Applications International Corp., Los Altos, CA (USA))

1988-07-01

The storage of coolness'' has been in use in limited applications for more than a half century. Recently, because of high electricity costs during utilities' peak power periods, thermal storage for cooling has become a prime target for load management strategies. Systems with cool storage shift all or part of the electricity requirement from peak to off-peak hours to take advantage of reduced demand charges and/or off-peak rates. Thermal storage technology applies equally to industrial, commercial, and residential sectors. In the industrial sector, because of the lack of economic incentives and the custom design required for each application, the penetration of this technology has been limited to a few industries. The penetration rate in the residential sector has been also very limited due to the absence of economic incentives, sizing problems, and the lack of compact packaged systems. To date, the most promising applications of these systems, therefore, appear to be for commercial cooling. In this report, the current and potential use of thermal energy storage systems for cooling commercial buildings is investigated. In addition, a general overview of the technology is presented and the applicability and cost-effectiveness of this technology for developed and developing countries are discussed. 28 refs., 12 figs., 1 tab.

Development and Test of a Prototype 100MVA Superconducting Generator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fogarty, James M.; Bray, James W.

2007-05-25

In 2002, General Electric and the US Department of Energy (DOE) entered into a cooperative agreement for the development of a commercialized 100 MVA generator using high temperature superconductors (HTS) in the field winding. The intent of the program was to: • Identify and develop technologies that would be needed for such a generator. • Develop conceptual designs for generators with ratings of 100 MVA and higher using HTS technology. • Perform proof of concept tests at the 1.5 MW level for GE’s proprietary warm iron rotor HTS generator concept. • Design, build, and test a prototype of a commercially viable 100 MVA generator that could be placed on the power grid. This report summarizes work performed during the program and is provided as one of the final program deliverables.

Findings from Seven Years of Field Performance Data for Automated Demand Response in Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiliccote, Sila; Piette, Mary Ann; Mathieu, Johanna; Parrish, Kristen

2010-05-14

California is a leader in automating demand response (DR) to promote low-cost, consistent, and predictable electric grid management tools. Over 250 commercial and industrial facilities in California participate in fully-automated programs providing over 60 MW of peak DR savings. This paper presents a summary of Open Automated DR (OpenADR) implementation by each of the investor-owned utilities in California. It provides a summary of participation, DR strategies and incentives. Commercial buildings can reduce peak demand from 5 to 15percent with an average of 13percent. Industrial facilities shed much higher loads. For buildings with multi-year savings we evaluate their load variability and shed variability. We provide a summary of control strategies deployed, along with costs to install automation. We report on how the electric DR control strategies perform over many years of events. We benchmark the peak demand of this sample of buildings against their past baselines to understand the differences in building performance over the years. This is done with peak demand intensities and load factors. The paper also describes the importance of these data in helping to understand possible techniques to reach net zero energy using peak day dynamic control capabilities in commercial buildings. We present an example in which the electric load shape changed as a result of a lighting retrofit.

16 CFR 1633.4 - Prototype testing requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prototype testing requirements. 1633.4... STANDARD FOR THE FLAMMABILITY (OPEN FLAME) OF MATTRESS SETS The Standard § 1633.4 Prototype testing... three specimens of each prototype to be tested according to § 1633.7 and obtain passing test results...

Automated Demand Response Technology Demonstration Project for Small and Medium Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Page, Janie; Kiliccote, Sila; Dudley, Junqiao Han; Piette, Mary Ann; Chiu, Albert K.; Kellow, Bashar; Koch, Ed; Lipkin, Paul

2011-07-01

Small and medium commercial customers in California make up about 20-25% of electric peak load in California. With the roll out of smart meters to this customer group, which enable granular measurement of electricity consumption, the investor-owned utilities will offer dynamic prices as default tariffs by the end of 2011. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which successfully deployed Automated Demand Response (AutoDR) Programs to its large commercial and industrial customers, started investigating the same infrastructures application to the small and medium commercial customers. This project aims to identify available technologies suitable for automating demand response for small-medium commercial buildings; to validate the extent to which that technology does what it claims to be able to do; and determine the extent to which customers find the technology useful for DR purpose. Ten sites, enabled by eight vendors, participated in at least four test AutoDR events per site in the summer of 2010. The results showed that while existing technology can reliably receive OpenADR signals and translate them into pre-programmed response strategies, it is likely that better levels of load sheds could be obtained than what is reported here if better understanding of the building systems were developed and the DR response strategies had been carefully designed and optimized for each site.

16 CFR 1633.5 - Prototype pooling and confirmation testing requirements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Prototype pooling and confirmation testing... Prototype pooling and confirmation testing requirements. (a) Prototype pooling. One or more manufacturers may rely on a qualified prototype produced by another manufacturer or prototype developer provided...

Optimization and Performance Study of Select Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technologies for Commercial Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Kamal, Rajeev

Buildings contribute a significant part to the electricity demand profile and peak demand for the electrical utilities. The addition of renewable energy generation adds additional variability and uncertainty to the power system. Demand side management in the buildings can help improve the demand profile for the utilities by shifting some of the demand from peak to off-peak times. Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning contribute around 45% to the overall demand of a building. This research studies two strategies for reducing the peak as well as shifting some demand from peak to off-peak periods in commercial buildings: 1. Use of gas heat pumps in place of electric heat pumps, and 2. Shifting demand for air conditioning from peak to off-peak by thermal energy storage in chilled water and ice. The first part of this study evaluates the field performance of gas engine-driven heat pumps (GEHP) tested in a commercial building in Florida. Four GEHP units of 8 Tons of Refrigeration (TR) capacity each providing air-conditioning to seven thermal zones in a commercial building, were instrumented for measuring their performance. The operation of these GEHPs was recorded for ten months, analyzed and compared with prior results reported in the literature. The instantaneous COPunit of these systems varied from 0.1 to 1.4 during typical summer week operation. The COP was low because the gas engines for the heat pumps were being used for loads that were much lower than design capacity which resulted in much lower efficiencies than expected. The performance of equivalent electric heat pump was simulated from a building energy model developed to mimic the measured building loads. An economic comparison of GEHPs and conventional electrical heat pumps was done based on the measured and simulated results. The average performance of the GEHP units was estimated to lie between those of EER-9.2 and EER-11.8 systems. The performance of GEHP systems suffers due to lower efficiency at

Development of a methodology for defining whole-building energy design targets for commercial buildings: Phase 2, Development concept stage report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, J.W. (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc., Atlanta, GA (USA)); Deringer, J.J. (Deringer Group, Riva, MD (USA)); Hall, J.D. (American Inst. of Architects, Washington, DC (USA)) (comps.)

1990-09-01

The Whole-Building Energy Design Targets project is being conducted for the US Department of Energy (DOE) by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The objective of the project is to develop a flexible methodology for setting energy performance guidelines with which architects, engineers, planners, and owners can assess energy efficiency in commercial building design. This volume, the third in the four-volume report on the Targets project concept stage, contains the minutes of the workshops as well as summaries of the expert's written comments prepared at the close of each workshop. In Section 2, the building energy simulation workshop is summarized. Section 3 provides a summary of the building cost workshop.

Implementation of life cycle costing for a commercial building: case of a residential apartment at Yogyakarta

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaming Peter F

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Analysis of a design process is very important in controlling the initial costs and future costs in possession of an investment project such as commercial building. Therefore, it should be wise to perform a life cycle cost analysis to determine the cost of any category contained in future cost of the building. The analysis also provide information to see how much the total cost incurred by a development project from initial to the future cost by implementing BS ISO 15686 part 5: 2008, regarding life cycle costing. The purpose of this study is to identify the cost proportion and make long-term plans of a commercial building in term of its life cycle costing from a case of a residential apartment in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Results of the study show that there are three groups that make up the life cycle cost: the cost of development of the building, the operating costs, and the cost of maintenance and replacement. For a long-term plan the life cycle cost for 25 years the percentage obtained as follows, initial development cost of 42%, operational costs 39%, maintenance and replacement costs 19%. The results would also make comparison with other existing commercial buildings.

Development of whole-building energy design targets for commercial buildings: Phase 1, Planning: Volume 2, Technical report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crawley, D.B.; Briggs, R.S.; Jones, J.W.; Seaton, W.W.; Kaufman, J.E.; Deringer, J.J.; Kennett, E.W.

1987-08-01

This is the second volume of the Phase 1 report and discusses the 10 tasks performed in Phase 1. The objective of this research is to develop a methodology for setting energy design targets to provide voluntary guidelines for the buildings industry. The whole-building energy targets project is being conducted at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to encourage the construction of energy-efficient buildings by informing designers and owners about cost-effective goals for energy use in new commercial buildings. The outcome of this research will be a flexible methodology for setting such targets. The tasks are listed and discussed in this report as follows: Task 1 - Develop Detailed Project Goals and Objectives; Task 2 - Establish Buildings-Industry Liaison; Task 3 - Develop Approaches to the Energy Targets Model, Building Operations, and Climate; Task 4 - Develop an Approach for Treating Economic Considerations; Task 5 - Develop an Approach for Treating Energy Sources; Task 6 - Collect Energy-Use Data; Task 7 - Survey Energy Expert Opinion; Task 8 - Evaluation Procedure Specification and Integration; Task 9 - Phase 1 Report Development; and Task 10 - Phase 1 Review Planning.

Comparison of Standard 90.1-2007 and the 2009 IECC with Respect to Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conover, David R.; Bartlett, Rosemarie; Halverson, Mark A.

2009-12-11

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) has been asked by some states and energy code stakeholders to address the comparability of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code® (IECC) as applied to commercial buildings and ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 (hereinafter referred to as Standard 90.1-07). An assessment of comparability will help states respond to and implement conditions specified in the State Energy Program (SEP) Formula Grants American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding Opportunity, Number DE-FOA-0000052, and eliminate the need for the states individually or collectively to perform comparative studies of the 2009 IECC and Standard 90.1-07. The funding opportunity announcement contains the following conditions: (2) The State, or the applicable units of local government that have authority to adopt building codes, will implement the following: (A) A residential building energy code (or codes) that meets or exceeds the most recent International Energy Conservation Code, or achieves equivalent or greater energy savings. (B) A commercial building energy code (or codes) throughout the State that meets or exceeds the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, or achieves equivalent or greater energy savings . (C) A plan to achieve 90 percent compliance with the above energy codes within eight years. This plan will include active training and enforcement programs and annual measurement of the rate of compliance. With respect to item (B) above, many more states, regardless of the edition date, directly adopt the IECC than Standard 90.1-07. This is predominately because the IECC is a model code and part of a coordinated set of model building codes that state and local government have historically adopted to regulate building design and construction. This report compares the 2009 IECC to Standard 90.1-07 with the intent of helping states address whether the adoption and application of the 2009 IECC for commercial

Field Experience with and Potential for Multi-time Scale Grid Transactions from Responsive Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piette, Mary Ann; Kiliccote, Sila; Ghatikar, Girish

2014-08-01

The need for and concepts behind demand response are evolving. As the electric system changes with more intermittent renewable electric supply systems, there is a need to allow buildings to provide more flexible demand. This paper presents results from field studies and pilots, as well as engineering estimates of the potential capabilities of fast load responsiveness in commercial buildings. We present a sector wide analysis of flexible loads in commercial buildings, which was conducted to improve resource planning and determine which loads to evaluate in future demonstrations. These systems provide important capabilities for future transactional systems. The field analysis is based on results from California, plus projects in the northwest and east coast. End-uses considered include heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting. The timescales of control include day-ahead, as well as day-of, 10-minute ahead and even faster response. This technology can provide DR signals on different times scales to interact with responsive building loads. We describe the latency of the control systems in the building and the round trip communications with the wholesale grid operators.

The Minimum Impact House : Applications of the Frankfurt Prototype for sustainable building in Cities of the European Rhine Region

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drexler, H.; Jauslin, D.; Curiel, F.

2010-01-01

The Minimum Impact House in Frankfurt am Main is a sustainable solution for low cost living within city centers - a prototype typology with minimal footprint, built on a leftover urban space. The planning process itself became part of a scientific study. The ecological advantages of building in the

PEAR: Prototyping Expressive Animated Robots - A framework for social robot prototyping

OpenAIRE

Balit , Etienne; Vaufreydaz , Dominique; Reignier , Patrick

2018-01-01

International audience; Social robots are transitioning from lab experiments to commercial products, creating new needs for proto-typing and design tools. In this paper, we present a framework to facilitate the prototyping of expressive animated robots. For this, we start by reviewing the design of existing social robots in order to define a set of basic components of social robots. We then show how to extend an existing 3D animation software to enable the animation of these components. By co...

Web-based energy information systems for energy management and demand response in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Motegi, Naoya; Piette, Mary Ann; Kinney, Satkartar; Herter, Karen

2003-04-18

Energy Information Systems (EIS) for buildings are becoming widespread in the U.S., with more companies offering EIS products every year. As a result, customers are often overwhelmed by the quickly expanding portfolio of EIS feature and application options, which have not been clearly identified for consumers. The object of this report is to provide a technical overview of currently available EIS products. In particular, this report focuses on web-based EIS products for large commercial buildings, which allow data access and control capabilities over the Internet. EIS products combine software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems to collect, analyze and display building information to aid commercial building energy managers, facility managers, financial managers and electric utilities in reducing energy use and costs in buildings. Data types commonly processed by EIS include energy consumption data; building characteristics; building system data, such as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) and lighting data; weather data; energy price signals; and energy demand-response event information. This project involved an extensive review of research and trade literature to understand the motivation for EIS technology development. This study also gathered information on currently commercialized EIS. This review is not an exhaustive analysis of all EIS products; rather, it is a technical framework and review of current products on the market. This report summarizes key features available in today's EIS, along with a categorization framework to understand the relationship between EIS, Energy Management and Control Systems (EMCSs), and similar technologies. Four EIS types are described: Basic Energy Information Systems (Basic-EIS); Demand Response Systems (DRS); Enterprise Energy Management (EEM); and Web-based Energy Management and Control Systems (Web-EMCS). Within the context of these four categories, the following characteristics of EIS

Building Efficiency Technologies by Tomorrow’s Engineers and Researchers (BETTER) Capstone. Final Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yee, Shannon [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

2017-09-30

BETTER Capstone supported 29 student project teams consisting of 155 students over two years in developing transformative building energy efficiency technologies through a capstone design experience. Capstone is the culmination of an undergraduate student’s engineering education. Interdisciplinary teams of students spent a semester designing and prototyping a technological solution for a variety building energy efficiency problems. During this experience students utilized the full design process, including the manufacturing and testing of a prototype solution, as well as publically demonstrating the solution at the Capstone Design Expo. As part of this project, students explored modern manufacturing techniques and gained hands-on experience with these techniques to produce their prototype technologies. This research added to the understanding of the challenges within building technology education and engagement with industry. One goal of the project was to help break the chicken-and-egg problem with getting students to engage more deeply with the building technology industry. It was learned however that this industry is less interested in trying innovative new concept but rather interested in hiring graduates for existing conventional building efforts. While none of the projects yielded commercial success, much individual student growth and learning was accomplished, which is a long-term benefit to the public at large.

Test case preparation using a prototype

OpenAIRE

Treharne, Helen; Draper, J.; Schneider, Steve A.

1998-01-01

This paper reports on the preparation of test cases using a prototype within the context of a formal development. It describes an approach to building a prototype using an example. It discusses how a prototype contributes to the testing activity as part of a lifecycle based on the use of formal methods. The results of applying the approach to an embedded avionics case study are also presented.

Peak reduction for commercial buildings using energy storage

Science.gov (United States)

Chua, K. H.; Lim, Y. S.; Morris, S.

2017-11-01

Battery-based energy storage has emerged as a cost-effective solution for peak reduction due to the decrement of battery’s price. In this study, a battery-based energy storage system is developed and implemented to achieve an optimal peak reduction for commercial customers with the limited energy capacity of the energy storage. The energy storage system is formed by three bi-directional power converter rated at 5 kVA and a battery bank with capacity of 64 kWh. Three control algorithms, namely fixed-threshold, adaptive-threshold, and fuzzy-based control algorithms have been developed and implemented into the energy storage system in a campus building. The control algorithms are evaluated and compared under different load conditions. The overall experimental results show that the fuzzy-based controller is the most effective algorithm among the three controllers in peak reduction. The fuzzy-based control algorithm is capable of incorporating a priori qualitative knowledge and expertise about the load characteristic of the buildings as well as the useable energy without over-discharging the batteries.

Enabling VOLTTRON: Energy Management of Commercial Buildings at the University of Maryland

Science.gov (United States)

Ebhojiaye, Itohan Omisi

Buildings waste approximately 30% of energy they consume due to inefficient HVAC and lighting operation. Building Automation Systems (BAS) can aid in reducing such wasted energy, but 90% of U.S. commercial buildings lack a BAS due to their high capital costs. This thesis demonstrates how VOLTTRON, an open source operating system developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, was used to disable the mechanical cooling of a rooftop unit (RTU) during unoccupied hours, on a building without a BAS. With cooling off, the RTU's electricity dropped from 18 kW to 7kW. These results indicate 450 to 550 can be saved on the monthly electric bill of the building during the summer, compared to when the RTU operated in cooling mode continuously. The installation cost of the equipment that enabled the RTU to be controlled via VOLTTRON was $6,400, thus the project has a payback period of 13 months.

Assessing Potential Energy Cost Savings from Increased Energy Code Compliance in Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, Michael I.; Hart, Philip R.; Athalye, Rahul A.; Zhang, Jian; Wang, Weimin

2016-02-15

The US Department of Energy’s most recent commercial energy code compliance evaluation efforts focused on determining a percent compliance rating for states to help them meet requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. That approach included a checklist of code requirements, each of which was graded pass or fail. Percent compliance for any given building was simply the percent of individual requirements that passed. With its binary approach to compliance determination, the previous methodology failed to answer some important questions. In particular, how much energy cost could be saved by better compliance with the commercial energy code and what are the relative priorities of code requirements from an energy cost savings perspective? This paper explores an analytical approach and pilot study using a single building type and climate zone to answer those questions.

Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Absorption Cooling for Commercial buildings in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muthalagappan Narayanan

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Space cooling and heating always tends to be a major part of the primary energy usage. By using fossil fuel electricity for these purposes, the situation becomes even worse. One of the major electricity consumptions in India is air conditioning. There are a lot of different technologies and few researchers have come up with a debate between solar absorption cooling and PV electric cooling. In a previous paper, PV electric cooling was studied and now as a continuation, this paper focuses on solar thermal absorption cooling systems and their application in commercial/office buildings in India. A typical Indian commercial building is taken for the simulation in TRNSYS. Through this simulation, the feasibility and operational strategy of the system is analysed, after which parametric study and economic analysis of the system is done. When compared with the expenses for a traditional air conditioner unit, this solar absorption cooling will take 13.6 years to pay back and will take 15.5 years to payback the price of itself and there after all the extra money are savings or profit.  Although the place chosen for this study is one of the typical tropical place in India, this payback might vary with different places, climate and the cooling demand. Article History: Received May 12th 2017; Received in revised form August 15th 2017; Accepted 1st Sept 2017; Available online How to Cite This Article: Narayanan, M. (2017. Techno-Economic Analysis of Solar Absorption Cooling for Commercial Buildings in India.  International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 6(3, 253-262. https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.6.3.253-262

Energy Management in Small Commercial Buildings: A Look at How HVAC Contractors Can Deliver Energy Efficiency to this Segment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hult, Erin; Granderson, Jessica; Mathew, Paul

2014-07-01

While buildings smaller than 50,000 sq ft account for nearly half of the energy used in US commercial buildings, energy efficiency programs to-date have primarily focused on larger buildings. Interviews with stakeholders and a review of the literature indicate interest in energy efficiency from the small commercial building sector, provided solutions are simple and low-cost. An approach to deliver energy management to small commercial buildings via HVAC contractors and preliminary demonstration findings are presented. The energy management package (EMP) developed includes five technical elements: benchmarking and analysis of monthly energy use; analysis of interval electricity data (if available), a one-hour onsite walkthrough, communication with the building owner, and checking of results. This data-driven approach tracks performance and identifies low-cost opportunities, using guidelines and worksheets for each element to streamline the delivery process and minimize the formal training required. This energy management approach is unique from, but often complementary to conventional quality maintenance or retrofit-focused programs targeting the small commercial segment. Because HVAC contractors already serve these clients, the transaction cost to market and deliver energy management services can be reduced to the order of hundreds of dollars per year. This business model, outlined briefly in this report, enables the offering to benefit the contractor and client even at the modest expected energy savings in small buildings. Results from a small-scale pilot of this approach validated that the EMP could be delivered by contractors in 4-8 hours per building per year, and that energy savings of 3-5percent are feasible through this approach.

What drives the carbon mitigation in Chinese commercial building sector? Evidence from decomposing an extended Kaya identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Minda; Cai, Weiguang

2018-09-01

Energy efficiency in the building sector is expected to contribute >50% to the nationwide carbon mitigation efforts for achieving China's carbon emission peak in 2030, and carbon mitigation in Chinese commercial buildings (CMCCB) is an indicator of this effort. However, the CMCCB assessment has faced the challenge of ineffective and inadequate approaches; therefore, we have followed a different approach. Using the China Database of Building Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions as our data source, our study is the first to employ the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) to decompose five driving forces from the Kaya identity of Chinese commercial building carbon emissions (CCBCE) to assess the CMCCB values in 2001-2015. The results of our study indicated that: (1) Only two driving forces (i.e., the reciprocal of GDP per capita of Tertiary Industry in China and the CCBCE intensity) contributed negatively re m i to CCBCE during 2001-2015, and the quantified negative contributions denoted the CMCCB values. Specifically, the CMCCB values in 2001-2005, 2006-2010, and 2011-2015 were 123.96, 252.83, and 249.07 MtCO 2 , respectively. (2) The data quality control involving the CMCCB values proved the reliability of our CMCCB assessment model, and the universal applicability of this model was also confirmed. (3) The substantial achievements of the energy efficiency project in the Chinese commercial building sector were the root cause of the rapidly growing CMCCB. Overall, we believe that our model successfully bridges the research gap of the nationwide CMCCB assessment and that the proposed model is also suitable either at the provincial level or in different building climate zones in China. Meanwhile, a global-level assessment of the carbon mitigation in the commercial building sector is feasible through applying our model. Furthermore, we consider our contribution as constituting significant guidance for developing the building energy efficiency strategy in China in the

Development and Evaluation of Algorithms to Improve Small- and Medium-Size Commercial Building Operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Woohyun [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Katipamula, Srinivas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lutes, Robert G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Underhill, Ronald M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-10-31

Small- and medium-sized (<100,000 sf) commercial buildings (SMBs) represent over 95% of the U.S. commercial building stock and consume over 60% of total site energy consumption. Many of these buildings use rudimentary controls that are mostly manual, with limited scheduling capability, no monitoring or failure management. Therefore, many of these buildings are operated inefficiently and consume excess energy. SMBs typically utilize packaged rooftop units (RTUs) that are controlled by an individual thermostat. There is increased urgency to improve the operating efficiency of existing commercial building stock in the U.S. for many reasons, chief among them is to mitigate the climate change impacts. Studies have shown that managing set points and schedules of the RTUs will result in up to 20% energy and cost savings. Another problem associated with RTUs is short-cycling, where an RTU goes through ON and OFF cycles too frequently. Excessive cycling can lead to excessive wear and lead to premature failure of the compressor or its components. The short cycling can result in a significantly decreased average efficiency (up to 10%), even if there are no physical failures in the equipment. Also, SMBs use a time-of-day scheduling is to start the RTUs before the building will be occupied and shut it off when unoccupied. Ensuring correct use of the zone set points and eliminating frequent cycling of RTUs thereby leading to persistent building operations can significantly increase the operational efficiency of the SMBs. A growing trend is to use low-cost control infrastructure that can enable scalable and cost-effective intelligent building operations. The work reported in this report describes three algorithms for detecting the zone set point temperature, RTU cycling rate and occupancy schedule detection that can be deployed on the low-cost infrastructure. These algorithms only require the zone temperature data for detection. The algorithms have been tested and validated using

Prototype moving-ring reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, A.C. Jr.; Ashworth, C.P.; Abreu, K.E.

1981-01-01

The objective of this work was to design a prototype fusion reactor based on fusion plasmas confined as ''Compact Toruses.' Six major criteria guided the prototype design. The prototype must: (1) produce net electricity decisively (P/sub net/ >70% of P/sub gross/), with P/sub net/ approximately 100 MW(e); (2) have small physical size (low project cost) but commercial plant; (3) have all features required of commerical plants; (4) avoid unreasonable extrapolation of technology; (5) minimize nuclear issues substantially, i.e. accident and waste issues of public concern, and (6) be modular (to permit repetitive fabrication of parts) and be maintainable with low occupational radiological exposures

Evaluation of a prototype infrasound system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitaker, R.; Sandoval, T.; Breding, D.; Kromer, D.

1997-01-01

Under Department of Energy sponsorship, Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory cooperated to develop a prototype infrasonic array, with associated documentation, that could be used as part of the International Monitoring System. The United States Government or foreign countries could procure commercially available systems based on this prototype to fulfill their Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) obligations. The prototype is a four-element array in a triangular layout as recommended in CD/NTB/WP.224 with an element at each corner and one in the center. The prototype test configuration utilize an array spacing of 1 km. The prototype infrasound system has the following objectives: (1) Provide a prototype that reliably acquires and transmits near real-time infrasonic data to facilitate the rapid location and identification of atmospheric events. (2) Provide documentation that could be used by the United States and foreign countries to procure infrasound systems commercially to fulfill their CTBT responsibilities. Infrasonic monitoring is an effective, low cost technology for detecting atmospheric explosions. The low frequency components of explosion signals propagate to long ranges (few thousand kilometers) where they can be detected with an array of sensors. Los Alamos National Laboratory's expertise in infrasound systems and phenomenology when combined with Sandia's expertise in providing verification quality system for treaty monitoring make an excellent team to provide the prototype infrasound sensor system. By September 1997, the prototype infrasound system will have been procured, integrated, evaluated and documented. Final documentation will include a system requirements document, an evaluation report and a hardware design document. The hardware design document will describe the various hardware components used in the infrasound prototype and their interrelationships

Hybrid Model-Based and Data-Driven Fault Detection and Diagnostics for Commercial Buildings: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frank, Stephen; Heaney, Michael; Jin, Xin; Robertson, Joseph; Cheung, Howard; Elmore, Ryan; Henze, Gregor

2016-08-01

Commercial buildings often experience faults that produce undesirable behavior in building systems. Building faults waste energy, decrease occupants' comfort, and increase operating costs. Automated fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) tools for buildings help building owners discover and identify the root causes of faults in building systems, equipment, and controls. Proper implementation of FDD has the potential to simultaneously improve comfort, reduce energy use, and narrow the gap between actual and optimal building performance. However, conventional rule-based FDD requires expensive instrumentation and valuable engineering labor, which limit deployment opportunities. This paper presents a hybrid, automated FDD approach that combines building energy models and statistical learning tools to detect and diagnose faults noninvasively, using minimal sensors, with little customization. We compare and contrast the performance of several hybrid FDD algorithms for a small security building. Our results indicate that the algorithms can detect and diagnose several common faults, but more work is required to reduce false positive rates and improve diagnosis accuracy.

Indoor particle levels in small- and medium-sized commercial buildings in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiangmei May; Apte, Michael G; Bennett, Deborah H

2012-11-20

This study monitored indoor and outdoor particle concentrations in 37 small and medium commercial buildings (SMCBs) in California with three buildings sampled on two occasions, resulting in 40 sampling days. Sampled buildings included offices, retail establishments, restaurants, dental offices, and hair salons, among others. Continuous measurements were made for both ultrafine and fine particulate matter as well as black carbon inside and outside of the building. Integrated PM(2.5), PM(2.5-10), and PM(10) samples were also collected inside and outside the building. The majority of the buildings had indoor/outdoor (I/O) particle concentration ratios less than 1.0, indicating that contributions from indoor sources are less than removal of outdoor particles. However, some of the buildings had I/O ratios greater than 1, indicating significant indoor particle sources. This was particularly true of restaurants, hair salons, and dental offices. The infiltration factor was estimated from a regression analysis of indoor and outdoor concentrations for each particle size fraction, finding lower values for ultrafine and coarse particles than for submicrometer particles, as expected. The I/O ratio of black carbon was used as a relative measure of the infiltration factor of particles among buildings, with a geometric mean of 0.62. The contribution of indoor sources to indoor particle levels was estimated for each building.

A Techno-Economic Analysis of Photovoltaic System Design as Specifically Applied to Commercial Buildings in Ireland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Blackledge

2012-11-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates the viability of installing photovoltaic (PV systems in existing commercial buildings in Dublin. Data collected from previously installed photovoltaic systems at the Dublin Institute of Technology was analysed in order to determine the potential solar resource available in Ireland. A 1.1 kWp photovoltaic system installed in Dublin can produce over 900 kWh of electricity in a given year depending on the available solar resource for that year. A feasibility study was conducted in Dublin city centre in order to evaluate the technical, financial and environmental aspects of integrating a PV system into an existing building. The intention is that the results from this work will help in demonstrating the benefits and challenges associated with installing PV systems in existing commercial buildings in Ireland.

Analysis of impact of large commercial aircraft on a prestressed containment building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kyoungsoo; Han, Sang Eul; Hong, Jung-Wuk

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Aircraft impact analyses are performed using the missile–target interaction method. • A large commercial B747 aircraft is considered with erosion effect. • The rigid wall impact test shows the validity of the developed aircraft model. • The parametric studies on the fictitious containment building are performed. • The plastic failure of the target is governed by the impulse of aircraft at the first momentum peak. - Abstract: In this paper, the results of nonlinear dynamic analyses of a concrete containment building under extreme loads are presented. The impact of a large commercial B747 airliner is investigated as the extreme load, and a rigid wall impact test is performed using commercial nonlinear finite element codes. The impact forces exerted by the aircraft are verified compared with the time-dependent impact force provided by OECD/NEA (2002), which was calculated based on the so-called Riera method. The rigid wall impact analysis shows that the finite element model of a B747 is appropriate for the purpose of the aircraft crash analysis exposed to the external hazard of “Beyond Design-Basis Events” defined by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Finally, the applicability of this methodology is further studied and verified by conducting parametric studies on the critical infrastructures of nuclear power plant containment structures

Analysis of impact of large commercial aircraft on a prestressed containment building

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kyoungsoo, E-mail: kylee@pvamu.edu [Center for Energy and Environmental Sustainability, Prairie View A and M University, Prairie view, TX, 77446 (United States); Han, Sang Eul, E-mail: hsang@inha.ac.kr [Department of Architectural Engineering, School of Architecture, Inha University, 253 Yonghyundong Nam-gu, Incheon, 402-751 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Jung-Wuk, E-mail: j.hong@kaist.ac.kr [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, KAIST, 373-1 Guseon-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-701 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-12-15

Highlights: • Aircraft impact analyses are performed using the missile–target interaction method. • A large commercial B747 aircraft is considered with erosion effect. • The rigid wall impact test shows the validity of the developed aircraft model. • The parametric studies on the fictitious containment building are performed. • The plastic failure of the target is governed by the impulse of aircraft at the first momentum peak. - Abstract: In this paper, the results of nonlinear dynamic analyses of a concrete containment building under extreme loads are presented. The impact of a large commercial B747 airliner is investigated as the extreme load, and a rigid wall impact test is performed using commercial nonlinear finite element codes. The impact forces exerted by the aircraft are verified compared with the time-dependent impact force provided by OECD/NEA (2002), which was calculated based on the so-called Riera method. The rigid wall impact analysis shows that the finite element model of a B747 is appropriate for the purpose of the aircraft crash analysis exposed to the external hazard of “Beyond Design-Basis Events” defined by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Finally, the applicability of this methodology is further studied and verified by conducting parametric studies on the critical infrastructures of nuclear power plant containment structures.

Towards a Very Low Energy Building Stock: Modeling the U.S. Commercial Building Sector to Support Policy and Innovation Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coffey, Brian; Borgeson, Sam; Selkowitz, Stephen; Apte, Josh; Mathew, Paul; Haves, Philip

2009-07-01

This paper describes the origin, structure and continuing development of a model of time varying energy consumption in the US commercial building stock. The model is based on a flexible structure that disaggregates the stock into various categories (e.g. by building type, climate, vintage and life-cycle stage) and assigns attributes to each of these (e.g. floor area and energy use intensity by fuel type and end use), based on historical data and user-defined scenarios for future projections. In addition to supporting the interactive exploration of building stock dynamics, the model has been used to study the likely outcomes of specific policy and innovation scenarios targeting very low future energy consumption in the building stock. Model use has highlighted the scale of the challenge of meeting targets stated by various government and professional bodies, and the importance of considering both new construction and existing buildings.

Economic analysis of solar assisted absorption chiller for a commercial building

Science.gov (United States)

Antonyraj, Gnananesan

Dwindling fossil fuels coupled with changes in global climate intensified the drive to make use of renewable energy resources that have negligible impact on the environment. In this attempt, the industrial community produced various devices and systems to make use of solar energy for heating and cooling of building space as well as generate electric power. The most common components employed for collection of solar energy are the flat plate and evacuated tube collectors that produce hot water that can be employed for heating the building space. In order to cool the building, the absorption chiller is commonly employed that requires hot water at high temperatures for its operation. This thesis deals with economic analysis of solar collector and absorption cooling system to meet the building loads of a commercial building located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Computer simulations are employed to predict the hourly building loads and performance of the flat plate and evacuated tube solar collectors using the hourly weather data. The key variables affecting the economic evaluation of such system are identified and the influence of these parameters is presented. The results of this investigation show that the flat plate solar collectors yield lower payback period compared to the evacuated tube collectors and economic incentives offered by the local and federal agencies play a major role in lowering the payback period.

Energy Performance and CO2 Emissions of HVAC Systems in Commercial Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafat Al-Waked

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Energy performance of buildings has attracted much attention among building physicists and engineers worldwide. The effects of building heating; ventilation; and air conditioning (HVAC systems’ design upgrade on the building energy performance are the focus of the current study. The adopted HVAC system consisted of chilled ceiling and chilled beam systems served by a centrifugal water chiller. An energy simulation study was undertaken in accordance with the national Australian built environment rating system-rules for collecting and using data. A three-dimensional simulation study was carried out utilizing the virtual environment-integrated environmental solutions software. Results from the current study have shown the importance of utilizing energy-efficient HVAC systems and HVAC strategies for achieving a high building energy star rating. Recommended strategies in order to achieve the nominated star rating; as predicted by the simulation analysis; were presented. Moreover; the effects of solar radiation inside the building atrium were significant; which cannot be overcome by simply installing a low shading coefficient glazing type at the atrium skylight. In addition to providing chilled ceiling technology; a high efficiency chiller and low energy lighting; it is recommended that the building be well tuned during the commissioning period. The current approach could be extended to accommodate higher energy ratings of commercial buildings at different locations worldwide.

Prototype tokamak fusion reactor based on SiC/SiC composite material focusing on easy maintenance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, S.; Ueda, S.; Kurihara, R.; Kuroda, T.; Miura, H.; Sako, K.; Takase, H.; Seki, Y.; Adachi, J.; Yamazaki, S.; Hashimoto, T.; Mori, S.; Shinya, K.; Murakami, Y.; Senda, I.; Okano, K.; Asaoka, Y.; Yoshida, T.

2000-01-01

If the major part of the electric power demand is to be supplied by tokamak fusion power plants, the tokamak reactor must have an ultimate goal, i.e. must be excellent in construction cost, safety aspect and operational availability (maintainability and reliability), simultaneously. On way to the ultimate goal, the approach focusing on the safety and the availability (including reliability and maintainability) issues must be the more promising strategy. The tokamak reactor concept with the very high aspect ratio configuration and the structural material of SiC/SiC composite is compatible with this approach, which is called the DRastically Easy Maintenance (DREAM) approach. This is because SiC/SiC composite is a low activation material and an insulation material, and the high aspect ratio configuration leads to a good accessibility for the maintenance machines. As the intermediate steps along this strategy between the experimental reactor such as international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) and the ultimate goal, a prototype reactor and an initial phase commercial reactor have been investigated. Especially for the prototype reactor, the material and technological immaturities are considered. The major features of the prototype and commercial type reactors are as follows. The fusion powers of the prototype and the commercial type are 1.5 and 5.5 GW, respectively. The major/minor radii for the prototype and the commercial type are of 12/1.5 m and 16/2 m, respectively. The plasma currents for the prototype and the commercial type are 6 and 9.2 MA, respectively. The coolant is helium gas, and the inlet/outlet temperatures of 500/800 and 600/900 deg. C for the prototype and the commercial type, respectively. The thermal efficiencies of 42 and 50% are obtainable in the prototype and the commercial type, respectively. The maximum toroidal field strengths of 18 and 20 tesla are assumed in the prototype and the commercial type, respectively. The thermal

Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Commercial Building Appliances (2015 Update)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Guernsey, Matt [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Foley, Kevin [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Young, Jim [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Chung, Greg [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States)

2016-06-01

The Department of Energy commissioned a technology characterization and assessment of appliances used in commercial buildings for cooking, cleaning, water heating, and other end-uses. The primary objectives of this study were to document the energy consumed by commercial appliances and identify research, development, and demonstration opportunities to improve energy efficiency in each end-use. This report serves as an update to a 2009 report of the same name by incorporating updated data and sources where possible and updating the available technology options that provide opportunities for efficiency improvements.

The open prototype for educational NanoSats: Fixing the other side of the small satellite cost equation

Science.gov (United States)

Berk, Josh; Straub, Jeremy; Whalen, David

Government supported nano-satellite launch programs and emerging commercial small satellite launch services are reducing the cost of access to space for educational and other CubeSat projects. The cost and complexity of designing and building these satellites remains a vexing complication for many would be CubeSat aspirants. The Open Prototype for Educational NanoSats (OPEN), a proposed nano-satellite development platform, is described in this paper. OPEN endeavors to reduce the costs and risks associated with educational, government and commercial nano-satellite development. OPEN provides free and publicly available plans for building, testing and operating a versatile, low-cost satellite, based on the standardized CubeSat form-factor. OPEN consists of public-domain educational reference plans, complete with engineering schematics, CAD files, construction and test instructions as well as ancillary reference materials relevant to satellite building and operation. By making the plan, to produce a small but capable spacecraft freely available, OPEN seeks to lower the barriers to access on the other side (non-launch costs) of the satellite cost equation.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Score System: Program Overview and Technical Protocol (Version 1.0)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Na; Gorrissen, Willy J.

2013-01-11

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a national voluntary energy asset score system that includes an energy asset score tool to help building owners evaluate their buildings with respect to the score system. The goal of the energy asset score system is to facilitate cost-effective investment in energy efficiency improvements of commercial buildings. The system will allow building owners and managers to compare their building infrastructure against peers and track building upgrade progress over time. The system can also help other building stakeholders (e.g., building operators, tenants, financiers, and appraisers) understand the relative efficiency of different buildings in a way that is independent from their operations and occupancy. This report outlines the technical protocol used to generate the energy asset score, explains the scoring methodology, and provides additional details regarding the energy asset score tool. This report also describes alternative methods that were considered prior to developing the current approach. Finally, this report describes a few features of the program where alternative approaches are still under evaluation.

Typical load shapes for six categories of Swedish commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noren, C.

1997-01-01

In co-operation with several Swedish electricity suppliers, typical load shapes have been developed for six categories of commercial buildings located in the south of Sweden. The categories included in the study are: hotels, warehouses/grocery stores, schools with no kitchen, schools with kitchen, office buildings, health, health buildings. Load shapes are developed for different mean daily outdoor temperatures and for different day types, normally standard weekdays and standard weekends. The load shapes are presented as non-dimensional normalized 1-hour load. All measured loads for an object are divided by the object`s mean load during the measuring period and typical load shapes are developed for each category of buildings. Thus errors were kept lower as compared to use of W/m{sup 2}-terms. Typical daytime (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) standard deviations are 7-10% of the mean values for standard weekdays but during very cold or warm weather conditions, single objects can deviate from the typical load shape. On weekends, errors are higher and depending on very different activity levels in the buildings, it is difficult to develop weekend load shapes with good accuracy. The method presented is very easy to use for similar studies and no building simulation programs are needed. If more load data is available, a good method to lower the errors is to make sure that every category only consists of objects with the same activity level, both on weekdays and weekends. To make it easier to use the load shapes, Excel load shape workbooks have been developed, where it is even possible to compare typical load shapes with measured data. 23 refs, 53 figs, 20 tabs

Tangiplay: prototyping tangible electronic games

OpenAIRE

Boileau, Jason

2010-01-01

Tangible electronic games currently exist in research laboratories around the world but have yet to transition to the commercial sector. The development process of a tangible electronic game is one of the factors preventing progression, as it requires much time and money. Prototyping tools for tangible hardware and software development are becoming more available but are targeted to programmers and technically trained developers. Paper prototyping board and video games is a proven and rapid m...

Energy Efficiency, Building Productivity and the Commercial Buildings Market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jones, D.W.

2002-05-16

The energy-efficiency gap literature suggests that building buyers are often short-sighted in their failure to apply life-cycle costing principles to energy efficient building technologies, with the result that under investment in these advanced technology occurs. This study examines the reasons this behavior may occur, by analyzing the pressures that market forces place on purchasers of buildings. Our basic conclusion is that the fundamental manner in which the buildings sector does business creates pressures to reduce initial capital outlays and to hedge against a variety of risks, including the ability of building owners to capture benefits from energy efficiency. Starting from the position that building buyers' willingness to pay drives choices over building attributes, we examine basic market principles, the structure of the buildings market, including the role of lenders, and policies that promote penetration of energy efficient technologies. We conclude that greater attention to buyers, and to the incentives and constraints they face, would promote a better understanding of building investment choices and contribute to better policies to promote the penetration of these technologies into markets.

Experience implementing energy standards for commercial buildings and its lessons for the Philippines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busch, John; Deringer, Joseph

1998-10-01

Energy efficiency standards for buildings have been adopted in over forty countries. This policy mechanism is pursued by governments as a means of increasing energy efficiency in the buildings sector, which typically accounts for about a third of most nations' energy consumption and half of their electricity consumption. This study reports on experience with implementation of energy standards for commercial buildings in a number of countries and U.S. states. It is conducted from the perspective of providing useful input to the Government of the Philippines' (GOP) current effort at implementing their building energy standard. While the impetus for this work is technical assistance to the Philippines, the intent is to shed light on the broader issues attending implementation of building energy standards that would be applicable there and elsewhere. The background on the GOP building energy standard is presented, followed by the objectives for the study, the approach used to collect and analyze information about other jurisdictions' implementation experience, results, and conclusions and recommendations.

Using rapid prototyping to design a smoking cessation website with end-users

OpenAIRE

Ronquillo, C. E.; Currie, L.; Rowsell, D.; Phillips, J. C.

2016-01-01

Rapid prototyping is an iterative approach to design involving cycles of prototype building, review by end-users, and refinement, and can be a valuable tool in user-centered website design. Informed by various user-centered approaches, we used rapid prototyping as a tool to collaborate with users in building a peer-support focused smoking-cessation website for gay men living with HIV. Rapid prototyping was effective in eliciting feedback on the needs of this group of potential end-users\\ud fr...

DataCollection Prototyping

CERN Multimedia

Beck, H.P.

DataCollection is a subsystem of the Trigger, DAQ & DCS project responsible for the movement of event data from the ROS to the High Level Triggers. This includes data from Regions of Interest (RoIs) for Level 2, building complete events for the Event Filter and finally transferring accepted events to Mass Storage. It also handles passing the LVL1 RoI pointers and the allocation of Level 2 processors and load balancing of Event Building. During the last 18 months DataCollection has developed a common architecture for the hardware and software required. This involved a radical redesign integrating ideas from separate parts of earlier TDAQ work. An important milestone for this work, now achieved, has been to demonstrate this subsystem in the so-called Phase 2A Integrated Prototype. This prototype comprises the various TDAQ hardware and software components (ROSs, LVL2, etc.) under the control of the TDAQ Online software. The basic functionality has been demonstrated on small testbeds (~8-10 processing nodes)...

Peak load shifting control using different cold thermal energy storage facilities in commercial buildings: A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Yongjun; Wang, Shengwei; Xiao, Fu; Gao, Diance

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Little study reviews the load shifting control using different facilities. • This study reviews load shifting control using building thermal mass. • This study reviews load shifting control using thermal energy storage systems. • This study reviews load shifting control using phase change material. • Efforts for developing more applicable load shifting control are addressed. - Abstract: For decades, load shifting control, one of most effective peak demand management methods, has attracted increasing attentions from both researchers and engineers. Different load shifting control strategies have been developed when diverse cold thermal energy storage facilities are used in commercial buildings. The facilities include building thermal mass (BTM), thermal energy storage system (TES) and phase change material (PCM). Little study has systematically reviewed these load shifting control strategies and therefore this study presents a comprehensive review of peak load shifting control strategies using these thermal energy storage facilities in commercial buildings. The research and applications of the load shifting control strategies are presented and discussed. The further efforts needed for developing more applicable load shifting control strategies using the facilities are also addressed

PERTS: A Prototyping Environment for Real-Time Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jane W. S.; Lin, Kwei-Jay; Liu, C. L.

1993-01-01

PERTS is a prototyping environment for real-time systems. It is being built incrementally and will contain basic building blocks of operating systems for time-critical applications, tools, and performance models for the analysis, evaluation and measurement of real-time systems and a simulation/emulation environment. It is designed to support the use and evaluation of new design approaches, experimentations with alternative system building blocks, and the analysis and performance profiling of prototype real-time systems.

Enabling Energy Efficiency in South Africa's Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-04-01

South Africa is leading a number of efforts to support a thriving economy while also reducing energy use. Increasing energy demand coupled with a highly energy intensive economy and energy inefficient industries provide the backdrop for strong government action underway in South Africa. This brochure details how the Clean Energy Solutions Center supported development of the Regulations on Allowance for the Energy Efficiency Savings legislation designed to provide a framework for effective energy efficiency regulation, incentives and energy reduction targets for South Africa's commercial buildings sector.

Using Rapid Prototyping to Design a Smoking Cessation Website with End-Users.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronquillo, Charlene; Currie, Leanne; Rowsell, Derek; Phillips, J Craig

2016-01-01

Rapid prototyping is an iterative approach to design involving cycles of prototype building, review by end-users and refinement, and can be a valuable tool in user-centered website design. Informed by various user-centered approaches, we used rapid prototyping as a tool to collaborate with users in building a peer-support focused smoking-cessation website for gay men living with HIV. Rapid prototyping was effective in eliciting feedback on the needs of this group of potential end-users from a smoking cessation website.

Monitoring the Energy-Use Effects of Cool Roofs on California Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akbari, Hashem; Levinson, Ronnen; Konopaki, Steve; Rainer, Leo

2004-07-01

Solar-reflective roofs stay cooler in the sun than solar-absorptive roofs. Such ''cool'' roofs achieve lower surface temperatures that reduce heat conduction into the building and the building's cooling load. The California Energy Commission has funded research in which Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has measured the electricity use and peak demand in commercial buildings to document savings from implementing the Commission's Cool Roofs program. The study seeks to determine the savings achieved by cool roofs by monitoring the energy use of a carefully selected assortment of buildings participating in the Cool Roofs program. Measurements were needed because the peak savings resulting from the application of cool roofs on different types of buildings in the diverse California climate zones have not been well characterized to date. Only a few occupancy categories (e.g., office and retail buildings) have been monitored before this, and those were done under a limited number of climatic conditions. To help rectify this situation, LBNL was tasked to select the buildings to be monitored, measure roof performance before and after replacing a hot roof by a cool roof, and document both energy and peak demand savings resulting from installation of cool roofs. We monitored the effects of cool roofs on energy use and environmental parameters in six California buildings at three different sites: a retail store in Sacramento; an elementary school in San Marcos (near San Diego); and a 4-building cold storage facility in Reedley (near Fresno). The latter included a cold storage building, a conditioning and fruit-palletizing area, a conditioned packing area, and two unconditioned packing areas (counted as one building).

Potential benefits of cool roofs on commercial buildings. Conserving energy, saving money, and reducing emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levinson, R.; Akbari, H.

2010-01-01

Cool roofs - roofs that stay cool in the sun by minimizing solar absorption and maximizing thermal emission - lessen the flow of heat from the roof into the building, reducing the need for space cooling energy in conditioned buildings. Cool roofs may also increase the need for heating energy in cold climates. For a commercial building, the decrease in annual cooling load is typically much greater than the increase in annual heating load. This study combines building energy simulations, local energy prices, local electricity emission factors, and local estimates of building density to characterize local, state average, and national average cooling energy savings, heating energy penalties, energy cost savings, and emission reductions per unit conditioned roof area. The annual heating and cooling energy uses of four commercial building prototypes - new office (1980+), old office (pre-1980), new retail (1980+), and old retail (pre-1980) - were simulated in 236 US cities. Substituting a weathered cool white roof (solar reflectance 0.55) for a weathered conventional gray roof (solar reflectance 0.20) yielded annually a cooling energy saving per unit conditioned roof area ranging from 3.30 kWh/m 2 in Alaska to 7.69 kWh/m 2 in Arizona (5.02 kWh/m 2 nationwide); a heating energy penalty ranging from 0.003 therm/m 2 in Hawaii to 0.14 therm/m 2 in Wyoming (0.065 therm/m 2 nationwide); and an energy cost saving ranging from USD 0.126/m 2 in West Virginia to USD 1.14/m 2 in Arizona (USD 0.356/m 2 nationwide). It also offered annually a CO2 reduction ranging from 1.07 kg/m 2 in Alaska to 4.97 kg/m 2 in Hawaii (3.02 kg/m 2 nationwide); an NOx reduction ranging from 1.70 g/m 2 in New York to 11.7 g/m 2 in Hawaii (4.81 g/m 2 nationwide); an SO2 reduction ranging from 1.79 g/m 2 in California to 26.1 g/m 2 in Alabama (12.4 g/m 2 nationwide); and an Hg reduction ranging from 1.08 μg/m 2 in Alaska to 105 μg/m 2 in Alabama (61.2 μg/m 2 nationwide). Retrofitting 80% of the 2

Weighting Factors for the Commercial Building Prototypes Used in the Development of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jarnagin, Ronald E.; Bandyopadhyay, Gopal K.

2010-01-21

Detailed construction data from the McGraw Hill Construction Database was used to develop construction weights by climate zones for use with DOE Benchmark Buildings and for the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 development. These construction weights were applied to energy savings estimates from simulation of the benchmark buildings to establish weighted national energy savings.

Benchmarking the energy efficiency of commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, William; Hui, Y.V.; Lam, Y. Miu

2006-01-01

Benchmarking energy-efficiency is an important tool to promote the efficient use of energy in commercial buildings. Benchmarking models are mostly constructed in a simple benchmark table (percentile table) of energy use, which is normalized with floor area and temperature. This paper describes a benchmarking process for energy efficiency by means of multiple regression analysis, where the relationship between energy-use intensities (EUIs) and the explanatory factors (e.g., operating hours) is developed. Using the resulting regression model, these EUIs are then normalized by removing the effect of deviance in the significant explanatory factors. The empirical cumulative distribution of the normalized EUI gives a benchmark table (or percentile table of EUI) for benchmarking an observed EUI. The advantage of this approach is that the benchmark table represents a normalized distribution of EUI, taking into account all the significant explanatory factors that affect energy consumption. An application to supermarkets is presented to illustrate the development and the use of the benchmarking method

Eight years' operation of the SGHWR prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, J.L.

1976-01-01

Experience gained of the SGHWR system during the first eight years of operation of the UKAEA's 100 MW(e) prototype at AEE Winfrith is discussed. Modifications and additions have been made to the plant to overcome problems which only operation of a prototype unit can reveal. No problems have arisen which could not be overcome by the application of normal engineering resources, and there is no reason why the commercial successor to the prototype should be other than a fully viable proposition. (author)

Technical Support Document: Development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jarnagin, Ronald E.; Liu, Bing; Winiarski, David W.; McBride, Merle F.; Suharli, L.; Walden, D.

2006-11-30

This Technical Support Document (TSD) describes the process and methodology for the development of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings (AEDG-SO), a design guidance document intended to provide recommendations for achieving 30% energy savings in small office buildings over levels contained in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The AEDG-SO is the first in a series of guides being developed by a partnership of organizations, including the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), the New Buildings Institute (NBI), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Each of the guides in the AEDG series will provide recommendations and user-friendly design assistance to designers, developers and owners of small commercial buildings that will encourage steady progress towards net-zero energy buildings. The guides will provide prescriptive recommendation packages that are capable of reaching the energy savings target for each climate zone in order to ease the burden of the design and construction of energy-efficient small commercial buildings The AEDG-SO was developed by an ASHRAE Special Project committee (SP-102) made up of representatives of each of the partner organizations in eight months. This TSD describes the charge given to the committee in developing the office guide and outlines the schedule of the development effort. The project committee developed two prototype office buildings (5,000 ft2 frame building and 20,000 ft2 two-story mass building) to represent the class of small office buildings and performed an energy simulation scoping study to determine the preliminary levels of efficiency necessary to meet the energy savings target. The simulation approach used by the project committee is documented in this TSD along with

An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Pei; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N. [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Li, Zheng [Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2010-08-15

Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach. (author)

An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Pei; Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N.; Li Zheng

2010-01-01

Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach.

An energy systems engineering approach to the optimal design of energy systems in commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Pei [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Pistikopoulos, Efstratios N., E-mail: e.pistikopoulos@imperial.ac.u [Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Li Zheng [Department of Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2010-08-15

Energy consumption in commercial buildings accounts for a significant proportion of worldwide energy consumption. Any increase in the energy efficiency of the energy systems for commercial buildings would lead to significant energy savings and emissions reductions. In this work, we introduce an energy systems engineering framework towards the optimal design of such energy systems with improved energy efficiency and environmental performance. The framework features a superstructure representation of the various energy technology alternatives, a mixed-integer optimization formulation of the energy systems design problem, and a multi-objective design optimization solution strategy, where economic and environmental criteria are simultaneously considered and properly traded off. A case study of a supermarket energy systems design is presented to illustrate the key steps and potential of the proposed energy systems engineering approach.

ISO 50001 for Commercial Buildings: Lessons Learned From U.S. DOE Pilot Project: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deru, M.; Field, K.; Punjabi, S.

2014-08-01

In the U.S., the ISO 50001 Standard, which establishes energy management systems (EnMSs) and processes, has shown uptake primarily in the industrial sector. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) undertook a pilot program to explore ISO 50001 implementation in commercial buildings. Eight organizations participated as pilots, with technical assistance provided by DOE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). This paper shares important lessons learned from the pilot. Staff time was the most critical resource required to establish effective EnMSs in commercial buildings. The pilot also revealed that technical support and template/example materials were essential inputs. Crucial activities included evaluating performance, identifying goals, making connections, communicating operational controls, and tracking/reviewing progress. Benefits realized included enhanced intra-organizational connections, greater energy awareness, increased process efficiencies, and improved ability to make business cases. Incremental benefits for ISO 50001 certification were greater accountability, assurance of best practices, public relations opportunities, and potential to unlock verified savings credits or incentive money. Incremental certification costs included more staff/consultant time, money for certification, and a tendency to limit EnMS scope in order to ensure favorable audit results. Five best practices were identified - utilizing expert technical assistance, training, and other resources; focusing on implementation over documentation; keeping top management involved; considering organizational structure when selecting EnMS scope; and matching the implementation level to an EnMS's scope and scale. The last two practices are particularly relevant to the commercial buildings sector.

Quantification protocol for energy efficiency in commercial and institutional buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-10-15

Alberta Environment has developed an approved methodology that can be used to quantify the reduction of direct and indirect greenhouse gas emission observed after the implementation of energy efficiency measures in commercial and institutional buildings. This methodology concerns energy conservation measures that target the heating system, the ventilation, the air conditioning and lightning systems, but also includes building envelope, tap water heating, elevators, occupant small electrical equipment, outdoor lighting, swimming pool pumping or heating. Calculation methodologies for energy conservation proposed by the Efficiency Valuation Organization were adapted by Alberta Environment. The protocol detailed in this document is based on the fact that emissions reductions are represented by the difference between the energy use in the project condition and a baseline. This approach proposes simple and advanced calculation methodologies that allow project developers to use one or the other, depending on the availability of data and on the limitations of the project, to maximize the greenhouse gas emissions reductions quantified. 14 refs., 11 tabs., 5 figs.

Recovery Act. Advanced Load Identification and Management for Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Yi [Eaton Corporation, Menomonee Falls, WI (United States); Casey, Patrick [Eaton Corporation, Menomonee Falls, WI (United States); Du, Liang [Eaton Corporation, Menomonee Falls, WI (United States); He, Dawei [Eaton Corporation, Menomonee Falls, WI (United States)

2014-02-12

In response to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)’s goal of achieving market ready, net-zero energy residential and commercial buildings by 2020 and 2025, Eaton partnered with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Georgia Institute of Technology to develop an intelligent load identification and management technology enabled by a novel “smart power strip” to provide critical intelligence and information to improve the capability and functionality of building load analysis and building power management systems. Buildings account for 41% of the energy consumption in the United States, significantly more than either transportation or industrial. Within the building sector, plug loads account for a significant portion of energy consumption. Plug load consumes 15-20% of building energy on average. As building managers implement aggressive energy conservation measures, the proportion of plug load energy can increase to as much as 50% of building energy leaving plug loads as the largest remaining single source of energy consumption. This project focused on addressing plug-in load control and management to further improve building energy efficiency accomplished through effective load identification. The execution of the project falls into the following three major aspects; An intelligent load modeling, identification and prediction technology was developed to automatically determine the type, energy consumption, power quality, operation status and performance status of plug-in loads, using electric waveforms at a power outlet level. This project demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed technology through a large set of plug-in loads measurements and testing; A novel “Smart Power Strip (SPS) / Receptacle” prototype was developed to act as a vehicle to demonstrate the feasibility of load identification technology as a low-cost, embedded solution; and Market environment for plug-in load control and management solutions

Light Guide Collector Prototype: Laboratory Testing

OpenAIRE

Jitka - Mohelnikova; Stanislav Darula; Ayodeji Omishore; Petr Mohelnik; Denis Micek

2017-01-01

The article reviews the potential of light guide system equipped by a concentrator device capturing daylight applicable for illumination of building interiors and presents results of experiments on performance of its prototype. The main goal is focused on the comparison of traditional solutions and newly developed prototype of the light guide system and presents examination of its light transmission efficiency based on the laboratory experiments.

Construction and operation of a support facilities (Building 729) for operation/testing of a prototype accelerator/storage ring (XLS) and machine shop for the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-06-01

Proposed action is to construct at BNL a 5,600-ft 2 support building, install and operate a prototypic 200 MeV accelerator and a prototypic 700 MeV storage ring within, and to construct and operate a 15 kV substation to power the building. The accelerator and storage ring would comprise the x-ray lithography source or XLS

Review on CNC-Rapid Prototyping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

M Nafis O Z; Nafrizuan M Y; Munira M A; Kartina J

2012-01-01

This article reviewed developments of Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) technology in rapid prototyping process. Rapid prototyping (RP) can be classified into three major groups; subtractive, additive and virtual. CNC rapid prototyping is grouped under the subtractive category which involves material removal from the workpiece that is larger than the final part. Richard Wysk established the use of CNC machines for rapid prototyping using sets of 2½-D tool paths from various orientations about a rotary axis to machine parts without refixturing. Since then, there are few developments on this process mainly aimed to optimized the operation and increase the process capabilities to stand equal with common additive type of RP. These developments include the integration between machining and deposition process (hybrid RP), adoption of RP to the conventional machine and optimization of the CNC rapid prototyping process based on controlled parameters. The article ended by concluding that the CNC rapid prototyping research area has a vast space for improvement as in the conventional machining processes. Further developments and findings will enhance the usage of this method and minimize the limitation of current approach in building a prototype.

High-performance commercial building facades

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Eleanor; Selkowitz, Stephen; Bazjanac, Vladimir; Inkarojrit, Vorapat; Kohler, Christian

2002-06-01

This study focuses on advanced building facades that use daylighting, sun control, ventilation systems, and dynamic systems. A quick perusal of the leading architectural magazines, or a discussion in most architectural firms today will eventually lead to mention of some of the innovative new buildings that are being constructed with all-glass facades. Most of these buildings are appearing in Europe, although interestingly U.S. A/E firms often have a leading role in their design. This ''emerging technology'' of heavily glazed fagades is often associated with buildings whose design goals include energy efficiency, sustainability, and a ''green'' image. While there are a number of new books on the subject with impressive photos and drawings, there is little critical examination of the actual performance of such buildings, and a generally poor understanding as to whether they achieve their performance goals, or even what those goals might be. Even if the building ''works'' it is often dangerous to take a design solution from one climate and location and transport it to a new one without a good causal understanding of how the systems work. In addition, there is a wide range of existing and emerging glazing and fenestration technologies in use in these buildings, many of which break new ground with respect to innovative structural use of glass. It is unclear as to how well many of these designs would work as currently formulated in California locations dominated by intense sunlight and seismic events. Finally, the costs of these systems are higher than normal facades, but claims of energy and productivity savings are used to justify some of them. Once again these claims, while plausible, are largely unsupported. There have been major advances in glazing and facade technology over the past 30 years and we expect to see continued innovation and product development. It is critical in this process to be able to

Sources of indoor air contamination on the ground floor of a high-rise commercial building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nayebzadeh, A.; Cragg-Elkouh, S.; Rancy, R.; Dufresne, A.

1999-01-01

Indoor air quality is a subject of growing concern in the developed world. Many sources of indoor air contamination in commercial and office buildings are recognised and have been investigated. In addition to the usual internal sources of air contaminants, other external sources from attached facilities can find their way into the building. This report presents the results of an indoor air quality survey in a high-rise office building which demonstrated an obvious seasonal change in regard to the concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). Furthermore, a complementary survey in the same building was carried out to identify the relevant sources of air contamination in the building and the results indicated that an attached train station and the nearby street traffic had a significant impact on indoor air quality. (author)

Light Guide Collector Prototype: Laboratory Testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jitka - Mohelnikova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article reviews the potential of light guide system equipped by a concentrator device capturing daylight applicable for illumination of building interiors and presents results of experiments on performance of its prototype. The main goal is focused on the comparison of traditional solutions and newly developed prototype of the light guide system and presents examination of its light transmission efficiency based on the laboratory experiments.

Transforming Ordinary Buildings into Smart Buildings via Low-Cost, Self-Powering Wireless Sensors & Sensor Networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Philip [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)

2017-06-09

The research objective of this project is to design and demonstrate a low-cost, compact, easy-to-deploy, maintenance-free sensor node technology, and a network of such sensors, which enable the monitoring of multiphysical parameters and can transform today’s ordinary buildings into smart buildings with environmental awareness. We develop the sensor node and network via engineering and integration of existing technologies, including high-efficiency mechanical energy harvesting, and ultralow-power integrated circuits (ICs) for sensing and wireless communication. Through integration and innovative power management via specifically designed low-power control circuits for wireless sensing applications, and tailoring energy-harvesting components to indoor applications, the target products will have smaller volume, higher efficiency, and much lower cost (in both manufacturing and maintenance) than the baseline technology. Our development and commercialization objective is to create prototypes for our target products under the CWRU-Intwine collaboration.

Modeling and Analysis of Commercial Building Electrical Loads for Demand Side Management

Science.gov (United States)

Berardino, Jonathan

In recent years there has been a push in the electric power industry for more customer involvement in the electricity markets. Traditionally the end user has played a passive role in the planning and operation of the power grid. However, many energy markets have begun opening up opportunities to consumers who wish to commit a certain amount of their electrical load under various demand side management programs. The potential benefits of more demand participation include reduced operating costs and new revenue opportunities for the consumer, as well as more reliable and secure operations for the utilities. The management of these load resources creates challenges and opportunities to the end user that were not present in previous market structures. This work examines the behavior of commercial-type building electrical loads and their capacity for supporting demand side management actions. This work is motivated by the need for accurate and dynamic tools to aid in the advancement of demand side operations. A dynamic load model is proposed for capturing the response of controllable building loads. Building-specific load forecasting techniques are developed, with particular focus paid to the integration of building management system (BMS) information. These approaches are tested using Drexel University building data. The application of building-specific load forecasts and dynamic load modeling to the optimal scheduling of multi-building systems in the energy market is proposed. Sources of potential load uncertainty are introduced in the proposed energy management problem formulation in order to investigate the impact on the resulting load schedule.

SOLAR RADIATION ESTIMATION ON BUILDING ROOFS AND WEB-BASED SOLAR CADASTRE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Agugiaro

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is the estimation of solar irradiance on building roofs in complex Alpine landscapes. Very high resolution geometric models of the building roofs are generated by means of advanced automated image matching methods. Models are combined with raster and vector data sources to estimate the incoming solar radiation hitting the roofs. The methodology takes into account for atmospheric effects, site latitude and elevation, slope and aspect of the terrain as well as the effects of shadows cast by surrounding buildings, chimneys, dormers, vegetation and terrain topography. An open source software solution has been developed and applied to a study area located in a mountainous site and containing some 1250 residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The method has been validated by data collected with a pyranometer and results made available through a prototype WebGIS platform.

Analysis of Potential Benefits and Costs of Updating the Commercial Building Energy Code in Iowa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, Katherine A.; Belzer, David B.; Richman, Eric E.; Winiarski, David W.

2002-09-07

The state of Iowa is considering adpoting ASHRAE 90.1-1999 as its commercial building energy code. In an effort to evaluate whether or not this is an appropraite code for the state, the potential benefits and costs of adopting this standard are considered. Both qualitative and quantitative benefits are assessed. The energy simulation and economic results suggest that adopting ASHRAE 90.1-1999 would provide postitive net benefits to the state relative to the building and design requirements currently in place.

Analysis of Potential Benefits and Costs of Adopting ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001 as the Commercial Building Energy Code in Tennessee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, Katherine A.; Winiarski, David W.; Belzer, David B.; Richman, Eric E.

2004-09-30

ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001 Energy Standard for Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (hereafter referred to as ASHRAE 90.1-2001 or 90.1-2001) was developed in an effort to set minimum requirements for the energy efficient design and construction of new commercial buildings. The State of Tennessee is considering adopting ASHRAE 90.1-2001 as its commercial building energy code. In an effort to evaluate whether or not this is an appropriate code for the state, the potential benefits and costs of adopting this standard are considered in this report. Both qualitative and quantitative benefits and costs are assessed. Energy and economic impacts are estimated using the Building Loads Analysis and System Thermodynamics (BLAST) simulations combined with a Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) approach to assess corresponding economic costs and benefits. Tennessee currently has ASHRAE Standard 90A-1980 as the statewide voluntary/recommended commercial energy standard; however, it is up to the local jurisdiction to adopt this code. Because 90A-1980 is the recommended standard, many of the requirements of ASHRAE 90A-1980 were used as a baseline for simulations.

Project management of the build of the shore test facility for the prototype of PWR II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarkson, D.T.

1987-01-01

The PWR II is a new design of nuclear steam raising plant for the Royal Navy's submarines. It features improved engineering for safety, increased power, increased shock resistance, reduced noise transmission to sea and reduced manning requirement. It is to be tested in a new prototype testing facility, the Shore Test Facility, which is a section of submarine hull containing a prototype of the nuclear steam raising plant and its support system. It is installed at the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test establishment at Dounreay in Scotland. The function of the establishment is to test new designs of core and reactor plant, validate the mathematical models used in their design, develop improved methods of operation and maintenance of the plant and test new items of equipment. The Shore Test Facility was built in large sections at Barrow-in-Furness and transported to Scotland. The project management for the construction of the Shore Test Facility is explained. It involves personnel from the Royal Navy, and a large number of people working for the contractors involved in the buildings, transportation, operation and maintenance of the Facility. (U.K.)

Rapid Prototyping Enters Mainstream Manufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Winek, Gary

1996-01-01

Explains rapid prototyping, a process that uses computer-assisted design files to create a three-dimensional object automatically, speeding the industrial design process. Five commercially available systems and two emerging types--the 3-D printing process and repetitive masking and depositing--are described. (SK)

Developing a Philippine Cancer Grid. Part 1: Building a Prototype for a Data Retrieval System for Breast Cancer Research Using Medical Ontologies

Science.gov (United States)

Coronel, Andrei D.; Saldana, Rafael P.

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines. Developed within the context of a Philippine Cancer Grid, the present study used web development technologies such as PHP, MySQL, and Apache server to build a prototype data retrieval system for breast cancer research that incorporates medical ontologies from the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS).

Using EMIS to Identify Top Opportunities for Commercial Building Efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Guanjing [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Singla, Rupam [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Granderson, Jessica [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2017-04-11

Energy Management and Information Systems (EMIS) comprise a broad family of tools and services to manage commercial building energy use. These technologies offer a mix of capabilities to store, display, and analyze energy use and system data, and in some cases, provide control. EMIS technologies enable 10–20 percent site energy savings in best practice implementations. Energy Information System (EIS) and Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) systems are two key technologies in the EMIS family. Energy Information Systems are broadly defined as the web-based software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems used to analyze and display building energy performance. At a minimum, an EIS provides daily, hourly or sub-hourly interval meter data at the whole-building level, with graphical and analytical capability. Fault Detection and Diagnosis systems automatically identify heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system or equipment-level performances issues, and in some cases are able to isolate the root causes of the problem. They use computer algorithms to continuously analyze system-level operational data to detect faults and diagnose their causes. Many FDD tools integrate the trend log data from a Building Automation System (BAS) but otherwise are stand-alone software packages; other types of FDD tools are implemented as “on-board” equipment-embedded diagnostics. (This document focuses on the former.) Analysis approaches adopted in FDD technologies span a variety of techniques from rule-based methods to process history-based approaches. FDD tools automate investigations that can be conducted via manual data inspection by someone with expert knowledge, thereby expanding accessibility and breath of analysis opportunity, and also reducing complexity.

Technology data characterizing refrigeration in commercial buildings: Application to end-use forecasting with COMMEND 4.0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sezgen, O.; Koomey, J.G.

1995-12-01

In the United States, energy consumption is increasing most rapidly in the commercial sector. Consequently, the commercial sector is becoming an increasingly important target for state and federal energy policies and also for utility-sponsored demand side management (DSM) programs. The rapid growth in commercial-sector energy consumption also makes it important for analysts working on energy policy and DSM issues to have access to energy end-use forecasting models that include more detailed representations of energy-using technologies in the commercial sector. These new forecasting models disaggregate energy consumption not only by fuel type, end use, and building type, but also by specific technology. The disaggregation of the refrigeration end use in terms of specific technologies, however, is complicated by several factors. First, the number of configurations of refrigeration cases and systems is quite large. Also, energy use is a complex function of the refrigeration-case properties and the refrigeration-system properties. The Electric Power Research Institute`s (EPRI`s) Commercial End-Use Planning System (COMMEND 4.0) and the associated data development presented in this report attempt to address the above complications and create a consistent forecasting framework. Expanding end-use forecasting models so that they address individual technology options requires characterization of the present floorstock in terms of service requirements, energy technologies used, and cost-efficiency attributes of the energy technologies that consumers may choose for new buildings and retrofits. This report describes the process by which we collected refrigeration technology data. The data were generated for COMMEND 4.0 but are also generally applicable to other end-use forecasting frameworks for the commercial sector.

Analysis of Potential Benefits and Costs of Updating the Commercial Building Energy Code in North Dakota

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, Katherine A.; Belzer, David B.; Winiarski, David W.; Richman, Eric E.

2004-04-30

The state of North Dakota is considering updating its commercial building energy code. This report evaluates the potential costs and benefits to North Dakota residents from updating and requiring compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Both qualitative and quantitative benefits and costs are assessed in the analysis. Energy and economic impacts are estimated using the Building Loads Analysis and System Thermodynamics (BLAST simulation combined with a Life-cycle Cost (LCC) approach to assess correspodning economic costs and benefits.

Comparison of Actual Costs to Integrate Commercial Buildings with the Grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piette, Mary Ann [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area; Black, Doug [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area; Yin, Rongxin [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area

2016-05-01

During the past decade, the technology to automate demand response (DR) in buildings and industrial facilities has advanced significantly. Automation allows rapid, repeatable, reliable operation. This study focuses on costs for DR automation in commercial buildings with some discussion on residential buildings and industrial facilities. DR automation technology relies on numerous components, including communication systems, hardware and software gateways, standards-based messaging protocols, controls and integration platforms, and measurement and telemetry systems. This paper discusses the impact factors that contribute to the costs of automated DR systems, with a focus on OpenADR 1.0 and 2.0 systems. In addition, this report compares cost data from several DR automation programs and pilot projects, evaluates trends in the cost per unit of DR and kilowatts (kW) available from automated systems, and applies a standard naming convention and classification or taxonomy for system elements. In summary, median costs for the 56 installed automated DR systems studied here are about $200/kW. The deviation around this median is large with costs in some cases being an order of magnitude greater or less than median. Costs to automate fast DR systems for ancillary services are not fully analyzed in this report because additional research is needed to determine the total such costs.

Design of micro-reactors and solar photocatalytic prototypes; Diseno de micro-reactores y prototipos fotocataliticos solares

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flores E, R.M.; Hernandez H, M.; Perusquia del Cueto, M.R.; Bonifacio M, J.; Jimenez B, J.; Ortiz O, H.B.; Castaneda J, G.; Lugo H, M. [ININ, Km. 36.5 Carr. Mexico-Toluca, 52750 La Marquesa, Ocoyoacac (Mexico)]. e-mail: rmfe@nuclear.inin.mx

2007-07-01

In the ININ is carried out research in heterogeneous photocatalysis using artificial light for to degrade organic compounds. In this context, it is sought to use the solar radiation as energy source to knock down costs. Of equal form it requires to link the basic and applied research. For it, a methodology that allows to design and to build micro-reactors and plants pilot has been developed, like previous step, to request external supports and to a future commercialization. The beginning of these works gave place to the partial construction of a prototype of photocatalytic reactor of the cylinder-parabolic composed type (CPC)

Developing evidence-based prescriptive ventilation rate standards for commercial buildings in California: a proposed framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendell, Mark J.; Fisk, William J.

2014-02-01

Background - The goal of this project, with a focus on commercial buildings in California, was to develop a new framework for evidence-based minimum ventilation rate (MVR) standards that protect occupants in buildings while also considering energy use and cost. This was motivated by research findings suggesting that current prescriptive MVRs in commercial buildings do not provide occupants with fully safe and satisfactory indoor environments. Methods - The project began with a broad review in several areas ? the diverse strategies now used for standards or guidelines for MVRs or for environmental contaminant exposures, current knowledge about adverse human effects associated with VRs, and current knowledge about contaminants in commercial buildings, including their their presence, their adverse human effects, and their relationships with VRs. Based on a synthesis of the reviewed information, new principles and approaches are proposed for setting evidence-based VRs standards for commercial buildings, considering a range of human effects including health, performance, and acceptability of air. Results ? A review and evaluation is first presented of current approaches to setting prescriptive building ventilation standards and setting acceptable limits for human contaminant exposures in outdoor air and occupational settings. Recent research on approaches to setting acceptable levels of environmental exposures in evidence-based MVR standards is also described. From a synthesis and critique of these materials, a set of principles for setting MVRs is presented, along with an example approach based on these principles. The approach combines two sequential strategies. In a first step, an acceptable threshold is set for each adverse outcome that has a demonstrated relationship to VRs, as an increase from a (low) outcome level at a high reference ventilation rate (RVR, the VR needed to attain the best achievable levels of the adverse outcome); MVRs required to meet each

Using prototyping in software development

OpenAIRE

Šinkovec, Miha

2010-01-01

Today the business system changers faster than the usual conventional cascade life cycle. Because of that, we can conclude, that today's programming system will no longer be presented as the answer to this topic in the developing age of ever changing user requirements. Neither increased performance or higher productivity will decrease the problem. The appropriate solution to this stated problem is prototyping. Instead of building and developing the whole system, we build a module that can...

Establishing a Commercial Buildings Energy Data Framework for India: A Comprehensive Look at Data Collection Approaches, Use Cases and Institutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iyer, Maithili [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kumar, Satish [Synurja, LLC, Vienna, VA (United States); Mathew, Sangeeta [Synurja, LLC, Vienna, VA (United States); Stratton, Hannah [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mathew, Paul [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Singh, Mohini [Synurja, LLC, Vienna, VA (United States)

2016-10-01

Enhancing energy efficiency of the commercial building stock is an important aspect of any national energy policy. Understanding how buildings use energy is critical to formulating any new policy that may impact energy use, underscoring the importance of credible data. Data enables informed decision making and good quality data is essential for policy makers to prioritize energy saving strategies and track implementation. Given the uniqueness of the buildings sector and challenges to collecting relevant energy data, this study characterizes various elements involved in pertinent data collection and management, with the specific focus on well-defined data requirements, appropriate methodologies and processes, feasible data collection mechanisms, and approaches to institutionalizing the collection process. This report starts with a comprehensive review of available examples of energy data collection frameworks for buildings across different countries. The review covers the U.S. experience in the commercial buildings sector, the European experience in the buildings sector and other data collection initiatives in Singapore and China to capture the more systematic efforts in Asia in the commercial sector. To provide context, the review includes a summary and status of disparate efforts in India to collect and use commercial building energy data. Using this review as a key input, the study developed a data collection framework for India with specific consideration to relevant use cases. Continuing with the framework for data collection, this study outlines the key performance indicators applicable to the use cases and their collection feasibility, as well as immediate priorities of the participating stakeholders. It also discusses potential considerations for data collection and the possible approaches for survey design. With the specific purpose of laying out the possible ways to structure and organize data collection institutionally, the study collates existing

A cash flow model of development activity and the scope for energy savings. [Commercial office buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leifer, D [Queensland Univ., St. Lucia (AU). Dept. of Architecture

1991-01-01

When proposing energy saving measures to the developers of large commercial office projects, it is necessary to appreciate what the developers' goals and perceptions are. This paper looks at a simple cash-flow model of development activity, and illustrates the potential for energy savings with reference to some data from two major Australian cities. This data was collected between July and November 1989 by surveys which were carried out on the basic design of 26 of the tallest Brisbane commercial office buildings. This survey followed an extensive investigation into the premises needs of modern office building tenants in Brisbane, in which over 200 CBD tenants were questioned. This investigation showed that there was an increasing need for air conditioning capacity and electrical power; greater tendencies for ''after hours'' office work; a desire for larger floor-plates to cater for expanding tenant organizations, and the emergence of ''professional tenants''. These observations have been documented elsewhere in the orbit reports amongst others. The buildings surveyed represent 60% of the estimated Brisbane central business district (CBD) office stock of area 1,256,000 m{sup 2}. (author).

Prompt and Precise Prototyping

Science.gov (United States)

2003-01-01

For Sanders Design International, Inc., of Wilton, New Hampshire, every passing second between the concept and realization of a product is essential to succeed in the rapid prototyping industry where amongst heavy competition, faster time-to-market means more business. To separate itself from its rivals, Sanders Design aligned with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center to develop what it considers to be the most accurate rapid prototyping machine for fabrication of extremely precise tooling prototypes. The company's Rapid ToolMaker System has revolutionized production of high quality, small-to-medium sized prototype patterns and tooling molds with an exactness that surpasses that of computer numerically-controlled (CNC) machining devices. Created with funding and support from Marshall under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, the Rapid ToolMaker is a dual-use technology with applications in both commercial and military aerospace fields. The advanced technology provides cost savings in the design and manufacturing of automotive, electronic, and medical parts, as well as in other areas of consumer interest, such as jewelry and toys. For aerospace applications, the Rapid ToolMaker enables fabrication of high-quality turbine and compressor blades for jet engines on unmanned air vehicles, aircraft, and missiles.

The prototype fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broomfield, A.M.

1985-01-01

The paper concerns the Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR), which is a liquid metal cooled fast reactor power station, situated at Dounreay, Scotland. The principal design features of a Fast Reactor and the PFR are given, along with key points of operating history, and health and safety features. The role of the PFR in the development programme for commercial reactors is discussed. (U.K.)

Identifying Critical Factors in the Cost-Effectiveness of Solar and Battery Storage in Commercial Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McLaren, Joyce A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Anderson, Katherine H. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Laws, Nicholas D. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Gagnon, Pieter J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); DiOrio, Nicholas A. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Li, Xiangkun [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-02-21

This analysis elucidates the emerging market for distributed solar paired with battery energy storage in commercial buildings across the United States. It provides insight into the near-term and future solar and solar-plus-storage market opportunities as well as the variables that impact the expected savings from installing behind-the-meter systems.

Robotic buildings(s)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bier, H.H.

2014-01-01

Technological and conceptual advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and material science have enabled robotic building to be in the last decade prototypically implemented. In this context, robotic building implies both physically built robotic environments and robotically

Building Energy Management Open Source Software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rahman, Saifur [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)

2017-08-25

Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy in November 2013, a Building Energy Management Open Source Software (BEMOSS) platform was engineered to improve sensing and control of equipment in small- and medium-sized commercial buildings. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), small- (5,000 square feet or smaller) and medium-sized (between 5,001 to 50,000 square feet) commercial buildings constitute about 95% of all commercial buildings in the U.S. These buildings typically do not have Building Automation Systems (BAS) to monitor and control building operation. While commercial BAS solutions exist, including those from Siemens, Honeywell, Johnsons Controls and many more, they are not cost effective in the context of small- and medium-sized commercial buildings, and typically work with specific controller products from the same company. BEMOSS targets small and medium-sized commercial buildings to address this gap.

Study of electroless nickel plating on PerFactoryTM rapid prototype model

OpenAIRE

J.C. Rajaguru; C. Au, M. Duke

2012-01-01

This paper presents an investigation of electroless nickel plating on PerFactoryTM rapid prototype model built on PerFactoryTM R05 material. PerFactoryTM R05 is acrylic based photo sensitive resin. It is a popular material in rapid prototyping using PerFactoryTM method which employs addictive manufacturing technique to build prototypes for visual inspection, assembly etc. Metallization of such a prototype can extend the application envelop of the rapid prototyping technique as they can be use...

Understanding the potential of facilities managers to be advocates for energy efficiency retrofits in mid-tier commercial office buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curtis, Jim; Walton, Andrea; Dodd, Michael

2017-01-01

Realising energy efficiency opportunities in new commercial office buildings is an easier task than retrofitting older, mid-tier building stock. As a result, a number of government programs aim to support retrofits by offering grants, upgrades, and energy audits to facilitate energy efficiency opportunities. This study reports on a state government program in Victoria, Australia, where the uptake of such offerings was lower than expected, prompting the program team to consider whether targeting facilities managers (FMs), rather than building owners, might be a better way of delivering the program. The influences and practices of FMs that impact on their ability to be advocates for energy efficiency were explored. The results revealed that complex building ownership arrangements, poor communication skills, isolation from key decision making processes, a lack of credible business cases and information, split incentives, and the prospect of business disruptions can all impact on FMs’ ability to drive organizational change. Future program efforts should continue to interrogate the social context of retrofits in mid-tier buildings, including other influences and influencers beyond FMs, and adapt accordingly. - Highlights: • Energy efficiency retrofits of older commercial buildings can be a challenge. • Government support for retrofits is not always taken up by building owners. • Targeting facilities managers (FMs) to encourage retrofits is proposed. • FMs’ ability to be advocates for energy efficiency is constrained. • Government offerings need to better fit with the realities of the problem.

Small Commercial Building Re-tuning: A Primer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, Katherine A.; Hostick, Donna J.; Underhill, Ronald M.; Fernandez, Nicholas; Katipamula, Srinivas

2013-09-30

To help building owners and managers address issues related to energy-efficient operation of small buildings, DOE has developed a Small Building Re-tuning training curriculum. This "primer" provides additional background information to understand some of the concepts presented in the Small Building Re-tuning training. The intent is that those who are less familiar with the buidling energy concepts will review this material before taking the building re-tuning training class.

COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC AND IMPROVEMENT TOOLS FOR HVAC-SYSTEM INSTALLATIONS IN LIGHT COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abram Conant; Mark Modera; Joe Pira; John Proctor; Mike Gebbie

2004-10-31

Proctor Engineering Group, Ltd. (PEG) and Carrier-Aeroseal LLP performed an investigation of opportunities for improving air conditioning and heating system performance in existing light commercial buildings. Comprehensive diagnostic and improvement tools were created to address equipment performance parameters (including airflow, refrigerant charge, and economizer operation), duct-system performance (including duct leakage, zonal flows and thermal-energy delivery), and combustion appliance safety within these buildings. This investigation, sponsored by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy, involved collaboration between PEG and Aeroseal in order to refine three technologies previously developed for the residential market: (1) an aerosol-based duct sealing technology that allows the ducts to be sealed remotely (i.e., without removing the ceiling tiles), (2) a computer-driven diagnostic and improvement-tracking tool for residential duct installations, and (3) an integrated diagnosis verification and customer satisfaction system utilizing a combined computer/human expert system for HVAC performance. Prior to this work the aerosol-sealing technology was virtually untested in the light commercial sector--mostly because the savings potential and practicality of this or any other type of duct sealing had not been documented. Based upon the field experiences of PEG and Aeroseal, the overall product was tailored to suit the skill sets of typical HVAC-contractor personnel.

Development of a Commercial Prototype of the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System Final Report CRADA No. TC-02077-04

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dzenitis, J. M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Haigh, P. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2017-09-27

This was a collaborative effort between The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and GE Ion Track, Inc. (GEIT) to develop a commercial prototype of the Autonomous Pathogen Detection System (APDS), an instrument that monitors the air for all three biological threat agents (bacteria, viruses and toxins). This was originally a one year CRADA project, with the cost of the work at LLNL being funded by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of National Laboratories. The original project consisted of five major tasks and deliverables. The CRADA was then amended, converting the CRADA from a programmatically funded CRADA to a funds-in CRADA, extending the project for an additional 14 months, and adding four new tasks and deliverable to the project.

Alliance for Sustainable Colorado Renovation Raises Its Energy Performance to New Heights, Commercial Building Energy Efficiency (Fact Sheet); Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2015-03-01

The Alliance for Sustainable Colorado (The Alliance) is a nonprofit organization aiming to transform sustainability from vision to reality. Part of its mission is to change the operating paradigms of commercial building design to make them more sustainable. Toward that end The Alliance uses its headquarters, The Alliance Center at 1536 Wynkoop Street in Denver, as a living laboratory, conductingpilot studies of innovative commercial-building-design solutions for using and generating energy.

Assessing Energy Efficiency Opportunities in US Industrial and Commercial Building Motor Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rao, Prakash; Sheaffer, Paul; McKane, Aimee; Scheihing, Paul

2015-09-01

In 2002, the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) published an energy efficiency assessment of U.S. industrial sector motor systems titled United States Industrial Electric Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment. The assessment advanced motor system efficiency by providing a greater understanding of the energy consumption, use characteristics, and energy efficiency improvement potential of industrial sector motor systems in the U.S. Since 2002, regulations such as Minimum Energy Performance Standards, cost reductions for motor system components such as variable frequency drives, system-integrated motor-driven equipment, and awareness programs for motor system energy efficiency have changed the landscape of U.S. motor system energy consumption. To capture the new landscape, the USDOE has initiated a three-year Motor System Market Assessment (MSMA), led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The MSMA will assess the energy consumption, operational and maintenance characteristics, and efficiency improvement opportunity of U.S. industrial sector and commercial building motor systems. As part of the MSMA, a significant effort is currently underway to conduct field assessments of motor systems from a sample of facilities representative of U.S. commercial and industrial motor system energy consumption. The Field Assessment Plan used for these assessments builds on recent LBNL research presented at EEMODS 2011 and EEMODS 2013 using methods for characterizing and determining regional motor system energy efficiency opportunities. This paper provides an update on the development and progress of the MSMA, focusing on the Field Assessment Plan and the framework for assessing the global supply chain for emerging motors and drive technologies.

Destruction of Spores on Building Decontamination Residue in a Commercial Autoclave▿

Science.gov (United States)

Lemieux, P.; Sieber, R.; Osborne, A.; Woodard, A.

2006-01-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial autoclave for treating simulated building decontamination residue (BDR). The BDR was intended to simulate porous materials removed from a building deliberately contaminated with biological agents such as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) in a terrorist attack. The purpose of the tests was to assess whether the standard operating procedure for a commercial autoclave provided sufficiently robust conditions to adequately destroy bacterial spores bound to the BDR. In this study we investigated the effects of several variables related to autoclaving BDR, including time, temperature, pressure, item type, moisture content, packing density, packing orientation, autoclave bag integrity, and autoclave process sequence. The test team created simulated BDR from wallboard, ceiling tiles, carpet, and upholstered furniture, and embedded in the BDR were Geobacillus stearothermophilus biological indicator (BI) strips containing 106 spores and thermocouples to obtain time and temperature profile data associated with each BI strip. The results indicated that a single standard autoclave cycle did not effectively decontaminate the BDR. Autoclave cycles consisting of 120 min at 31.5 lb/in2 and 275°F and 75 min at 45 lb/in2 and 292°F effectively decontaminated the BDR material. Two sequential standard autoclave cycles consisting of 40 min at 31.5 lb/in2 and 275°F proved to be particularly effective, probably because the second cycle's evacuation step pulled the condensed water out of the pores of the materials, allowing better steam penetration. The results also indicated that the packing density and material type of the BDR in the autoclave could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the decontamination process. PMID:17012597

Destruction of spores on building decontamination residue in a commercial autoclave.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemieux, P; Sieber, R; Osborne, A; Woodard, A

2006-12-01

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted an experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of a commercial autoclave for treating simulated building decontamination residue (BDR). The BDR was intended to simulate porous materials removed from a building deliberately contaminated with biological agents such as Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) in a terrorist attack. The purpose of the tests was to assess whether the standard operating procedure for a commercial autoclave provided sufficiently robust conditions to adequately destroy bacterial spores bound to the BDR. In this study we investigated the effects of several variables related to autoclaving BDR, including time, temperature, pressure, item type, moisture content, packing density, packing orientation, autoclave bag integrity, and autoclave process sequence. The test team created simulated BDR from wallboard, ceiling tiles, carpet, and upholstered furniture, and embedded in the BDR were Geobacillus stearothermophilus biological indicator (BI) strips containing 10(6) spores and thermocouples to obtain time and temperature profile data associated with each BI strip. The results indicated that a single standard autoclave cycle did not effectively decontaminate the BDR. Autoclave cycles consisting of 120 min at 31.5 lb/in2 and 275 degrees F and 75 min at 45 lb/in2 and 292 degrees F effectively decontaminated the BDR material. Two sequential standard autoclave cycles consisting of 40 min at 31.5 lb/in2 and 275 degrees F proved to be particularly effective, probably because the second cycle's evacuation step pulled the condensed water out of the pores of the materials, allowing better steam penetration. The results also indicated that the packing density and material type of the BDR in the autoclave could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the decontamination process.

Solar envelope concepts: moderate density building applications. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knowles, R.L.; Berry, R.D.

1980-04-01

Solar energy utilization in urban areas requires public guarantees that all property owners have direct access to the sun. The study examines the implications of this premise in relation to the need for cities to also encourage or accommodate rebuilding and future development. The public policy mechanism for guaranteeing solar access is conceptualized as a solar zoning envelope that allows the largest possible building bulk on a land parcel without shadowing neighboring properties during specified times. Step-by-step methods for generating solar envelopes are described with extensive drawings, showing a variety of urban platting and lot configurations. Development and design possibilities are examined on a selected set of Los Angeles sites with typically diverse urban characteristics. Envelope attributes suitable for encouraging moderate-density commercial and residential building are examined in the context of two hypothetical but realistic development programs: one for speculative office buildings and one for condominium housing. Numerous illustrations of envelope forms and prototypical building designs are provided. The results of development simulation studies on all test sites are tabulated to show building bulk, density, land-coverage and open space characteristics obtainable under the hypothesized envelopes.

Walmart - Saving Energy, Saving Money Through Comprehensive Retrofits, Commercial Building Energy Efficiency (Fact Sheet); Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2015-03-01

Walmart partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2009 to develop and demonstrate energy retrofits for existing buildings. The goal was to reduce energy consumption by at least 30% versus ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007, as part of DOE's Commercial Building Partnerships (CBP) Program. The project presented here, the retrofit of a 213,000 square foot store in Centennial, Colorado, withefficiency measures across multiple building systems, is part of Walmart's ongoing environmental sustainability program, which originated in 2005.

Accuracy of automated measurement and verification (M&V) techniques for energy savings in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Granderson, Jessica; Touzani, Samir; Custodio, Claudine; Sohn, Michael D.; Jump, David; Fernandes, Samuel

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A testing procedure and metrics to asses the performance of whole-building M&V methods is presented. • The accuracy of ten baseline models is evaluated on measured data from 537 commercial buildings. • The impact of reducing the training period from 12-months to shorter time horizon is examined. - Abstract: Trustworthy savings calculations are critical to convincing investors in energy efficiency projects of the benefit and cost-effectiveness of such investments and their ability to replace or defer supply-side capital investments. However, today’s methods for measurement and verification (M&V) of energy savings constitute a significant portion of the total costs of efficiency projects. They also require time-consuming manual data acquisition and often do not deliver results until years after the program period has ended. The rising availability of “smart” meters, combined with new analytical approaches to quantifying savings, has opened the door to conducting M&V more quickly and at lower cost, with comparable or improved accuracy. These meter- and software-based approaches, increasingly referred to as “M&V 2.0”, are the subject of surging industry interest, particularly in the context of utility energy efficiency programs. Program administrators, evaluators, and regulators are asking how M&V 2.0 compares with more traditional methods, how proprietary software can be transparently performance tested, how these techniques can be integrated into the next generation of whole-building focused efficiency programs. This paper expands recent analyses of public-domain whole-building M&V methods, focusing on more novel M&V 2.0 modeling approaches that are used in commercial technologies, as well as approaches that are documented in the literature, and/or developed by the academic building research community. We present a testing procedure and metrics to assess the performance of whole-building M&V methods. We then illustrate the test procedure

Building America House Performance Analysis Procedures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hendron, R.; Farrar-Nagy, S.; Anderson, R.; Judkoff, R.

2001-10-29

As the Building America Program has grown to include a large and diverse cross section of the home building industry, accurate and consistent analysis techniques have become more important to help all program partners as they perform design tradeoffs and calculate energy savings for prototype houses built as part of the program. This document illustrates some of the analysis concepts proven effective and reliable for analyzing the transient energy usage of advanced energy systems as well as entire houses. The analysis procedure described here provides a starting point for calculating energy savings of a prototype house relative to two base cases: builder standard practice and regional standard practice. Also provides building simulation analysis to calculate annual energy savings based on side-by-side short-term field testing of a prototype house.

Capability and deficiency of the simplified model for energy calculation of commercial buildings in the Brazilian regulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Melo, A.P.; Lamberts, R.; Costola, D.; Hensen, J.L.M.

2011-01-01

This paper provides a preliminary assessment on the accuracy of the Brazilian regulation simplified model for commercial buildings. The first step was to compare its results with BESTEST. The study presents a straightforward approach to apply the BESTEST in other climates than the original one

Dual-Drive Production Prototype Project

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

This project was an initiative to engineer, develop and build a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle using the Dual-Drive system. The project aimed to build a plug-in hybrid utilitarian vehicle on a light commercial vehicle platform. The hybrid vehicle wi...

Construction cost impact analysis of the U.S. Department of Energy mandatory performance standards for new federal commercial and multi-family, high-rise residential buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Massa, F.V.; Hadley, D.L.; Halverson, M.A.

1993-12-01

In accordance with federal legislation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has conducted a project to demonstrate use of its Energy Conservation Voluntary Performance Standards for Commercial and Multi-Family High-Rise Residential Buildings; Mandatory for New Federal Buildings; Interim Rule (referred to in this report as DOE-1993). A key requisite of the legislation requires DOE to develop commercial building energy standards that are cost effective. During the demonstration project, DOE specifically addressed this issue by assessing the impacts of the standards on (1) construction costs, (2) builders (and especially small builders) of multi-family, high-rise buildings, and (3) the ability of low-to moderate-income persons to purchase or rent units in such buildings. This document reports on this project

ECCE Toolkit: Prototyping Sensor-Based Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Bellucci

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Building and exploring physical user interfaces requires high technical skills and hours of specialized work. The behavior of multiple devices with heterogeneous input/output channels and connectivity has to be programmed in a context where not only the software interface matters, but also the hardware components are critical (e.g., sensors and actuators. Prototyping physical interaction is hindered by the challenges of: (1 programming interactions among physical sensors/actuators and digital interfaces; (2 implementing functionality for different platforms in different programming languages; and (3 building custom electronic-incorporated objects. We present ECCE (Entities, Components, Couplings and Ecosystems, a toolkit for non-programmers that copes with these issues by abstracting from low-level implementations, thus lowering the complexity of prototyping small-scale, sensor-based physical interfaces to support the design process. A user evaluation provides insights and use cases of the kind of applications that can be developed with the toolkit.

Pilot project for a commercial buildings Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Center (EADC) program. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capehart, B.L.

1996-02-01

Commercial energy use costs businesses around $70 billion annually. Many of these businesses are small and medium sized organizations that do not have the resources to help themselves, or to pay for professional engineering services to help reduce their energy costs and improve their economic competitiveness. Energy cost reduction actions with payback times of around two years could save the commercial sector 15--20%, or $10--$15 billion per year. This project was initially intended to evaluate the feasibility of performing commercial energy audits as an adjunct to the industrial audit program run by the US Department of Energy Industrial Office. This program is housed in 30 universities throughout the United States. Formerly known as Energy Analysis and Diagnostic Centers (EADC`s), the university programs are now called Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC`s) to reflect their expansion from energy use analyses to include waste and productivity analyses. The success of the EADC/IAC program in helping the manufacturing sector provides an excellent model for a similar program in the commercial buildings sector. This project has investigated using the EADC/IAC approach to performing energy audits for the commercial sector, and has determined that such an approach is feasible and cost effective.

Measured energy savings and cost-effectiveness of conservation retrofits in commercial buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greely, K.M.; Harris, J.P.; Hatcher, A.M.

1990-01-01

In this study, the authors examine the measured savings and cost-effectiveness of 447 commercial retrofit projects in the US, Canada, and Europe, representing over 1,700 buildings. For these projects, they examine savings and cost-effectiveness by building type and retrofit strategy, savings from individual measures, peak electric demand savings, comparisons of measured vs. predicted savings, and the persistence of savings in the years following a retrofit. Median annual site energy savings amounted to 20 kBtu/ft 2 , or 18% of whole-building usage; median retrofit cost was $0.56/ft 2 (1988 $), the median payback time was 3.1 years, and the median cost of conserved energy was $3.10/site MBtu. When examined by retrofit strategy, they found that projects with only HVAC and/or lighting retrofits had median payback times of one to three years, while those affecting the building shell, either alone or in combination with other types of measures, had payback times of five or more years. Projects in which only maintenance practices were changed typically saved 12% of their pre-retrofit consumption, often using in-house labor. Their research suggests that, despite significant savings and short payback times for the majority of projects, optimum savings are often not being achieved, due to limited owner willingness to invest in all cost-effective measures, as well as to improper retrofit installation and/or maintenance. A comprehensive understanding of energy management as a process is needed, including both inspection and commissioning of installed retrofits and ongoing tracking of energy consumption as an indicator of operating problems

High Performance Commercial Fenestration Framing Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mike Manteghi; Sneh Kumar; Joshua Early; Bhaskar Adusumalli

2010-01-31

A major objective of the U.S. Department of Energy is to have a zero energy commercial building by the year 2025. Windows have a major influence on the energy performance of the building envelope as they control over 55% of building energy load, and represent one important area where technologies can be developed to save energy. Aluminum framing systems are used in over 80% of commercial fenestration products (i.e. windows, curtain walls, store fronts, etc.). Aluminum framing systems are often required in commercial buildings because of their inherent good structural properties and long service life, which is required from commercial and architectural frames. At the same time, they are lightweight and durable, requiring very little maintenance, and offer design flexibility. An additional benefit of aluminum framing systems is their relatively low cost and easy manufacturability. Aluminum, being an easily recyclable material, also offers sustainable features. However, from energy efficiency point of view, aluminum frames have lower thermal performance due to the very high thermal conductivity of aluminum. Fenestration systems constructed of aluminum alloys therefore have lower performance in terms of being effective barrier to energy transfer (heat loss or gain). Despite the lower energy performance, aluminum is the choice material for commercial framing systems and dominates the commercial/architectural fenestration market because of the reasons mentioned above. In addition, there is no other cost effective and energy efficient replacement material available to take place of aluminum in the commercial/architectural market. Hence it is imperative to improve the performance of aluminum framing system to improve the energy performance of commercial fenestration system and in turn reduce the energy consumption of commercial building and achieve zero energy building by 2025. The objective of this project was to develop high performance, energy efficient commercial

A GUI Prototype for the Framework of Criminal Judicial Reasoning System

OpenAIRE

Thammaboosadee, Sotarat; Silparcha, Udom

2009-01-01

This paper proposed a developed graphical user interface (GUI) prototype, whichis supported by the framework of data mining techniques-based criminal judicial reasoning system.The GUI sequences of the prototype are satisfied with criminal judicial procedure in civil lawsystem. Initially, user must build the model by input the existing incident and specifying the detail ofobjects, elements of crime, charge and judgment. After enough training, the prototype will be readyto determine judgments f...

Functional Testing Protocols for Commercial Building Efficiency Baseline Modeling Software

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jump, David; Price, Phillip N.; Granderson, Jessica; Sohn, Michael

2013-09-06

This document describes procedures for testing and validating proprietary baseline energy modeling software accuracy in predicting energy use over the period of interest, such as a month or a year. The procedures are designed according to the methodology used for public domain baselining software in another LBNL report that was (like the present report) prepared for Pacific Gas and Electric Company: ?Commercial Building Energy Baseline Modeling Software: Performance Metrics and Method Testing with Open Source Models and Implications for Proprietary Software Testing Protocols? (referred to here as the ?Model Analysis Report?). The test procedure focuses on the quality of the software?s predictions rather than on the specific algorithms used to predict energy use. In this way the software vendor is not required to divulge or share proprietary information about how their software works, while enabling stakeholders to assess its performance.

Alstom's Chemical Looping Combustion Prototype for CO₂ Capture from Existing Pulverized Coal-Fired Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrus, Jr., Herbert E. [Alstom Power Inc., Windsor, CT (United States); Chiu, John H. [Alstom Power Inc., Windsor, CT (United States); Edberg, Carl D. [Alstom Power Inc., Windsor, CT (United States); Thibeault, Paul R. [Alstom Power Inc., Windsor, CT (United States); Turek, David G. [Alstom Power Inc., Windsor, CT (United States)

2012-09-30

Alstom’s Limestone Chemical Looping (LCL™) process has the potential to capture CO₂ from new and existing coal-fired power plants while maintaining high plant power generation efficiency. This new power plant concept is based on a hybrid combustion- gasification process utilizing high temperature chemical and thermal looping technology. This process could also be potentially configured as a hybrid combustion-gasification process producing a syngas or hydrogen for various applications while also producing a separate stream of CO₂ for use or sequestration. The targets set for this technology is to capture over 90% of the total carbon in the coal at cost of electricity which is less than 20% greater than Conventional PC or CFB units. Previous work with bench scale test and a 65 kWt Process Development Unit Development (PDU) has validated the chemistry required for the chemical looping process and provided for the investigation of the solids transport mechanisms and design requirements. The objective of this project is to continue development of the combustion option of chemical looping (LCL-C™) by designing, building and testing a 3 MWt prototype facility. The prototype includes all of the equipment that is required to operate the chemical looping plant in a fully integrated manner with all major systems in service. Data from the design, construction, and testing will be used to characterize environmental performance, identify and address technical risks, reassess commercial plant economics, and develop design information for a demonstration plant planned to follow the proposed Prototype. A cold flow model of the prototype will be used to predict operating conditions for the prototype and help in operator training. Operation of the prototype will provide operator experience with this new technology and performance data of the LCL-C™ process, which will be applied to the commercial design and economics and plan for a future demonstration

Performance evaluation of prototype mechanical cassava harvester ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Large-scale cassava harvesting, especially during the dry season, is a major constraint to its industrial demand and commercial production. Manual harvesting is slow and ... Results from field trials showed prototype harvesters weighing 268 – 310 kg can achieve optimum performance on ridged landforms. When harvested ...

Commercial Building Tenant Energy Usage Aggregation and Privacy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Livingston, Olga V.; Pulsipher, Trenton C.; Anderson, David M.; Wang, Na

2014-10-31

A growing number of building owners are benchmarking their building energy use. This requires the building owner to acquire monthly whole-building energy usage information, which can be challenging for buildings in which individual tenants have their own utility meters and accounts with the utility. Some utilities and utility regulators have turned to aggregation of customer energy use data (CEUD) as a way to give building owners whole-building energy usage data while protecting customer privacy. Meter profile aggregation adds a layer of protection that decreases the risk of revealing CEUD as the number of meters aggregated increases. The report statistically characterizes the similarity between individual energy usage patterns and whole-building totals at various levels of meter aggregation.

Commercial Application of a Photovoltaic Concentrator system. Phase I. Final report, 1 June 1978-28 February 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, D.J.; Anderson, E.R.; Bardwell, K.M.

1980-04-01

This report documents the design and analysis of the BDM CAPVC (Commercial Application of a Photovoltaic Concentrator) system. The preliminary design, prototype test and evaluation, system analysis, and final design of a large-scale concentrating photovoltaic system are described. The application is on an attractive new office building which represents a large potential market. The photovoltaic concentrating array is a roof-mounted, single-axis linear parabolic trough, using single crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. A total of 6720 square feet of aperture is focussed on 13,944 PV cells. The photovoltaic system operates in parallel with the local utility in an augmentary loadsharing operating mode. The array is actively cooled and the thermal energy utilized for building heat during winter months. (WHK)

The analysis of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of a large-scale commercial building in Shanghai, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Wang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Reasonable test, diagnosis, and analysis are meaningful for building energy efficiency retrofit and management. Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission of a large-scale commercial building are described in this article. Basic information about energy consumption equipment is included in the investigation. Further diagnoses about the operational state of air-conditioning water systems, and ducted systems were implemented. Energy consumption decreased 200 kWh/m2 per year from 2007 to 2009 after energy-saving reconstruction in 2006. Next, a carbon audit was carried out; this comprised CO2 emission statistics associated with the energy use and categorization and structural analysis (categorization refers to energy categorization and structural analysis means the composition and its proportion relationship of all kinds of primary energy and secondary energy in energy production or consumption. Greenhouse gas emissions could be less than 150 kg/m2 per year from 2007 to 2009. An analysis of the correlation between CO2 emissions, building gross domestic product, and energy efficiency is also presented. This article makes an analysis on the energy utilization and energy-saving reconstruction of a public commercial building in Shanghai and then makes an analysis of carbon audit about greenhouse gas emissions related to energy utilization (it analyzes the status of building’s energy utilization and greenhouse gas emissions, to have a more comprehensive understanding on the internal relationship between energy consumption and its greenhouse gas emissions and provide researchful reference data for the development with reduction strategies of greenhouse gas emission in future building.

Report on detailed requirements for the INFLO prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-01

This report documents the System Requirements for the implementation of the Intelligent Network Flow Optimization (INFLO) : Prototype bundle within the Dynamic Mobility Applications (DMA) portion of the Connected Vehicle Program. It builds off of : t...

Radon investigations - Soil and commercial projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodwin, R.W.

1987-01-01

The liability issues of radon exposure have prompted potential purchasers of vacant land for commercial/industrial development, and commercial landlords, renting large commercial buildings, to determine the radon gas levels at such sites. This paper deals with both pre-construction sites subject to freezing conditions and to large commercial structures. A correlation of radon gas levels within a commercial building and a sister pre-construction site confirms the validity of using activated charcoal canisters as a cost effective means to combating radon in large structures

Rapid Prototyping of Standard Compliant Visible Light Communications System

OpenAIRE

Gavrincea, Ciprian; Baranda, Jorge; Henarejos, Pol

2014-01-01

This article describes the implementation of a prototype visible light communications system based on the IEEE 802.15.7 standard using low-cost commercial off-the-shelf analog devices. The aim of this article is to show that this standard provides a framework that could promote the introduction of applications into the market. Thus, these specifications could be further developed, reducing the gap between the industry and research communities. The implemented prototype makes use of software d...

Utilizing Rapid Prototyping for Architectural Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Kirton, E. F.; Lavoie, S. D.

2006-01-01

This paper will discuss our approach to, success with and future direction in rapid prototyping for architectural modeling. The premise that this emerging technology has broad and exciting applications in the building design and construction industry will be supported by visual and physical evidence. This evidence will be presented in the form of…

Utilization of virtual prototyping in development of CMM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raneda, A.; Pessi, P.; Siuko, M.; Handroos, H.; Palmer, J.; Vilenius, M.

2003-01-01

The characteristic advantages of hydraulics (high power density, simple construction and reliability) together with the characteristics of water as the pressure medium (fire and environmentally safe, chemically neutral, not activated nor affected by radiation) are highlighted in critical applications such as remote handling operations in International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). However, component cost and lack of wide selection of water hydraulic components make it difficult to build and to test complex water hydraulic systems. The use of virtual prototyping for the development of water hydraulic tools can be used to address this problem. Rapidly increased computational power has created conditions for extensive numerical calculations, enabling computer aided virtual prototyping to replace physical prototype phases in product development

10 CFR 434.503 - Prototype building procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

.... For mixed-use buildings the Energy Cost Budget is derived by allocating the floor space of each...) Office (Business); (c) Retail (Mercantile); (d) Warehouse (Storage); (e) School (Educational); (f) Hotel...

Mechatronics Education: From Paper Design to Product Prototype Using LEGO NXT Parts

Science.gov (United States)

Lofaro, Daniel M.; Le, Tony Truong Giang; Oh, Paul

The industrial design cycle starts with design then simulation, prototyping, and testing. When the tests do not match the design requirements the design process is started over again. It is important for students to experience this process before they leave their academic institution. The high cost of the prototype phase, due to CNC/Rapid Prototype machine costs, makes hands on study of this process expensive for students and the academic institutions. This document shows that the commercially available LEGO NXT Robot kit is a viable low cost surrogate to the expensive industrial CNC/Rapid Prototype portion of the industrial design cycle.

Building energy governance in Shanghai

Science.gov (United States)

Kung, YiHsiu Michelle

With Asia's surging economies and urbanization, the region is adding to its built environment at an unprecedented rate, especially those population centers in China and India. With numerous existing buildings, plus a new building boom, construction in these major Asian cities has caused momentous sustainability challenges. This dissertation focuses on China's leading city, Shanghai, to explore and assess its existing commercial building energy policies and practices. Research estimates that Shanghai's commercial buildings might become a key challenge with regard to energy use and CO2 emissions as compared to other major Asian cities. Relevant building energy policy instruments at national and local levels for commercial buildings are reviewed. In addition, two benchmarks are established to further assess building energy policies in Shanghai. The first benchmark is based on the synthesis of relevant criteria and policy instruments as recommended by professional organizations, while the second practical benchmark is drawn from an analysis of three global cities: New York, London and Tokyo. Moreover, two large-scale commercial building sites - Shanghai IKEA and Plaza 66 - are selected for investigation and assessment of their efforts on building energy saving measures. Detailed building energy savings, CO2 reductions, and management cost reductions based on data availability and calculations are presented with the co-benefits approach. The research additionally analyzes different interventions and factors that facilitate or constrain the implementation process of building energy saving measures in each case. Furthermore, a multi-scale analytical framework is employed to investigate relevant stakeholders that shape Shanghai's commercial building energy governance. Research findings and policy recommendations are offered at the close of this dissertation. Findings and policy recommendations are intended to facilitate commercial building energy governance in Shanghai and

Energy Savings Potential and Research, Development, & Demonstration Opportunities for Commercial Building Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2011-09-01

This report covers an assessment of 182 different heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) technologies for U.S. commercial buildings to identify and provide analysis on 17 priority technology options in various stages of development. The analyses include an estimation of technical energy-savings potential, description of technical maturity, description of non-energy benefits, description of current barriers for market adoption, and description of the technology’s applicability to different building or HVAC equipment types. From these technology descriptions, are suggestions for potential research, development and demonstration (RD&D) initiatives that would support further development of the priority technology options.

PCM-air heat exchangers for free-cooling applications in buildings: Experimental results of two real-scale prototypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazaro, Ana; Dolado, Pablo; Marin, Jose M.; Zalba, Belen

2009-01-01

Latent heat storage using phase change materials (PCM) can be used for free-cooling. In this application low air temperature is used to solidify the PCM during the night and then during the next day, the inside air of a building can be cooled down by exchanging heat with PCM. Short times for charging and discharging the PCM are required. PCM have in general low thermal conductivity, therefore the heat exchanger design is very important to fulfil free-cooling requirements. This paper presents an experimental setup for testing PCM-air real-scale heat exchangers and the results for two real-scale prototypes. Results show that a heat exchanger using a PCM with lower thermal conductivity and lower total stored energy, but adequately designed, has higher cooling power and can be applied for free-cooling

Distributed Flexibility Characterization and Resource Allocation Strategies for Multi-zone Commercial Buildings in the Smart Grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hao, He; Lian, Jianming; Kalsi, Karanjit; Stoustrup, Jakob

2015-12-15

The HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air- Conditioning) system of commercial buildings is a complex system with a large number of dynamically interacting components. In particular, the thermal dynamics of each zone are coupled with those of the neighboring zones. In this paper, we study a multi-agent based approach to model and control commercial building HVAC system for providing grid services. In the multi-agent system (MAS), individual zones are modeled as agents that can communicate, interact, and negotiate with one another to achieve a common objective. We first propose a distributed characterization method on the aggregated airflow (and thus fan power) flexibility that the HVAC system can provide to the ancillary service market. Then, we propose a Nash-bargaining based airflow allocation strategy to track a dispatch signal (that is within the offered flexibility limit) while respecting the preference and flexibility of individual zones. Moreover, we devise a distributed algorithm to obtain the Nash bargaining solution via dual decomposition and average consensus. Numerical simulations illustrate that the proposed distributed protocols are much more scalable than the centralized approaches especially when the system becomes larger and more complex.

Rapid prototyping of complete systems, the case study of a smart parking

OpenAIRE

Ducreux , Laurent-Frédéric; Guyon-Gardeux , Claire; Louvel , Maxime; Pacull , François; Safietou Raby , Thior; Vergara-Gallego , Maria Isabel

2015-01-01

International audience; This paper details how LINC a coordination middle-ware, can fasten the development of prototypes that integrate several equipment. A case study of rapid prototyping is presented. It illustrates how a smart parking prototype has been built from several independent and autonomous equipment, coming from different vendors. This has been achieved by parallel development thanks to the resource based approach offered by LINC. This paper also describes how LINC helps building ...

Better Buildings Neighborhood Program: BetterBuildings Lowell Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heslin, Thomas

2014-01-31

The City of Lowell set four goals at the beginning of the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program: 1. Improve the Downtown Historic Park District’s Carbon Footprint 2. Develop a sustainable and replicable model for energy efficiency in historic buildings 3. Create and retain jobs 4. Promote multi-stakeholder partnerships The City of Lowell, MA was awarded $5 million in May 2010 to conduct energy efficiency retrofits within the downtown National Historical Park (NHP). The City’s target was to complete retrofits in 200,000 square feet of commercial space and create 280 jobs, while adhering to the strict historical preservation regulations that govern the NHP. The development of a model for energy efficiency in historic buildings was successfully accomplished. BetterBuildings Lowell’s success in energy efficiency in historic buildings was due to the simplicity of the program. We relied strongly on the replacement of antiquated HVAC systems and air sealing and a handful of talented energy auditors and contractors. BetterBuildings Lowell was unique for the Better Buildings Neighborhood Program because it was the only program that focused solely on commercial properties. BetterBuildings Lowell did target multi-family properties, which were reported as commercial, but the majority of the building types and uses were commercial. Property types targeted were restaurants, office buildings, museums, sections of larger buildings, mixed use buildings, and multifamily buildings. This unique fabric of building type and use allows for a deeper understanding to how different properties use energy. Because of the National Historical Park designation of downtown Lowell, being able to implement energy efficiency projects within a highly regulated historical district also provided valuable research and precedent proving energy efficiency projects can be successfully completed in historical districts and historical buildings. Our program was very successful in working with the local

Prototyping the PANDA Barrel DIRC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwarz, C., E-mail: C.Schwarz@gsi.de [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Kalicy, G.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Gerhardt, A.; Götzen, K.; Hohler, R.; Kumawat, H.; Lehmann, D.; Lewandowski, B.; Patsyuk, M.; Peters, K.; Schepers, G.; Schmitt, L.; Schwiening, J.; Traxler, M.; Zühlsdorf, M. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Darmstadt (Germany); Dodokhov, V.Kh. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Britting, A.; Eyrich, W.; Lehmann, A. [Friedrich Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen (Germany); and others

2014-12-01

The design of the Barrel DIRC detector for the future PANDA experiment at FAIR contains several important improvements compared to the successful BABAR DIRC, such as focusing and fast timing. To test those improvements as well as other design options a prototype was build and successfully tested in 2012 with particle beams at CERN. The prototype comprises a radiator bar, focusing lens, mirror, and a prism shaped expansion volume made of synthetic fused silica. An array of micro-channel plate photomultiplier tubes measures the location and arrival time of the Cherenkov photons with sub-nanosecond resolution. The development of a fast reconstruction algorithm allowed to tune construction details of the detector setup with test beam data and Monte-Carlo simulations.

Greenhouse Gas Abatement with Distributed Generation in California's Commercial Buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stadler, Michael; Marnay, Chris; Cardoso, Goncalo; Megel, Olivier; Siddiqui, Afzal; Lai, Judy

2009-01-01

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) is working with the California Energy Commission (CEC) to determine the role of distributed generation (DG) in greenhouse gas reductions. The impact of DG on large industrial sites is well known, and mostly, the potentials are already harvested. In contrast, little is known about the impact of DG on commercial buildings with peak electric loads ranging from 100 kW to 5 MW. We examine how DG with combined heat and power (CHP) may be implemented within the context of a cost minimizing microgrid that is able to adopt and operate various smart energy technologies, such as thermal and photovoltaic (PV) on-site generation, heat exchangers, solar thermal collectors, absorption chillers, and storage systems. We use a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) that has the minimization of a site's annual energy costs as objective. Using 138 representative commercial sites in California (CA) with existing tariff rates and technology data, we find the greenhouse gas reduction potential for California's commercial sector. This paper shows results from the ongoing research project and finished work from a two year U.S. Department of Energy research project. To show the impact of the different technologies on CO2 emissions, several sensitivity runs for different climate zones within CA with different technology performance expectations for 2020 were performed. The considered sites can contribute between 1 Mt/a and 1.8 Mt/a to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) goal of 6.7Mt/a CO2 abatement potential in 2020. Also, with lower PV and storage costs as well as consideration of a CO2 pricing scheme, our results indicate that PV and electric storage adoption can compete rather than supplement each other when the tariff structure and costs of electricity supply have been taken into consideration. To satisfy the site's objective of minimizing energy costs, the batteries will be charged also by CHP systems during off-peak and mid-peak hours and

Quantitative Analysis of the Principal-Agent Problem in Commercial Buildings in the U.S.: Focus on Central Space Heating and Cooling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blum, Helcio; Sathaye, Jayant

2010-05-14

We investigate the existence of the principal-agent (PA) problem in non-government, non-mall commercial buildings in the U.S. in 2003. The analysis concentrates on space heating and cooling energy consumed by centrally installed equipment in order to verify whether a market failure caused by the PA problem might have prevented the installation of energy-efficient devices in non-owner-occupied buildings (efficiency problem) and/or the efficient operation of space-conditioning equipment in these buildings (usage problem). Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) 2003 data for single-owner, single-tenant and multi-tenant occupied buildings were used for conducting this evaluation. These are the building subsets with the appropriate conditions for assessing both the efficiency and the usage problems. Together, these three building types represent 51.9percent of the total floor space of all buildings with space heating and 59.4percent of the total end-use energy consumption of such buildings; similarly, for space cooling, they represent 52.7percent of floor space and 51.6percent of energy consumption. Our statistical analysis shows that there is a usage PA problem. In space heating it applies only to buildings with a small floor area (<_50,000 sq. ft.). We estimate that in 2003 it accounts for additional site energy consumption of 12.3 (+ 10.5 ) TBtu (primary energy consumption of 14.6 [+- 12.4] TBtu), corresponding to 24.0percent (+- 20.5percent) of space heating and 10.2percent (+- 8.7percent) of total site energy consumed in those buildings. In space cooling, however, the analysis shows that the PA market failure affects the complete set of studied buildings. We estimate that it accounts for a higher site energy consumption of 8.3 (+-4.0) TBtu (primary energy consumption of 25.5 [+- 12.2]TBtu), which corresponds to 26.5percent (+- 12.7percent) of space cooling and 2.7percent (+- 1.3percent) of total site energy consumed in those buildings.

The STEP standard as an approach for design and prototyping

OpenAIRE

Plantec , Alain; Ribaud , Vincent

1998-01-01

International audience; STEP is an ISO standard (ISO-10303) for the computer-interpretable representation and exchange of product data. Parts of STEP standardize conceptual structures and usage of information in generic or specific domains. The standardization process of these constructs is an evolutionary approach , which uses generated prototypes at different phases of the process. This paper presents a method for the building of prototype generators, inspired by this standardization proces...

Two-stage commercial evaluation of engineering systems production projects for high-rise buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Bril, Aleksander; Kalinina, Olga; Levina, Anastasia

2018-03-01

The paper is devoted to the current and debatable problem of methodology of choosing the effective innovative enterprises for venture financing. A two-stage system of commercial innovation evaluation based on the UNIDO methodology is proposed. Engineering systems account for 25 to 40% of the cost of high-rise residential buildings. This proportion increases with the use of new construction technologies. Analysis of the construction market in Russia showed that the production of internal engineering systems elements based on innovative technologies has a growth trend. The production of simple elements is organized in small enterprises on the basis of new technologies. The most attractive for development is the use of venture financing of small innovative business. To improve the efficiency of these operations, the paper proposes a methodology for a two-stage evaluation of small business development projects. A two-stage system of commercial evaluation of innovative projects allows creating an information base for informed and coordinated decision-making on venture financing of enterprises that produce engineering systems elements for the construction business.

Two-stage commercial evaluation of engineering systems production projects for high-rise buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bril Aleksander

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is devoted to the current and debatable problem of methodology of choosing the effective innovative enterprises for venture financing. A two-stage system of commercial innovation evaluation based on the UNIDO methodology is proposed. Engineering systems account for 25 to 40% of the cost of high-rise residential buildings. This proportion increases with the use of new construction technologies. Analysis of the construction market in Russia showed that the production of internal engineering systems elements based on innovative technologies has a growth trend. The production of simple elements is organized in small enterprises on the basis of new technologies. The most attractive for development is the use of venture financing of small innovative business. To improve the efficiency of these operations, the paper proposes a methodology for a two-stage evaluation of small business development projects. A two-stage system of commercial evaluation of innovative projects allows creating an information base for informed and coordinated decision-making on venture financing of enterprises that produce engineering systems elements for the construction business.

Improving building energy efficiency in India: State-level analysis of building energy efficiency policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, Sha; Tan, Qing; Evans, Meredydd; Kyle, Page; Vu, Linh; Patel, Pralit L.

2017-11-01

India is expected to add 40 billion m2 of new buildings till 2050. Buildings are responsible for one third of India’s total energy consumption today and building energy use is expected to continue growing driven by rapid income and population growth. The implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) is one of the measures to improve building energy efficiency. Using the Global Change Assessment Model, this study assesses growth in the buildings sector and impacts of building energy policies in Gujarat, which would help the state adopt ECBC and expand building energy efficiency programs. Without building energy policies, building energy use in Gujarat would grow by 15 times in commercial buildings and 4 times in urban residential buildings between 2010 and 2050. ECBC improves energy efficiency in commercial buildings and could reduce building electricity use in Gujarat by 20% in 2050, compared to the no policy scenario. Having energy codes for both commercial and residential buildings could result in additional 10% savings in electricity use. To achieve these intended savings, it is critical to build capacity and institution for robust code implementation.

Gamma-ray and neutron area monitoring system of linear IFMIF prototype accelerator building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hiroki; Kojima, Toshiyuki; Narita, Takahiro; Tsutsumi, Kazuyoshi; Maebara, Sunao; Sakaki, Hironao; Nishiyama, Koichi

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Area monitoring system and control system are needed for LIPAc radiation management. • To secure the radiation safety, these systems are linked with two kinds of data path. • Hardwired data paths are adopted to realize the fast transfer of interlock signals. • Dual LAN and shared memory are adopted to the reliable transfer of monitoring data. • Data transfers without unnecessary load are designed and configured for these systems. -- Abstract: The linear IFMIF prototype accelerator (LIPAc) produces deuteron beam with 1 MW power. Since huge number of neutrons occur from such a high power beam, therefore, it is important for the radiation management to design a high reliability area monitoring system for gamma-rays and neutrons. To obtain the valuable operation data of the high-power deuteron beam at LIPAc, it is important to link and record the beam operation data and the area monitoring data. We realize the reliable data transfer to provide the area monitoring data to the accelerator control system which needs a high reliability using the shared-memory data link method. This paper describes the area monitoring system in the LIPAc building and the data-link between this system and the LIPAc control system

Evaluating the benefits of commercial building energy codes and improving federal incentives for code adoption.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbraith, Nathaniel; Azevedo, Inês L; Jaramillo, Paulina

2014-12-16

The federal government has the goal of decreasing commercial building energy consumption and pollutant emissions by incentivizing the adoption of commercial building energy codes. Quantitative estimates of code benefits at the state level that can inform the size and allocation of these incentives are not available. We estimate the state-level climate, environmental, and health benefits (i.e., social benefits) and reductions in energy bills (private benefits) of a more stringent code (ASHRAE 90.1-2010) relative to a baseline code (ASHRAE 90.1-2007). We find that reductions in site energy use intensity range from 93 MJ/m(2) of new construction per year (California) to 270 MJ/m(2) of new construction per year (North Dakota). Total annual benefits from more stringent codes total $506 million for all states, where $372 million are from reductions in energy bills, and $134 million are from social benefits. These total benefits range from $0.6 million in Wyoming to $49 million in Texas. Private benefits range from $0.38 per square meter in Washington State to $1.06 per square meter in New Hampshire. Social benefits range from $0.2 per square meter annually in California to $2.5 per square meter in Ohio. Reductions in human/environmental damages and future climate damages account for nearly equal shares of social benefits.

Prototypical Consolidation Demonstration Project: Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gili, J.A.; Poston, V.K.

1993-11-01

This is the final report of the Prototypical Consolidation Demonstration Project, which was funded by the US Department of Energy's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. The project had two objectives: (a) to develop and demonstrate a prototype of production-scale equipment for the dry, horizontal consolidation and packaging of spent nuclear fuel rods from commercial boiling water reactor and pressurized water reactor fuel assemblies, and (b) to report the development and demonstration results to the US Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office. This report summarizes the activities and conclusions of the project management contractor, EG ampersand G Idaho, Inc., and the fabrication and testing contractor, NUS Corporation (NUS). The report also presents EG ampersand G Idaho's assessments of the equipment and procedures developed by NUS

Installation package - SIMS prototype system 1A

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

This report consists of details for the installation, operation and maintenance of a prototype heating and hot water system, designed for residential or light commercial applications. This system consists of the following subsystems: air type collectors, pebble bed thermal storage, air handling unit, air to water heat exchanger, hot water preheat tank, auxiliary energy, ducting system.

From comfort to kilowatts: An integrated assessment of electricity conservation in Thailand's commercial sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busch, J.F. Jr.

1990-08-01

Thailand serves as a case study of the potential to conserve electricity in the fast-growing commercial sectors of the tropical developing world. We performed a field study of over 1100 Thai office workers in which a questionnaire survey and simultaneous physical measurements were taken. Both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned buildings were included. We analyzed Thai subjective responses on the ASHRAE, McIntyre and other rating scales, relating them to Effective Temperature, demographics, and to rational indices of warmth such as PMV and TSENS. These results suggest that without sacrificing comfort, significant energy conservation opportunities exist through the relaxation of upper space temperature limits. To investigate the potential for conserving energy in a cost-effective manner, we performed a series of parametric simulations using the DOE-2.1D computer program on three commercial building prototypes based on actual buildings in Bangkok; an office, a hotel, and a shopping center. We investigated a wide range of energy conservation measures appropriate for each building type, from architectural measures to HVAC equipment and control solutions. The best measures applied in combination into high efficiency cases can generate energy savings in excess of 50%. Economic analyses performed for the high efficiency cases, resulted in costs of conserved energy of less than and internal rates of return in excess of 40%. Thermal cool storage, cogeneration, and gas cooling technology showed promise as cost-effective electric load management strategies.

Co-simulation of innovative integrated HVAC systems in buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trcka, Marija; Hensena, Jan L.M.; Wetter, Michael

2010-06-21

Integrated performance simulation of buildings HVAC systems can help in reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers sufficient capabilities and flexibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation, as an integrated approach to simulation. This article elaborates on issues important for co-simulation realization and discusses multiple possibilities to justify the particular approach implemented in the here described co-simulation prototype. The prototype is validated with the results obtained from the traditional simulation approach. It is further used in a proof-of-concept case study to demonstrate the applicability of the method and to highlight its benefits. Stability and accuracy of different coupling strategies are analyzed to give a guideline for the required coupling time step.

A fast track approach to commercializing the sodium cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boardman, C.E.; Hui, Marvin; Carroll, Douglas

1999-01-01

As a result of more than 50 years of Liquid Metal Reactor design and development work the basic technology is well understood. However, commercialization of the Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) has been delayed while various approaches to achieving competitive plant and fuel cycle costs are explored, developed, and demonstrated in prototype systems. Most designers have elected to take advantage of the economy of scale but are burdened by the cost and risk associated with the need for incremental scale up through the design, construction, and operation of multiple demonstration plants. An alternative commercialization path developed by GE would utilize a modular plant design to reduce the plant construction, R and D, and economic risk associated with the need to build multiple demonstration plants to reach a competitive size'. The key question is can a modular FBR compete with alternative electrical generation systems? Recently completed studies indicate that the answer to this question is yes if the modular plant designers keep the design simple by incorporating passive safety features and optimizing the manner in which supporting service systems are shared. (author)

Public Flat in Indonesia, Their Role in Highly Densed City: Legal Aspect Review and Prototype Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Paramita, Beta; Perdana Khidmat, Rendy; Fukuda, Hiroatsu

2018-05-01

An affordable vertical house, which is known as rusun in Indonesian term becomes the utopia of a compact city. The rusun to be the main actor contributing to the creation of liveable comfort in dense areas by relocating squatters and slum inhabitants to better living places. Technical guidelines and building standards play a major role in a building’s environmental impact. These standards will be reviewed based on their impact on building performance. There are two prototypes of rusun referenced in 05/PRT/M/2007, and the assessment of these prototypes has been done by using ENVi-met. The meteorological data for the ENVI-met configuration input is adapted to the same weather and climate conditions taken from the data measured on June 13th, 2012. The analysis of this assessment will focus on building orientation, building length, building height, and also the microclimate which is impacted by these prototypes. Based on the assessment, it is recommended that the layout of outdoor space on the north side should provide as much green coverage as possible, either for shadowing or for the benefit of its albedo. The simulation shows that building ratio of 1:3 produces higher wind speed, which also controls air temperature and humidity.

Analysis of Potential Benefits and Costs of Adopting ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 as a Commercial Building Energy Code in Illinois Jurisdictions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belzer, David B.; Cort, Katherine A.; Winiarski, David W.; Richman, Eric E.; Friedrich, Michele

2002-05-01

ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 was developed in an effort to set minimum requirements for energy efficienty design and construction of new commercial buildings. This report assesses the benefits and costs of adopting this standard as the building energy code in Illinois. Energy and economic impacts are estimated using BLAST combined with a Life-Cycle Cost approach to assess corresponding economic costs and benefits.

Design and Development of a 100 MVA HTS Generator for Commercial Entry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2007-06-07

In 2002, General Electric and the US Department of Energy (DOE) entered into a cooperative agreement for the development of a commercialized 100 MVA generator using high temperature superconductors (HTS) in the field winding. The intent of the program was to: (1) identify and develop technologies that would be needed for such a generator; (2) develop conceptual designs for generators with ratings of 100 MVA and higher using HTS technology; (3) perform proof of concept tests at the 1.5 MW level for GE's proprietary warm iron rotor HTS generator concept; and (4) design, build, and test a prototype of a commercially viable 100 MVA generator that could be placed on the power grid. This report summarizes work performed during the program and is provided as one of the final program deliverables. The design for the HTS generator was based on GE's warm iron rotor concept in which a cold HTS coil is wound around a warm magnetic iron pole. This approach for rotating HTS electrical machinery provides the efficiency benefits of the HTS technology while addressing the two most important considerations for power generators in utility applications: cost and reliability. The warm iron rotor concept uses the least amount of expensive HTS wire compared to competing concepts and builds on the very high reliability of conventional iron core stators and armature windings.

Estimating energy impacts of residential and commercial building development. A manual for the Pacific Northwest and Alaska

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-02-22

This energy-impact manual presents information on energy implications of new building design and operation, providing a reasonably accurate means of assessing the total energy impact of new construction in the commercial and residential sectors. While developed specifically for the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, much of the data used are national averages; the procedures described are applicable to other regions of the nation, with appropriate adjustments for climatic differences. The manual is organized into three parts, each covering one aspect of the energy impacts of building development. Part I addresses the energy impact of erecting the building(s). This includes the energy cost of grading and excavating and other site preparation. It also takes into account the energy embodied in the fabrication of materials used in building construction, as well as the energy cost of transporting materials to the site and assembling them. Part II focuses on the end use of energy during normal building operation, i.e., the energy consumed for space heating, cooling, lighting, water heating, etc. A simplified calculation sequence is provided which allows the user to estimate the consumption of most combinations of building orientation, characteristics, and operating conditions. Part III examines the relationship of land use to energy consumption, principally the transportation energy impact of various land-development patterns, the embodied energy impacts of infrastructure requirements, and the impacts of various orientation and siting schemes. (MCW)

Prototyping the HPDP Chip on STM 65 NM Process

Science.gov (United States)

Papadas, C.; Dramitinos, G.; Syed, M.; Helfers, T.; Dedes, G.; Schoellkopf, J.-P.; Dugoujon, L.

2011-08-01

Currently Astrium GmbH is involved in the of the High Performance Data Processor (HPDP) development programme for telecommunication applications under a DLR contract. The HPDP project targets the implementation of the commercially available reconfigurable array processor IP (XPP from the company PACT XPP Technologies) in a radiation hardened technology.In the current complementary development phase funded under the Greek Industry Incentive scheme, it is planned to prototype the HPDP chip in commercial STM 65 nm technology. In addition it is also planned to utilise the preliminary radiation hardened components of this library wherever possible.This abstract gives an overview of the HPDP chip architecture, the basic details of the STM 65 nm process and the design flow foreseen for the prototyping. The paper will discuss the development and integration issues involved in using the STM 65 nm process (also including the available preliminary radiation hardened components) for designs targeted to be used in space applications.

CO2 MONITORING FOR DEMAND CONTROLLED VENTILATION IN COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisk, William J.; Sullivan, Douglas P.; Faulkner, David; Eliseeva, Ekaterina

2010-03-17

Carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) sensors are often deployed in commercial buildings to obtain CO{sub 2} data that are used, in a process called demand-controlled ventilation, to automatically modulate rates of outdoor air ventilation. The objective is to keep ventilation rates at or above design specifications and code requirements and also to save energy by avoiding excessive ventilation rates. Demand controlled ventilation is most often used in spaces with highly variable and sometime dense occupancy. Reasonably accurate CO{sub 2} measurements are needed for successful demand controlled ventilation; however, prior research has suggested substantial measurement errors. Accordingly, this study evaluated: (a) the accuracy of 208 CO{sub 2} single-location sensors located in 34 commercial buildings, (b) the accuracy of four multi-location CO{sub 2} measurement systems that utilize tubing, valves, and pumps to measure at multiple locations with single CO{sub 2} sensors, and (c) the spatial variability of CO{sub 2} concentrations within meeting rooms. The field studies of the accuracy of single-location CO{sub 2} sensors included multi-concentration calibration checks of 90 sensors in which sensor accuracy was checked at multiple CO{sub 2} concentrations using primary standard calibration gases. From these evaluations, average errors were small, -26 ppm and -9 ppm at 760 and 1010 ppm, respectively; however, the averages of the absolute values of error were 118 ppm (16%) and 138 ppm (14%), at concentrations of 760 and 1010 ppm, respectively. The calibration data are generally well fit by a straight line as indicated by high values of R{sup 2}. The Title 24 standard specifies that sensor error must be certified as no greater than 75 ppm for a period of five years after sensor installation. At 1010 ppm, 40% of sensors had errors greater than {+-}75 ppm and 31% of sensors has errors greater than {+-}100 ppm. At 760 ppm, 47% of sensors had errors greater than {+-}75 ppm and 37% of

Material choices for the commercial fast reactor steam generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willby, C.; Walters, J.

1978-01-01

Experience with fast reactor steam generators has shown them to be critical components in achieving a high availability. This paper presents the designers views on the use of ferritic materials for steam generators and describes the proposed design of the steam generators for the Commercial Fast Reactor (CFR), prototype of which are to be inserted in the Prototype Fast Reactor at Dounreay. (author)

Commercial thermal distribution systems, Final report for CIEE/CEC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Tengfang; Bechu, Olivier; Carrie, Remi; Dickerhoff, Darryl; Fisk, William; Franconi, Ellen; Kristiansen, Oyvind; Levinson, Ronnen; McWilliams, Jennifer; Wang, Duo; Modera, Mark; Webster, Tom; Ring, Erik; Zhang, Qiang; Huizenga, Charlie; Bauman, Fred; Arens, Ed

1999-12-01

According to the California Energy Commission (CEC 1998a), California commercial buildings account for 35% of statewide electricity consumption, and 16% of statewide gas consumption. Space conditioning accounts for roughly 16,000 GWh of electricity and 800 million therms of natural gas annually, and the vast majority of this space conditioning energy passes through thermal distribution systems in these buildings. In addition, 8600 GWh per year is consumed by fans and pumps in commercial buildings, most of which is used to move the thermal energy through these systems. Research work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has been ongoing over the past five years to investigate the energy efficiency of these thermal distribution systems, and to explore possibilities for improving that energy efficiency. Based upon that work, annual savings estimates of 1 kWh/ft{sup 2} for light commercial buildings, and 1-2 kWh/ft{sup 2} in large commercial buildings have been developed for the particular aspects of thermal distribution system performance being addressed by this project. Those savings estimates, combined with a distribution of the building stock based upon an extensive stock characterization study (Modera et al. 1999a), and technical penetration estimates, translate into statewide saving potentials of 2000 GWh/year and 75 million thermal/year, as well as an electricity peak reduction potential of 0.7 GW. The overall goal of this research program is to provide new technology and application knowledge that will allow the design, construction, and energy services industries to reduce the energy waste associated with thermal distribution systems in California commercial buildings. The specific goals of the LBNL efforts over the past year were: (1) to advance the state of knowledge about system performance and energy losses in commercial-building thermal distribution systems; (2) to evaluate the potential of reducing thermal losses through duct sealing, duct

Design and Construction of Prototype Dark Matter Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peter Fisher

2012-03-23

The Lepton Quark Studies (LQS) group is engaged in searching for dark matter using the Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) (Carlsbad, NM). DMTPC is a direction-sensitive dark matter detector designed to measure the recoil direction and energy deposited by fluorine nuclei recoiling from the interaction with incident WIMPs. In the past year, the major areas of progress have been: to publish the first dark matter search results from a surface run of the DMTPC prototype detector, to build and install the 10L prototype in the underground laboratory at WIPP which will house the 1 m{sup 3} detector, and to demonstrate charge and PMT readout of the TPC using prototype detectors, which allow triggering and {Delta}z measurement to be used in the 1 m{sup 3} detector under development.

Pressure pulsation in Kaplan turbines: Prototype-CFD comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivetti, A; Lucino, C; Liscia, S; Muguerza, D; Avellan, F

2012-01-01

Pressure pulsation phenomena in a large Kaplan turbine are investigated by means of numerical simulations (CFD) and prototype measurements in order to study the dynamic behavior of flow due to the blade passage and its interaction with other components of the turbine. Numerical simulations are performed with the commercial software Ansys CFX code, solving the incompressible Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged-Navier Stokes equations under a finite volume scheme. The computational domain involves the entire machine at prototype scale. Special care is taken in the discretization of the wicket gate overhang and runner blade gap. Prototype measurements are performed using pressure transducers at different locations among the wicket gate outlet and the draft tube inlet. Then, CFD results are compared with temporary signals of prototype measurements at identical locations to validate the numerical model. A detailed analysis was focused on the tip gap flow and the pressure field at the discharge ring. From a rotating reference frame perspective, it is found that the mean pressure fluctuates accordingly the wicket gate passage. Moreover, in prototype measurements the pressure frequency that reveals the presence of modulated cavitation at the discharge ring is distinguished, as also verified from the shape of erosion patches in concordance with the number of wicket gates.

Pressure pulsation in Kaplan turbines: Prototype-CFD comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Rivetti, A.; Lucino1, C.; Liscia, S.; Muguerza, D.; Avellan, F.

2012-11-01

Pressure pulsation phenomena in a large Kaplan turbine are investigated by means of numerical simulations (CFD) and prototype measurements in order to study the dynamic behavior of flow due to the blade passage and its interaction with other components of the turbine. Numerical simulations are performed with the commercial software Ansys CFX code, solving the incompressible Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged-Navier Stokes equations under a finite volume scheme. The computational domain involves the entire machine at prototype scale. Special care is taken in the discretization of the wicket gate overhang and runner blade gap. Prototype measurements are performed using pressure transducers at different locations among the wicket gate outlet and the draft tube inlet. Then, CFD results are compared with temporary signals of prototype measurements at identical locations to validate the numerical model. A detailed analysis was focused on the tip gap flow and the pressure field at the discharge ring. From a rotating reference frame perspective, it is found that the mean pressure fluctuates accordingly the wicket gate passage. Moreover, in prototype measurements the pressure frequency that reveals the presence of modulated cavitation at the discharge ring is distinguished, as also verified from the shape of erosion patches in concordance with the number of wicket gates.

BREST-OD-300 Reactor as a prototype of the future commercial lead cooled fast reactor of natural safety

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Orlov, V.V.; Smirnov, V.S.; Filin, A.I.; Glazov, A.G. [N.A. Dollezhal Institute ' NIKIET' , PO Box 788, Moscow, 101000 (Russian Federation)

2006-07-01

This paper briefly describes the physical and design features of a demonstration 300 MWe fast reactor with uranium-plutonium nitride fuel and lead coolant, BREST-OD-300, under development in Russia. This reactor is regarded as a prototype of future commercial reactors, which may form a foundation for large-scale growth of nuclear power in this new century. It is demonstrated that the natural properties of the lead coolant and nitride fuel combined with the physical and design features specific to fast reactors ensure natural safety of BREST and, with any credible initiating events, allow deterministic exclusion of accidents with large radioactive releases requiring evacuation of local residents. The paper identifies the ways and means of attaining natural safety, which rule out prompt criticality excursion, loss of cooling and fuel failure through use of a small reactivity margin, commensurable with {beta}{sub eff}, low pressure in the circuit, large margins to temperature limits, high natural circulation, passive decay heat removal by air unlimited in time, high heat accumulating capability of lead-filled circuit, stabilizing temperature and coolant flow rate feedbacks, etc. (authors)

BREST-OD-300 Reactor as a prototype of the future commercial lead cooled fast reactor of natural safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orlov, V.V.; Smirnov, V.S.; Filin, A.I.; Glazov, A.G.

2006-01-01

This paper briefly describes the physical and design features of a demonstration 300 MWe fast reactor with uranium-plutonium nitride fuel and lead coolant, BREST-OD-300, under development in Russia. This reactor is regarded as a prototype of future commercial reactors, which may form a foundation for large-scale growth of nuclear power in this new century. It is demonstrated that the natural properties of the lead coolant and nitride fuel combined with the physical and design features specific to fast reactors ensure natural safety of BREST and, with any credible initiating events, allow deterministic exclusion of accidents with large radioactive releases requiring evacuation of local residents. The paper identifies the ways and means of attaining natural safety, which rule out prompt criticality excursion, loss of cooling and fuel failure through use of a small reactivity margin, commensurable with β eff , low pressure in the circuit, large margins to temperature limits, high natural circulation, passive decay heat removal by air unlimited in time, high heat accumulating capability of lead-filled circuit, stabilizing temperature and coolant flow rate feedbacks, etc. (authors)

An approach to build knowledge base for reactor accident diagnostic system using statistical method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohsaka, Atsuo; Yokobayashi, Masao; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Fujii, Minoru

1988-01-01

In the development of a rule based expert system, one of key issues is how to build a knowledge base (KB). A systematic approach has been attempted for building an objective KB efficiently. The approach is based on the concept that a prototype KB should first be generated in a systematic way and then it is to be modified and/or improved by expert for practical use. The statistical method, Factor Analysis, was applied to build a prototype KB for the JAERI expert system DISKET using source information obtained from a PWR simulator. The prototype KB was obtained and the inference with this KB was performed against several types of transients. In each diagnosis, the transient type was well identified. From this study, it is concluded that the statistical method used is useful for building a prototype knowledge base. (author)

Closing the Loop with Sensors in Commercial Building Systems: Applying Lessons from Automotive Vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mantese, Joseph

2011-01-01

Automotive systems have evolved extensively over the past 50 years, providing a fully integrated system of sub-systems that work in concert for optimal vehicle level closed loop control. In this talk we look at several automotive sub-systems: stability and control, safety and security, emissions and comfort, diagnostics and maintenance, infotainment and communications; with an eye toward understanding their technology drivers and associated value propositions. Conversely, we examine how commercial building systems currently are represented as a collection of sub-systems that often work independently of each other for local optimization, often relying upon open loop control systems developed and installed decades ago. Reasoning primarily by analogy we explore opportunities for energy and efficiency, comfort and environment, and safety/security; asking whether there is sufficient value associated with a new class of building sensors and how those technologies might be brought to bear in improving performance. Finally, we examine the fundamental architecture of detection systems built upon sensing elements, with the aim of understanding trade-offs between: detection, false alarm rate, power, and cost.

Costs and Operating Dynamics of Integrating Distributed Energy Resources in Commercial and Industrial Buildings with Electric Vehicle Charging

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Robert Joseph

Growing concerns over greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions have increased the pressure to shift energy conversion paradigms from current forms to more sustainable methods, such as through the use of distributed energy resources (DER) at industrial and commercial buildings. This dissertation is concerned with the optimal design and dispatch of a DER system installed at an industrial or commercial building. An optimization model that accurately captures typical utility costs and the physical constraints of a combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system is designed to size and operate a DER system at a building. The optimization model is then used with cooperative game theory to evaluate the financial performance of a CCHP investment. The CCHP model is then modified to include energy storage, solar powered generators, alternative fuel sources, carbon emission limits, and building interactions with public and fleet PEVs. Then, a separate plugin electric vehicle (PEV) refueling model is developed to determine the cost to operate a public Level 3 fast charging station. The CCHP design and dispatch results show the size of the building load and consistency of the thermal loads are critical to positive financial performance. While using the CCHP system to produce cooling can provide savings, heat production drives positive financial performance. When designing the DER system to reduce carbon emissions, the use of renewable fuels can allow for a gas turbine system with heat recovery to reduce carbon emissions for a large university by 67%. Further reductions require large photovoltaic installations coupled with energy storage or the ability to export electricity back to the grid if costs are to remain relatively low. When considering Level 3 fast charging equipment, demand charges at low PEV travel levels are sufficiently high to discourage adoption. Integration of the equipment can reduce demand charge costs only if the building maximum demand does not coincide

Rapid mask prototyping for microfluidics.

Science.gov (United States)

Maisonneuve, B G C; Honegger, T; Cordeiro, J; Lecarme, O; Thiry, T; Fuard, D; Berton, K; Picard, E; Zelsmann, M; Peyrade, D

2016-03-01

With the rise of microfluidics for the past decade, there has come an ever more pressing need for a low-cost and rapid prototyping technology, especially for research and education purposes. In this article, we report a rapid prototyping process of chromed masks for various microfluidic applications. The process takes place out of a clean room, uses a commercially available video-projector, and can be completed in less than half an hour. We quantify the ranges of fields of view and of resolutions accessible through this video-projection system and report the fabrication of critical microfluidic components (junctions, straight channels, and curved channels). To exemplify the process, three common devices are produced using this method: a droplet generation device, a gradient generation device, and a neuro-engineering oriented device. The neuro-engineering oriented device is a compartmentalized microfluidic chip, and therefore, required the production and the precise alignment of two different masks.

Analysis of Potential Benefits and Costs of Adopting ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 as a Commercial Building Energy Code in Michigan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cort, Katherine A.; Belzer, David B.; Halverson, Mark A.; Richman, Eric E.; Winiarski, David W.

2002-09-30

The state of Michigan is considering adpoting ASHRAE 90.1-1999 as its commercial building energy code. In an effort to evaluate whether or not this is an appropraite code for the state, the potential benefits and costs of adopting this standard are considered. Both qualitative and quantitative benefits are assessed. The energy simulation and economic results suggest that adopting ASHRAE 90.1-1999 would provide postitive net benefits to the state relative to the building and design requirements currently in place.

Ares I-X Ground Diagnostic Prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Schwabacher, Mark A.; Martin, Rodney Alexander; Waterman, Robert D.; Oostdyk, Rebecca Lynn; Ossenfort, John P.; Matthews, Bryan

2010-01-01

The automation of pre-launch diagnostics for launch vehicles offers three potential benefits: improving safety, reducing cost, and reducing launch delays. The Ares I-X Ground Diagnostic Prototype demonstrated anomaly detection, fault detection, fault isolation, and diagnostics for the Ares I-X first-stage Thrust Vector Control and for the associated ground hydraulics while the vehicle was in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and while it was on the launch pad. The prototype combines three existing tools. The first tool, TEAMS (Testability Engineering and Maintenance System), is a model-based tool from Qualtech Systems Inc. for fault isolation and diagnostics. The second tool, SHINE (Spacecraft Health Inference Engine), is a rule-based expert system that was developed at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We developed SHINE rules for fault detection and mode identification, and used the outputs of SHINE as inputs to TEAMS. The third tool, IMS (Inductive Monitoring System), is an anomaly detection tool that was developed at NASA Ames Research Center. The three tools were integrated and deployed to KSC, where they were interfaced with live data. This paper describes how the prototype performed during the period of time before the launch, including accuracy and computer resource usage. The paper concludes with some of the lessons that we learned from the experience of developing and deploying the prototype.

Innovation in the U.S. building sector: An assessment of patent citations in building energy control technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Altwies, Joy E.; Nemet, Gregory F.

2013-01-01

Buildings are crucial to addressing energy problems because they are large consumers of end-use energy, and potential exists to dramatically improve their efficiencies. However, the pace of innovation in buildings is generally characterized as inadequate, despite the implementation of an array of policy instruments aimed at promoting efficiency. The literature on innovation in the building industry provides several explanations including: fragmented decision-making, principal agent problems, inadequate information, and limited learning across heterogeneous projects. We investigate the innovation process for buildings in the U.S. with a case study of patenting in energy management control systems (EMCS) for commercial buildings and programmable thermostats (PT) for residential buildings. Using U.S. patent data, we find that: (1) patenting activity peaked around 1980, subsequently declined, and then increased considerably in the past decade; (2) commercial, rather than residential, buildings account for the recent increase; and (3) building control technologies have benefitted from inventions originating outside the industry, notably from electronics and computers, with a shift toward the latter in recent years. - Highlights: ► We investigate the innovation process for buildings in the U.S. using patents. ► We use commercial and residential building controls technology as a case study. ► Patenting peaked around 1980, declined, and then increased in the past decade. ► Commercial building control patents account for most of the recent increase. ► Inventions in electronics and computers have led to innovation in building controls.

Calibration of a prototype NIRS oximeter against two commercial devices on a blood-lipid phantom

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hyttel-Sorensen, Simon; Kleiser, Stefan; Wolf, Martin

2013-01-01

In a blood-lipid liquid phantom the prototype near-infrared spectroscopy oximeter OxyPrem was calibrated against the INVOS® 5100c adult sensor in respect to values of regional tissue oxygen haemoglobin saturation (rStO2) for possible inclusion in the randomised clinical trial - SafeBoosC. In addi......In a blood-lipid liquid phantom the prototype near-infrared spectroscopy oximeter OxyPrem was calibrated against the INVOS® 5100c adult sensor in respect to values of regional tissue oxygen haemoglobin saturation (rStO2) for possible inclusion in the randomised clinical trial - Safe...

Design and construction of a prototype to obtain TeO2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roque H, I.

1997-01-01

At the National Institute of Nuclear Research is developed the process to produce the radioisotope Iodine 131 which is employed in medicine with therapeutical purposes. The raw material to produce iodine 131 is tellurium dioxide (TeO 2 ). TeO 2 is intended to be produced from a prototype being this aim of this thesis named D esign and construction of a prototype to obtain TeO 2 . The TeO 2 obtained must have specific physicochemical characteristics, being necessary an special design of a prototype which will guarantee the quality of tellurium dioxide obtention. Design and building the final prototype project, was developed in to three stages. At the first stage, the TeO 2 was obtained at the laboratory, this allows to know the basic reaction characteristics. The second stage purpose, was to work with an former prototype which allowed to produce 100 g of tellurium dioxide. In the last stage a depurated chemical process parameters was made and the prototype was refined in regard to its mechanical design, giving us as result the final prototype. With this final prototype, the production reaches 2 Kg/week of tellurium dioxide with the best physicochemical properties which is to be employed as raw material in order to produce iodine 131. (Author)

Buildings interoperability landscape - Draft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hardin, Dave B. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stephan, Eric G. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Wang, Weimin [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Corbin, Charles D. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Widergren, Steven E. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-02-01

Buildings are an integral part of our nation’s energy economy. The advancement in information and communications technology (ICT) has revolutionized energy management in industrial facilities and large commercial buildings. As ICT costs decrease and capabilities increase, buildings automation and energy management features are transforming the small-medium commercial and residential buildings sectors. A vision of a connected world in which equipment and systems within buildings coordinate with each other to efficiently meet their owners’ and occupants’ needs, and where buildings regularly transact business with other buildings and service providers (such as gas and electric service providers) is emerging. However, while the technology to support this collaboration has been demonstrated at various degrees of maturity, the integration frameworks and ecosystems of products that support the ability to easily install, maintain, and evolve building systems and their equipment components are struggling to nurture the fledging business propositions of their proponents.

Use of artificial intelligence techniques for visual inspection systems prototyping. Application to magnetoscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pallas, Christophe

1987-01-01

The automation of visual inspection is a complex task that requires collaboration between experts, for example inspection specialist, vision specialist. on-line operators. Solving such problems through prototyping promotes this collaboration: the use of a non specific programming environment allows rapid, concrete checking of method validity, thus leading incrementally to the final system. In this context, artificial intelligence techniques permit easy, extensible, and modular design of the prototype, together with heuristic solution building. We define and achieve the SPOR prototyping environment, based on object-oriented programming and rules-basis managing. The feasibility and the validity of an heuristic method for automated visual inspection in fluoroscopy have been proved through prototyping in SPOR. (author) [fr

Architectures of prototypes and architectural prototyping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Klaus Marius; Christensen, Michael; Sandvad, Elmer

1998-01-01

together as a team, but developed a prototype that more than fulfilled the expectations of the shipping company. The prototype should: - complete the first major phase within 10 weeks, - be highly vertical illustrating future work practice, - continuously live up to new requirements from prototyping......This paper reports from experience obtained through development of a prototype of a global customer service system in a project involving a large shipping company and a university research group. The research group had no previous knowledge of the complex business of shipping and had never worked...... sessions with users, - evolve over a long period of time to contain more functionality - allow for 6-7 developers working intensively in parallel. Explicit focus on the software architecture and letting the architecture evolve with the prototype played a major role in resolving these conflicting...

Collaborative Prototyping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogers, Marcel; Horst, Willem

2014-01-01

of the prototyping process, the actual prototype was used as a tool for communication or development, thus serving as a platform for the cross-fertilization of knowledge. In this way, collaborative prototyping leads to a better balance between functionality and usability; it translates usability problems into design......This paper presents an inductive study that shows how collaborative prototyping across functional, hierarchical, and organizational boundaries can improve the overall prototyping process. Our combined action research and case study approach provides new insights into how collaborative prototyping...... can provide a platform for prototype-driven problem solving in early new product development (NPD). Our findings have important implications for how to facilitate multistakeholder collaboration in prototyping and problem solving, and more generally for how to organize collaborative and open innovation...

Prototype of sun projector device

Science.gov (United States)

Ihsan; Dermawan, B.

2016-11-01

One way to introduce astronomy to public, including students, can be handled by solar observation. The widely held device for this purpose is coelostat and heliostat. Besides using filter attached to a device such as telescope, it is safest to use indirect way for observing the Sun. The main principle of the indirect way is deflecting the sun light and projecting image of the sun on a screen. We design and build a simple and low-cost astronomical device, serving as a supplement to increase public service, especially for solar observation. Without using any digital and intricate supporting equipment, people can watch and relish image of the Sun in comfortable condition, i.e. in a sheltered or shady place. Here we describe a design and features of our prototype of the device, which still, of course, has some limitations. In the future, this prototype can be improved for more efficient and useful applications.

Automated Loading and Unloading of the Stratasys FDM 1600 Rapid Prototyping System

OpenAIRE

Brockmeier, Oivind

2000-01-01

Rapid prototyping systems have advanced significantly with respect to material capabilities, fabrication speed, and surface quality. However, build jobs are still manually activated one at a time. The result is non-productive machine time whenever an operator is not at hand to make a job changeover. A low-cost auxiliary system, named Continuous Layered Manufacturing (CLM), has been developed to automatically load and unload the FDM 1600 rapid prototyping system (Stratasys, Inc.). The modifica...

Automated Continuous Commissioning of Commercial Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-01

through an Ethernet connection. The sampling interval is 5 minutes. The data then is transferred to the Postgre structured query language (SQL...and how corrective actions should be prioritized. BACnet Interface EnergyPlus Interface EnergyPlus Building Model Matlab Data Diagnostics Postgre

CONVERGING REDUNDANT SENSOR NETWORK INFORMATION FOR IMPROVED BUILDING CONTROL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dale K. Tiller; Gregor P. Henze

2004-11-01

Knowing how many people occupy a building, and where they are located, is a key component of building energy management and security. Commercial, industrial and residential buildings often incorporate systems used to determine occupancy, however, current sensor technology and control algorithms limit the effectiveness of both energy management and security systems. This topical report describes results from the first phase of a project to design, implement, validate, and prototype new technologies to monitor occupancy, control indoor environment services, and promote security in buildings. Phase I of the project focused on instrumentation and data collection. In this project phase a new occupancy detection system was developed, commissioned and installed in a sample of private offices and open-plan office workstations. Data acquisition systems were developed and deployed to collect data on space occupancy profiles. Analysis tools based on Bayesian probability theory were applied to the occupancy data generated by the sensor network. The inference of primary importance is a probability distribution over the number of occupants and their locations in a building, given past and present sensor measurements. Inferences were computed for occupancy and its temporal persistence in individual offices as well as the persistence of sensor status. The raw sensor data were also used to calibrate the sensor belief network, including the occupancy transition matrix used in the Markov model, sensor sensitivity, and sensor failure models. This study shows that the belief network framework can be applied to the analysis of data streams from sensor networks, offering significant benefits to building operation compared to current practice.

Rethink! prototyping transdisciplinary concepts of prototyping

CERN Document Server

Nagy, Emilia; Stark, Rainer

2016-01-01

In this book, the authors describe the findings derived from interaction and cooperation between scientific actors employing diverse practices. They reflect on distinct prototyping concepts and examine the transformation of development culture in their fusion to hybrid approaches and solutions. The products of tomorrow are going to be multifunctional, interactive systems – and already are to some degree today. Collaboration across multiple disciplines is the only way to grasp their complexity in design concepts. This underscores the importance of reconsidering the prototyping process for the development of these systems, particularly in transdisciplinary research teams. “Rethinking Prototyping – new hybrid concepts for prototyping” was a transdisciplinary project that took up this challenge. The aim of this programmatic rethinking was to come up with a general concept of prototyping by combining innovative prototyping concepts, which had been researched and developed in three sub-projects: “Hybrid P...

Challenge Based Innovation @ mediterranean - final presentations & prototype expo

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Challenge Based Innovation @ mediterranean - Final presentations & prototype expo Note - presentation location has been changed to the council chamber (503-1-001) due to the large amount of signups. External participants are guided from the main reception (building 33), more information over email on Wednesday. Prototype presentations are still at IdeaSquare (3179) 18.00 - 19.30, guided walking from the presentations.  Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) is a four month project course, where multidisciplinary student teams and their instructors collaborate with researchers at CERN to discover novel solutions for the future of humankind. The projects are an elaborate mixture, where societal, human-driven needs meet research at CERN. More info about CBI from the course website, cbi-course.com The Gala on 1.12. will introduce the proof-of concept prototypes the five student teams have developed to answer a wide range of societal challenges, inspired by people and r...

Technical and commercial aspects of MHTGR development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Northup, T.E.; Simon, W.A.; Wistrom, J.D.

1992-01-01

The Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (MHTGR) is under development by industry and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Passive safety and design simplicity make the MHTGR an attractive option for future nuclear power generation, but deployment faces many challenges. Economic competitiveness, public acceptance, licensing approval and first-of-a-kind (FOAK) development funding represent some of the prerequisites to commercialization. Successful commercialization hinges on a prototype and a subsequent Lead Plant Project. (author)

Statistical method application to knowledge base building for reactor accident diagnostic system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Kazuo; Yokobayashi, Masao; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Kohsaka, Atsuo

1989-01-01

In the development of a knowledge based expert system, one of key issues is how to build the knowledge base (KB) in an efficient way with keeping the objectivity of KB. In order to solve this issue, an approach has been proposed to build a prototype KB systematically by a statistical method, factor analysis. For the verification of this approach, factor analysis was applied to build a prototype KB for the JAERI expert system DISKET. To this end, alarm and process information was generated by a PWR simulator and the factor analysis was applied to this information to define taxonomy of accident hypotheses and to extract rules for each hypothesis. The prototype KB thus built was tested through inferring against several types of transients including double-failures. In each diagnosis, the transient type was well identified. Furthermore, newly introduced standards for rule extraction showed good effects on the enhancement of the performance of prototype KB. (author)

Full autonomous monitoring tools inside nuclear reactor building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giraud, A.; Veau, J.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we define, design and test a radiation tolerant autonomous monitoring tool for nuclear embedded applications. The goal of the instrumentation system was to record the values of some parameters such as dose, temperature or vibrations appearing inside the containment building of nuclear power plants. The knowledge of these parameters will be a good help for predictive maintenance of the power plant components. For the design of the monitoring tool, we rely on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) low power electronic components to use battery-supplied power. A large amount of components starting from discrete transistors or logic units to memories and micro-controllers was associated to define and design a prototype. We then confirm the environment conditions tolerance estimated to up to 2 kGy of total dose and 80 C for temperature by on-line irradiation experiments for individual components and functions and prototypes. Two different sets of about 60 systems were realised as industrial products and then installed in EDF facilities. They were exploited during NPPs operating times of about eighteen months. This large scale experiment was concluded with the inspection of some withdrawn systems. No major degradations were observed showing the efficiency of the hardening method allowing regular use of COTS

Breaking barriers to interoperability: assigning spatially and temporally unique identifiers to spaces and buildings.

Science.gov (United States)

Pyke, Christopher R; Madan, Isaac

2013-08-01

The real estate industry routinely uses specialized information systems for functions, including design, construction, facilities management, brokerage, tax assessment, and utilities. These systems are mature and effective within vertically integrated market segments. However, new questions are reaching across these traditional information silos. For example, buyers may be interested in evaluating the design, energy efficiency characteristics, and operational performance of a commercial building. This requires the integration of information across multiple databases held by different institutions. Today, this type of data integration is difficult to automate and propone to errors due, in part, to the lack of generally accepted building and spaces identifiers. Moving forward, the real estate industry needs a new mechanism to assign identifiers for whole buildings and interior spaces for the purpose of interoperability, data exchange, and integration. This paper describes a systematic process to identify activities occurring at building or within interior spaces to provide a foundation for exchange and interoperability. We demonstrate the application of the approach with a prototype Web application. This concept and demonstration illustrate the elements of a practical interoperability framework that can increase productivity, create new business opportunities, and reduce errors, waste, and redundancy. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

The use of energy management and control systems to monitor the energy performance of commercial buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinemeier, Kristin Elizabeth [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Architecture

1994-12-01

Monitored data play a very important part in the implementation and evaluation of energy conservation technologies and programs. However, these data can be expensive to collect, so there is a need for lower-cost alternatives. In many situations, using the computerized Energy Management and Control Systems (EMCSs)--already installed in many buildings--to collect these commercial building performance data has advantages over more conventional methods. This method provides data without installing incremental hardware, and the large amounts of available operational data can be a very rich resource for understanding building performance. This dissertation addresses several of these issues. One specific objective is to describe a monitoring-project planning process that includes definition of objectives, constraints, resources and approaches for the monitoring. The choice of tools is an important part of this process. The dissertation goes on to demonstrate, through eight case studies, that EMCS monitoring is possible, and to identify and categorize the problems and issues that can be encountered. These issues lead to the creation, use, and testing of a set of methods for evaluation of EMCS monitoring, in the form of guidelines. Finally, EMCS monitoring is demonstrated and compared with conventional monitoring more methodically in a detailed case study.

Market Assessment and Commercialization Strategy for the Radial Sandia Cooler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Shandross, Richard [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Weintraub, Daniel [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States); Young, Jim [Navigant Consulting, Inc., Burlington, MA (United States)

2014-02-01

This market assessment and commercialization report characterizes and assesses the market potential of the rotating heat exchanger technology developed at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), known as the Radial Sandia Cooler. The RSC is a novel, motor-driven, rotating, finned heat exchanger technology. The RSC was evaluated for the residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation markets. Recommendations for commercialization were made based on assessments of the prototype RSC and the Sandia Cooler technology in general, as well as an in-depth analysis of the six most promising products for initial RSC commercialization.

Application of building system in prototype house building in a sustainable community; Aplicacion de un sistema constructivo innovador en uan vivienda prototipo de una comunidad ecologica sustentable

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia Chavez, J. R.

2004-07-01

This work presents a prototype house built in a typical rural community of Mexico, based on the application of innovative building system and materials, integrated with bioclimatic design principles and sustainable technologies. The objectives of this project are aimed at reducing construction costs whilst providing suitable indoor thermal comfort conditions for the occupants and high levels of self-sufficiency in energy, mainly electricity and gas L. P.; and of natural resources, such as water. Results have shown that the application of this approach is a promising alternative to reduce construction costs of housing whilst providing suitable indoor thermal comfort conditions for occupants, and improving their economy and quality of living as well as the environment of the region. This approach can also be applied to promote a beneficial multiple effect in the country, to reduce the high housing deficit, whilst reducing the severe environmental damage, meant to effectively promote sustainability for the existing and new generation of the new millennium. (Author)

Digital Microdroplet Ejection Technology-Based Heterogeneous Objects Prototyping

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jiquan; Feng, Chunmei; Yang, Jianfei; Zhu, Liya; Guo, Aiqing

2016-01-01

An integrate fabrication framework is presented to build heterogeneous objects (HEO) using digital microdroplets injecting technology and rapid prototyping. The heterogeneous materials part design and manufacturing method in structure and material was used to change the traditional process. The net node method was used for digital modeling that can configure multimaterials in time. The relationship of material, color, and jetting nozzle was built. The main important contributions are to combine the structure, material, and visualization in one process and give the digital model for manufacture. From the given model, it is concluded that the method is effective for HEO. Using microdroplet rapid prototyping and the model given in the paper HEO could be gotten basically. The model could be used in 3D biomanufacturing. PMID:26981110

Digital Microdroplet Ejection Technology-Based Heterogeneous Objects Prototyping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Na Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An integrate fabrication framework is presented to build heterogeneous objects (HEO using digital microdroplets injecting technology and rapid prototyping. The heterogeneous materials part design and manufacturing method in structure and material was used to change the traditional process. The net node method was used for digital modeling that can configure multimaterials in time. The relationship of material, color, and jetting nozzle was built. The main important contributions are to combine the structure, material, and visualization in one process and give the digital model for manufacture. From the given model, it is concluded that the method is effective for HEO. Using microdroplet rapid prototyping and the model given in the paper HEO could be gotten basically. The model could be used in 3D biomanufacturing.

Digital Microdroplet Ejection Technology-Based Heterogeneous Objects Prototyping.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Na; Yang, Jiquan; Feng, Chunmei; Yang, Jianfei; Zhu, Liya; Guo, Aiqing

2016-01-01

An integrate fabrication framework is presented to build heterogeneous objects (HEO) using digital microdroplets injecting technology and rapid prototyping. The heterogeneous materials part design and manufacturing method in structure and material was used to change the traditional process. The net node method was used for digital modeling that can configure multimaterials in time. The relationship of material, color, and jetting nozzle was built. The main important contributions are to combine the structure, material, and visualization in one process and give the digital model for manufacture. From the given model, it is concluded that the method is effective for HEO. Using microdroplet rapid prototyping and the model given in the paper HEO could be gotten basically. The model could be used in 3D biomanufacturing.

Commercial Building Energy Baseline Modeling Software: Performance Metrics and Method Testing with Open Source Models and Implications for Proprietary Software Testing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, Phillip N.; Granderson, Jessica; Sohn, Michael; Addy, Nathan; Jump, David

2013-09-01

The overarching goal of this work is to advance the capabilities of technology evaluators in evaluating the building-level baseline modeling capabilities of Energy Management and Information System (EMIS) software. Through their customer engagement platforms and products, EMIS software products have the potential to produce whole-building energy savings through multiple strategies: building system operation improvements, equipment efficiency upgrades and replacements, and inducement of behavioral change among the occupants and operations personnel. Some offerings may also automate the quantification of whole-building energy savings, relative to a baseline period, using empirical models that relate energy consumption to key influencing parameters, such as ambient weather conditions and building operation schedule. These automated baseline models can be used to streamline the whole-building measurement and verification (M&V) process, and therefore are of critical importance in the context of multi-measure whole-building focused utility efficiency programs. This report documents the findings of a study that was conducted to begin answering critical questions regarding quantification of savings at the whole-building level, and the use of automated and commercial software tools. To evaluate the modeling capabilities of EMIS software particular to the use case of whole-building savings estimation, four research questions were addressed: 1. What is a general methodology that can be used to evaluate baseline model performance, both in terms of a) overall robustness, and b) relative to other models? 2. How can that general methodology be applied to evaluate proprietary models that are embedded in commercial EMIS tools? How might one handle practical issues associated with data security, intellectual property, appropriate testing ‘blinds’, and large data sets? 3. How can buildings be pre-screened to identify those that are the most model-predictable, and therefore those

Lessons Learned from Case Studies of Six High-Performance Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Torcellini, P.; Pless, S.; Deru, M.; Griffith, B.; Long, N.; Judkoff, R.

2006-06-01

Commercial buildings have a significant impact on energy use and the environment. They account for approximately 18% (17.9 quads) of the total primary energy consumption in the United States (DOE 2005). The energy used by the building sector continues to increase, primarily because new buildings are added to the national building stock faster than old buildings are retired. Energy consumption by commercial buildings will continue to increase until buildings can be designed to produce more energy than they consume. As a result, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Building Technologies Program has established a goal to create the technology and knowledge base for marketable zero-energy commercial buildings (ZEBs) by 2025.

Prototype commercial electrooxidation cell for the recovery of molybdenum and rhenium from molybdenite concentrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheiner, B.J.; Pool, D.L.; Lindstrom, R.E.; McCleland, G.E.

1979-01-01

As part of the goal to maximize minerals and metals recovery from primary domestic resources, design factors associated with minimizing current leakage in bipolar cell configurations were studied as a means of improving the efficiency of bipolar electrooxidation cells. Initial studies that were conducted in a small bipolar cell operating at 140 to 145 volts and 15.4 A indicated how design factors could be employed to minimize current leakage around adjacent electrodes during cell operation. Based on these results, a 40-electrode, 108-kVA prototype of an industrial-sized cell was constructed and tested for extracting metal values from offgrade molybdenite concentrates. The feasibility of recovering molybdenum and rhenium from the oxidized pulp also was determined. Feed to the process sequence consisted of flotation concentrates containing 16 to 35% Mo as molybdenite and 6 to 15% Cu. Electrooxidation in the prototype cell results in 84 to 97% Mo and Re extraction with a corresponding energy consumption of 9 to 13 kWh/lb Mo extracted

Commercial and Multifamily Building Tenant Energy Usage Aggregation and Privacy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Livingston, Olga V.; Pulsipher, Trenton C.; Wang, Na

2014-11-17

In a number of cities and states, building owners are required to disclose and/or benchmark their building energy use. This requires the building owner to possess monthly whole-building energy usage information, which can be challenging for buildings in which individual tenants have their own utility meters and accounts with the utility. Some utilities and utility regulators have turned to aggregation of customer data as a way to give building owners the whole-building energy usage data while protecting customer privacy. However, no utilities or regulators appear to have conducted a concerted statistical, cybersecurity, and privacy analysis to justify the level of aggregation selected. Therefore, the Tennant Data Aggregation Task was established to help utilities address these issues and provide recommendations as well as a theoretical justification of the aggregation threshold. This study is focused on the use case of submitting data for ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM), but it also looks at other potential use cases for monthly energy consumption data.

Identifying, Licensing, and Commercializing Technology: An Entrepreneur's View

Science.gov (United States)

Appel, Kris

2013-03-01

A linguist by trade, Kris Appel left government service to pursue entrepreneurship. She knew she wanted to start a company, but she did not have a business idea. After researching various technologies available for commercialization, she began to focus on a prototype medical device at the University of Maryland Medical School, which had been developed to help stroke survivors recover their arm movement. The device was based upon emerging science into brain re-training, and was backed by very convincing clinical trials. Working closely with University researchers, she licensed the rights to the device, developed a commercial version, and launched it in 2009. Today the device is used around the globe, and has helped thousands of stroke and brain injury survivors improve their arm function and way of life. Kris will tell the story of the device, and how it got from idea to prototype to successful rehabilitation product.

Building Air Quality Guide: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers

Science.gov (United States)

The Building Air Quality, developed by the EPA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, provides practical suggestions on preventing, identifying, and resolving indoor air quality (IAQ) problems in public and commercial buildings.

The prototype triggerless data acquisition of the PANDA experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagner, Milan; Reiter, Simon; Lange, Soeren; Kuehn, Wolfgang [II. Physikalisches Institut, Giessen Univ. (Germany); Collaboration: PANDA-Collaboration

2016-07-01

The PANDA detector will operate with a very high interaction rate of up to 20 MHz, in a free streaming mode without hardware trigger. Data filtering will be performed by complete online event reconstruction with a highly parallelized farm of FPGAs as first level and on a farm of GPUs or PCs as a second level. The requirement is a background reduction by a factor of >1000. A prototype trigger-less data acquisition (PTDAQ) system for the detector validation measurements comprises free streaming and synchronization readout, for event building and filtering has been developed. A first in beam environment test was performed at the Mainzer Mikrotron, reading out the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter prototype (Proto120).

NASA commercial programs

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

Highlights of NASA-sponsored and assisted commercial space activities of 1989 are presented. Industrial R and D in space, centers for the commercial development of space, and new cooperative agreements are addressed in the U.S. private sector in space section. In the building U.S. competitiveness through technology section, the following topics are presented: (1) technology utilization as a national priority; (2) an exploration of benefits; and (3) honoring Apollo-Era spinoffs. International and domestic R and D trends, and the space sector are discussed in the section on selected economic indicators. Other subjects included in this report are: (1) small business innovation; (2) budget highlights and trends; (3) commercial programs management; and (4) the commercial programs advisory committee.

ImBuild: Impact of building energy efficiency programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scott, M.J.; Hostick, D.J.; Belzer, D.B.

1998-04-01

As part of measuring the impact of government programs on improving the energy efficiency of the Nation`s building stock, the Department of Energy Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs (BTS) is interested in assessing the economic impacts of its portfolio of programs, specifically the potential impact on national employment and income. The special-purpose version of the IMPLAN model used in this study is called ImBuild. In comparison with simple economic multiplier approaches, such as Department of Commerce RIMS 2 system, ImBuild allows for more complete and automated analysis of the economic impacts of energy efficiency investments in buildings. ImBuild is also easier to use than existing macroeconomic simulation models. The authors conducted an analysis of three sample BTS energy programs: the residential generator-absorber heat exchange gas heat pump (GAX heat pump), the low power sulfur lamp (LPSL) in residential and commercial applications, and the Building America program. The GAX heat pump would address the market for the high-efficiency residential combined heating and cooling systems. The LPSL would replace some highly efficient fluorescent commercial lighting. Building America seeks to improve the energy efficiency of new factory-built, modular, manufactured, and small-volume, site-built homes through use of systems engineering concepts and early incorporation of new products and processes, and by increasing the demand for more energy-efficient homes. The authors analyze a scenario for market penetration of each of these technologies devised for BTS programs reported in the BTS GPRA Metrics Estimates, FY99 Budget Request, December 19, 1997. 46 figs., 4 tabs.

Development and experimental results from a 1 kW prototype AMR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bahl, Christian R.H.; Engelbrecht, Kurt; Eriksen, Dan

2014-01-01

containing an active magnetic regenerator (AMR) bed. The prototype design facilitates easy exchange of the 24 cassettes, allowing the testing of different material amounts and compositions. Operating with 2.8 kg of commercial grade Gd spheres a maximum no-span cooling power of 1010 W and a maximum zero load...

California Commercial End-Use Survey - CEUS

Science.gov (United States)

Efficiency in Existing Buildings Energy Efficiency Program Contacts Financing Opportunities Home Energy Rebates and Incentives Energy Efficiency Financing Energy Innovations Small Grant (EISG) EPIC Funding commercial building type categories. Download the CEUS Project Final Report. Publication # CEC-400-2006-005

TaskMaster: a prototype graphical user interface to a schedule optimization model

OpenAIRE

Banham, Stephen R.

1990-01-01

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited This thesis investigates the use of current graphical interface techniques to build more effective computer-user interfaces to Operations Research (OR) schedule optimization models. The design is directed at the scheduling decision maker who possesses limited OR experience. The feasibility and validity of building an interface for this kind of user is demonstrated in the development of a prototype graphical user interface called TaskMa...

Architectural prototyping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bardram, Jakob Eyvind; Christensen, Henrik Bærbak; Hansen, Klaus Marius

2004-01-01

A major part of software architecture design is learning how specific architectural designs balance the concerns of stakeholders. We explore the notion of "architectural prototypes", correspondingly architectural prototyping, as a means of using executable prototypes to investigate stakeholders...

Rapid prototyping in order to improve building performance simulation for detailed design support

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hopfe, C.J.; Hensen, J.L.M.; Stankov, P.

2006-01-01

Building performance simulation (BPS) is a powerful tool to support building and system designers in emulating how orientation, building type, HVAC system etc. interacts the overall building performance. Currently BPS is used only for code compliance in the detailed design, neither to make informed

Commercial facilities in future cities and urban redevelopment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1988-07-01

The future trends of commercial facilities were clarified by interviewing the people concerned in the commercial facilities with large floor area and relatively large energy consumption per unit area such as office building, hospital, hotel, department store, restaurant, educational facilities, sports facilities and urban redevelopment. Since an intelligent building will basically employ the office automation, it is estimated that most of the commercial buildings constructed for the future redevelopment will be intelligent buildings. Hospitals will require the system maintaining the quality of life of individual patient. It is expected that high quality hotels focusing on a touch of high class will be constructed. Department stores will aim at the daily living industry. Future restaurants will need a definite concept. Universities will have to increase new sections according to new students and change in social conditions. It is expected that high quality businesses districts and living quarters in business-centered cities will be planned for urban redevelopment. (4 figs. 3 tabs.)

Open Automated Demand Response for Small Commerical Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dudley, June Han; Piette, Mary Ann; Koch, Ed; Hennage, Dan

2009-05-01

This report characterizes small commercial buildings by market segments, systems and end-uses; develops a framework for identifying demand response (DR) enabling technologies and communication means; and reports on the design and development of a low-cost OpenADR enabling technology that delivers demand reductions as a percentage of the total predicted building peak electric demand. The results show that small offices, restaurants and retail buildings are the major contributors making up over one third of the small commercial peak demand. The majority of the small commercial buildings in California are located in southern inland areas and the central valley. Single-zone packaged units with manual and programmable thermostat controls make up the majority of heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for small commercial buildings with less than 200 kW peak electric demand. Fluorescent tubes with magnetic ballast and manual controls dominate this customer group's lighting systems. There are various ways, each with its pros and cons for a particular application, to communicate with these systems and three methods to enable automated DR in small commercial buildings using the Open Automated Demand Response (or OpenADR) communications infrastructure. Development of DR strategies must consider building characteristics, such as weather sensitivity and load variability, as well as system design (i.e. under-sizing, under-lighting, over-sizing, etc). Finally, field tests show that requesting demand reductions as a percentage of the total building predicted peak electric demand is feasible using the OpenADR infrastructure.

Digital Microdroplet Ejection Technology-Based Heterogeneous Objects Prototyping

OpenAIRE

Li, Na; Yang, Jiquan; Feng, Chunmei; Yang, Jianfei; Zhu, Liya; Guo, Aiqing

2016-01-01

An integrate fabrication framework is presented to build heterogeneous objects (HEO) using digital microdroplets injecting technology and rapid prototyping. The heterogeneous materials part design and manufacturing method in structure and material was used to change the traditional process. The net node method was used for digital modeling that can configure multimaterials in time. The relationship of material, color, and jetting nozzle was built. The main important contributions are to combi...

Experimental and analytical studies of a deeply embedded reactor building model considering soil-building interaction. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, H.; Ohta, T.; Uchiyama, S.

1979-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to describe the dynamic characteristics of a deeply embedded reactor building model derived from experimental and analytical studies which considers soil-building interaction behaviour. The model building is made of reinforced concrete. It has two stories above ground level and a basement, resting on sandy gravel layer at a depth of 3 meters. The backfill around the building was made to ground level. The model building is simplified and reduced to about one-fifteenth (1/15) of the prototype. It has bearing wall system for the basement and the first story, and frame system for the second. (orig.)

Transnational Degree Program Franchising and the Challenge of Commercial Franchisees

Science.gov (United States)

Juusola, Katariina; Rensimer, Lee

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the interrelationship of branding practices and legitimacy-building of commercial degree program franchising within transnational higher education (TNHE). It aims to understand how commercial franchisees' branding practices employ discursive and symbolic strategies for building legitimacy, and how…

Obtention process of phosphorus 32 starting from commercial sulfur and design and construction of the radiochemical separation prototype; Proceso de obtencion de fosforo-32 a partir de azufre comercial y diseno y construccion del prototipo de separacion radioquimica

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duarte A, C.; Alanis M, J.; Gutierrez R, C. [Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, A.P. 18-1027, 11801 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

2002-07-01

In this work an obtention process of phosphorus 32 ({sup 32} P) in orthophosphoric acid form (H{sub 3}{sup 32}PO{sub 4}) is described starting from commercial sulfur. Also the design and construction of the experimental prototype used in the radiochemical separation and their results in three tests carried out is reported. (Author)

Designing a nuclear data base prototype using Oracle and Prolog

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paviotti-Corcuera, R.; Ford, C.E.; Perez, R.B.

1988-11-01

An ever-increasing demand exists for easily accessible nuclear data base systems. The purpose of this work is to analyze the feasibility of using artificial intelligence methods as tools to provide the necessary functionality to extract information from nuclear data files in a user-friendly manner. For the prototype of this work, a sample of data that can be later enlarged to a complete, evaluated nuclear data base has been used. To implement this prototype, two approaches have been followed: a conventional approach using the commercially available Oracle relational data base management system; and an artificial intelligence approach using the Prolog programming language. This prototypic work shows the feasibility of applying artificial intelligence methods to data bases, and represents a first step toward development of intelligent nuclear data base systems. The characteristics of the query language from both approaches make the second one preferable from a user's point of view. 23 refs., 7 tabs

Transactive Control of Commercial Building HVAC Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corbin, Charles D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Makhmalbaf, Atefe [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Huang, Sen [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Mendon, Vrushali V. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhao, Mingjie [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Somasundaram, Sriram [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Liu, Guopeng [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Ngo, Hung [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Katipamula, Srinivas [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2016-12-30

This document details the development and testing of market-based transactive controls for building heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These controls are intended to serve the purposes of reducing electricity use through conservation, reducing peak building electric demand, and providing demand flexibility to assist with power system operations. This report is the summary of the first year of work conducted under Phase 1 of the Clean Energy and Transactive Campus Project. The methods and techniques described here were first investigated in simulation, and then subsequently deployed to a physical testbed on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) campus for validation. In this report, we describe the models and control algorithms we have developed, testing of the control algorithms in simulation, and deployment to a physical testbed. Results from physical experiments support previous simulation findings, and provide insights for further improvement.

Hawaii demand-side management resource assessment. Final report, Reference Volume 3 -- Residential and commercial sector DSM analyses: Detailed results from the DBEDT DSM assessment model; Part 1, Technical potential

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-01

The Hawaii Demand-Side Management Resource Assessment was the fourth of seven projects in the Hawaii Energy Strategy (HES) program. HES was designed by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) to produce an integrated energy strategy for the State of Hawaii. The purpose of Project 4 was to develop a comprehensive assessment of Hawaii`s demand-side management (DSM) resources. To meet this objective, the project was divided into two phases. The first phase included development of a DSM technology database and the identification of Hawaii commercial building characteristics through on-site audits. These Phase 1 products were then used in Phase 2 to identify expected energy impacts from DSM measures in typical residential and commercial buildings in Hawaii. The building energy simulation model DOE-2.1E was utilized to identify the DSM energy impacts. More detailed information on the typical buildings and the DOE-2.1E modeling effort is available in Reference Volume 1, ``Building Prototype Analysis``. In addition to the DOE-2.1E analysis, estimates of residential and commercial sector gas and electric DSM potential for the four counties of Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai through 2014 were forecasted by the new DBEDT DSM Assessment Model. Results from DBEDTs energy forecasting model, ENERGY 2020, were linked with results from DOE-2.1E building energy simulation runs and estimates of DSM measure impacts, costs, lifetime, and anticipated market penetration rates in the DBEDT DSM Model. Through its algorithms, estimates of DSM potential for each forecast year were developed. Using the load shape information from the DOE-2.1E simulation runs, estimates of electric peak demand impacts were developed. Numerous tables and figures illustrating the technical potential for demand-side management are included.

Video prototype of the interactive operating theatre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2004-01-01

Building capture and access (C&A) applications for use in the operation theatre differs greatly from C&A applications built to support other settings e.g. meeting rooms or classrooms. Based on field studies of surgical operations, this paper explores how to design C&A applications for the operation...... theatre. Based on the findings from our field work, we have built the ActiveTheatre, a C&A prototype. ActiveTheatre is built to support collaboration in and around the operating theatre, to capture events instead of automatically capturing eve- rything, and to be integrated with existing applications...... already present in the operation theatre. The ActiveTheatre prototype has been developed in close co- operation with surgeons and nurses at a local hospital. The work on the proto- type and our initial evaluations have provided an insight into how to design, capture and access applications that are going...

An integrated system for the energy production and accumulation from renewable sources: a rural tower prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Di Francesco, Silvia; Petrozzi, Alessandro; Montesarchio, Valeria

2014-05-01

This research work presents the implementation of an architectural prototype aiming at the complete energy self-sufficiency through an integrated system based on renewable energy. It is suitable for historical buildings in rural areas, isolated but important from natural and architectonical point of view. In addition to the energy aspects, it is important to protect the impact in terms of land-use and environment. This idea is also especially powerful because in the rural countries there are many little building centers abandoned because they are devoid of a connection to the electric energy grid and methane piping. Thus, taking inspiration from dove towers, architectural typology widespread in central Italy, a virtual model has been developed as an integrated system for renewable energy production, storage and supply. While recovering the ancient tower, it is possible to design and assembly an integrated intelligent system, able to combine energy supply and demand: a new tower that should be flexible, efficient and replicable in other contexts as manufacturing, commercial and residential ones. The prototype has been applied to a real case of study, an ancient complex located in Umbria Region. The sources for electric production installed on the tower are photovoltaics, on the head and shaft of the tower, hydropower and a biomass gasifier providing thermal too. A tank at the head of the tower allows an available hydraulic potential energy, for the turbine at any time, to cover photovoltaic lacks, caused by sudden loss of production, for environmental causes. Conversely, photovoltaic peaks, otherwise unusable, can be used to reload the water from the receiving tank at the foot of the tower, up to the tank in the head. The same underground tank acts as a thermal flywheel to optimize the geothermal heat pumps for the heat and cold production. Keywords: hydropower, photovoltaics, dove tower.

Design/build: A Relevant Pedagogy for Architecture Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivier Chamel

2016-12-01

This paper will present a series of recent furniture design/build exercises where students designed and furniture and small building prototypes with limited reliance on drawings. We will discuss how subjects such as structures, material sourcing and construction detailing can be transposed from various courses and applied to design/build projects. We believe that a pedagogy based on physical experimentations could infuse energy throughout curricula no matter the course subject.

Facility overview for commercial application of selected Rocky Flats facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-11-01

The purpose of this Facility Overview is to support the Rocky Flats Local Impacts Initiative's Request for Interest, to solicit interest from commercial corporations for utilizing buildings 865 and 883, and the equipment contained within each building, for a commercial venture. In the following sections, this document describes the Rocky Flats Site, the buildings available for lease, the equipment within these buildings, the site services available to a tenant, the human resources available to support operations in buildings 865 and 883, and the environmental condition of the buildings and property. In addition, a brief description is provided of the work performed to date to explore the potential products that might be manufactured in Buildings 865 and 883, and the markets for these products

Paper in architecture: Research by design, engineering and prototyping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerzy F. Latka

2017-11-01

in terms of architecture, its material properties were researched on a micro, meso and macro level. This research of the possible applications of paper in architecture was informed by two main research questions: What is paper and to what extent can it be used in architecture? What is the most suitable way to use paper in emergency architecture? To answer the first research question, fundamental and material research on paper and paper products had to be conducted. The composition of the material, production methods and properties of paper were researched. Then paper products with the potential to be used in architecture were examined. The history of the development of paper and its influence on civilisation helped the author gain a better understanding of the nature of this material, which we encounter in our lives every day. Research on objects for everyday use, furniture, pavilions and architecture realised in the last 150 years allowed the author to distinguish various types of paper design and paper architecture. Analysis of realised buildings in which paper products were used as structural elements and parts of the building envelope resulted in a wide array of possible solutions. Structural systems, types of connections between the various elements, impregnation methods and the functionalities and lifespan of different types of buildings were systematised. The knowledge thus collected allowed the author to conduct a further exploration of paper architecture in the form of designs and prototypes. To answer the second research question, the analysed case studies were translated into designs and prototypes of emergency shelters. During the research-by-design, engineering and prototyping phases, more than a dozen prototypes were built. The prototypes differed in terms of structural systems, used materials, connections between structural elements, impregnation methods, functionality and types of building. The three versions of the Transportable Emergency Cardboard

Photovoltaic electricity generation: Value for residential and commercial sectors

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharjee, Ujjwal

The photovoltaic (PV) industry in the US has seen an upsurge in recent years, and PV holds great promise as a renewable technology with no greenhouse gas emissions with its use. We aim to assess the value of PV based electricity for users in the residential and commercial sectors focusing on the financial impacts it has, which may not be greatly recognized. Specifically, we pursue two goals. First, the emerging 'renewable portfolio standard (RPS)' adopted in several states in the country has been a driving force for large scale PV deployment, but financial incentives offered to PV in different RPS states differ considerably. We use life cycle cost model to estimate the cost of PV based electricity for thirty-two RPS states in the country. Results indicate that the levelized cost of PV electricity is high (40 to 60 Cents/kWh). When the contribution of the financial incentives (along with the cost of energy saved) is taken into account, the cost of PV based electricity is negative in some RPS states such as California, New Jersey, New York, while for most of the RPS states the cost of PV electricity continues to remain high. In addition, the states with negative or low cost of PV electricity have been driving the PV diffusion in the residential sector. Therefore, a need to adjust the financial incentive structure in different RPS states is recommended for homogenous development of the residential PV market in the country. Second, we assess the value of the PV in reducing the highest peak load demand in commercial buildings and hence the high value demand charge. The Time-of-Use (TOU) based electricity tariff is widely used by electric utilities in the commercial sector. Energy and peak load are two important facets of the TOU tariff regime. Tools are well established to estimate the energy contribution from a PV system (installed in a commercial building), but not power output on a short time interval. A joint conditional probability model has been developed that

Advanced LWR technology for commercial application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redding, J.R.

1993-01-01

Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWRs) are now being deployed and commercialized around the world. In Japan, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is building the world's first ALWRs, two 1300 MWe Advanced BWRs (ABWRs). In the United States, the Department of Energy, utilities and suppliers are undertaking a cooperative program called First of a Kind Engineering (FOAKE). The purpose of FOAKE is to perform the detailed engineering of ALWRs to that they will be commercially available to U.S. utilities in the mid-1990s. The U.S. industry is in the second year of its strategic plan to have an ALWR in commercial operation by the year 2000. Elsewhere, the Taiwan Power Company has issued a Request for Proposal for two ALWRs so be built at its Lungmen site, with commercial operation of the first unit to be in the year 2000. Korea is formulating plans for an ALWR and other countries, such as Indonesia and Mexico, are looking into the feasibility of building ALWRs

Customization of gaming technology and prototyping of rehabilitation applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herbelin, Bruno; Ciger, Jan; Lewis Brooks, Anthony

2008-01-01

The field of rehabilitation has recently seen various experimentations with games using interfaces that require physical activity. In order to establish the basis for developments and experimentations with those interactive systems, we propose a rapid prototyping approach using various commercial...... and to elaborate on the use of such systems. In other words, the availability of a simple prototyping platform with free games and new interfaces already opens the discussion on the design of original rehabilitation applications....... devices and open source software. To demonstrate this idea, we first show how a simple free game can be adapted to specific needs − for training or use by disabled people − by using different sensors and control modes. Similarly, we show that an open on-line virtual world such as Second Life, although...

A preliminary study on the relevancy of sustainable building design ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This preliminary study aims to explore the relationship between sustainable building design paradigms and commercial property depreciation, to assist in the understanding of sustainable building design impact towards commercial building value and rental de employs the qualitative method and analyses valuers' current ...

Characteristics of products generated by selective sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes

Science.gov (United States)

Cariapa, Vikram

1993-01-01

The trend in the modern global economy towards free market policies has motivated companies to use rapid prototyping technologies to not only reduce product development cycle time but also to maintain their competitive edge. A rapid prototyping technology is one which combines computer aided design with computer controlled tracking of focussed high energy source (eg. lasers, heat) on modern ceramic powders, metallic powders, plastics or photosensitive liquid resins in order to produce prototypes or models. At present, except for the process of shape melting, most rapid prototyping processes generate products that are only dimensionally similar to those of the desired end product. There is an urgent need, therefore, to enhance the understanding of the characteristics of these processes in order to realize their potential for production. Currently, the commercial market is dominated by four rapid prototyping processes, namely selective laser sintering, stereolithography, fused deposition modelling and laminated object manufacturing. This phase of the research has focussed on the selective laser sintering and stereolithography rapid prototyping processes. A theoretical model for these processes is under development. Different rapid prototyping sites supplied test specimens (based on ASTM 638-84, Type I) that have been measured and tested to provide a data base on surface finish, dimensional variation and ultimate tensile strength. Further plans call for developing and verifying the theoretical models by carefully designed experiments. This will be a joint effort between NASA and other prototyping centers to generate a larger database, thus encouraging more widespread usage by product designers.

Economic feasibility of copepod production for commercial use

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gedefaw Abate, Tenaw; Nielsen, Rasmus; Nielsen, Max

2015-01-01

of producing copepods for commercial application. This is the first empirical study to investigate the economic feasibility of copepod production for commercial use. To this end, a standard cost-benefit analysis based on a prototype production facility of Acartia tonsa (Dana) eggs at Roskilde University...... condition, reduces mal-pigmentation and allows breeding of ‘new’ marine finfish species. However, copepods are not yet commercially produced and therefore not widely used in the aquaculture industry. One of the bottlenecks for large-scale production has been lack of economic knowledge on the feasibility......, Denmark, is employed. The result reveals that commercial production of copepods is economically feasible considering the existing market prices on both copepods and competing live feed items such as rotifers. The study provides valuable information for businesses who consider investing in live feed...

Research Support Facility (RSF): Leadership in Building Performance (Brochure)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-09-01

This brochure/poster provides information on the features of the Research Support Facility including a detailed illustration of the facility with call outs of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Imagine an office building so energy efficient that its occupants consume only the amount of energy generated by renewable power on the building site. The building, the Research Support Facility (RSF) occupied by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) employees, uses 50% less energy than if it were built to current commercial code and achieves the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED{reg_sign}) Platinum rating. With 19% of the primary energy in the U.S. consumed by commercial buildings, the RSF is changing the way commercial office buildings are designed and built.

International political symbolism of the architecture of government buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. V. Kochetkov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes international political architecture of government buildings in Russia, the U.S., Western Europe (UK, France, Germany and Asia (China, India, Japan. Conclusions that the architecture of government buildings reflects the values of the dominant society’s political culture. Some government buildings are prototypes constructed previously in other societies and cultural traditions (for instance, the Capitol in Washington, USA, and the Capitoline temple in Rome.

Semi-commercialization of PVP-carrageenan hydrogel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Relleve, Lorna S.; Abad, Lucille V.; Aranilla, Charito T.; Dela Rosa, A.M.

2008-01-01

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) has developed the PVP-Carrageenan hydrogel wound dressing by radiation processing. The PVP-Carrageenan hydrogel has undergone clinical testing for burn and bedsores. It has already a pending patent application (No. 1-2000-02471) at the Philippine Patent Office. The techno-economic feasibility study has also been completed. In order to commercialize this product, a project on semi-commercialization in partnership with the investor was proposed to Technology Incubation for Commercialization (TECHNICOM), a technology transfer program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). TECHNICOM was established in 2003 under the National Science and Technology Plan (2002-2020) as a strategic technology transfer program. The program aims to identify key technological breakthroughs especially those generated by R and D institutes. It can intervene through the following: technology assessment/commercial prototype development; business plan/feasibility study preparation; intellectual property rights protection; technology valuation negotiation and licensing; semi-commercial production assistance and training/consultancy services. High technology applications with commercial potentials are given priority. Under semi-commercialization stage, government funds will be provided to match private sector investment in the commercial application of a particular technology innovation. This will lessen the risk of commercialization and ensure commitment from the investors. Commercial success in the shortest time is ensured since scientist can then work closely with the private sector at the production floor while testing the gaps in the technology. (author)

Integrated fuel cell energy system for modern buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moard, D.M.; Cuzens, J.E.

1998-07-01

Energy deregulation, building design efficiency standards and competitive pressures all encourage the incorporation of distributed fuel cell cogeneration packages into modern buildings. The building marketplace segments to which these systems apply include office buildings, retail stores, hospitals, hotels, food service and multifamily residences. These applications represent approximately 60% of the commercial building sector's energy use plus a portion of the residential sector's energy use. While there are several potential manufacturers of fuel cells on the verge of marketing equipment, most are currently using commercial hydrogen gas to fuel them. There are few suppliers of equipment, which convert conventional fuels into hydrogen. Hydrogen Burner Technology, Inc. (HBT) is one of the few companies with a proven under-oxidized-burner (UOB) technology, patented and already proven in commercial use for industrial applications. HBT is developing a subsystem based on the UOB technology that can produce a hydrogen rich product gas using natural gas, propane or liquid fuels as the feed stock, which may be directly useable by proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for conversion into electricity. The combined thermal output can also be used for space heating/cooling, water heating or steam generation applications. HBT is currently analyzing the commercial building market, integrated system designs and marketplace motivations which will allow the best overall subsystem to be designed, tested and introduced commercially in the shortest time possible. HBT is also actively involved in combined subsystem designs for use in automotive and small residential services.

4 CFR 25.11 - Photographs for news, advertising, or commercial purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 4 Accounts 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Photographs for news, advertising, or commercial purposes... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE BUILDING AND ON ITS GROUNDS § 25.11 Photographs for news, advertising, or commercial purposes. Photographs may be taken in the GAO Building only with the approval or authorization of...

Development and Evaluation of the Virtual Prototype of the First Saudi Arabian-Designed Car

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustufa H. Abidi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Prototyping and evaluation are imperative phases of the present product design and development process. Although digital modeling and analysis methods are widely employed at various product development stages, still, building a physical prototype makes the present typical process expensive and time consuming. Therefore, it is necessary to implement new technologies, such as virtual prototyping, which can enable industry to have a rapid and more controlled decision making process. Virtual prototyping has come a long way in recent years, where current environments enable stereoscopic visuals, surround sound and ample interaction with the generated models. It is also important to evaluate how representative the developed virtual prototype is when compared to the real-world counterpart and the sense of presence reported by users of the virtual prototype. This paper describes the systematic procedure to develop a virtual prototype of Gazal-1 (i.e., the first car prototype designed by Saudi engineers in a semi-immersive virtual environment. The steps to develop a virtual prototype from CAD (computer-aided design models are explained in detail. Various issues involved in the different phases for the development of the virtual prototype are also discussed comprehensively. The paper further describes the results of the subjective assessment of a developed virtual prototype of a Saudi Arabian-designed automobile. User’s feedback is recorded using a presence questionnaire. Based on the user-based study, it is revealed that the virtual prototype is representative of the real Saudi Arabian car and offers a flexible environment to analyze design features when compared against its physical prototype. The capabilities of the virtual environment are validated with the application of the car prototype. Finally, vital requirements and directions for future research are also presented.

Teaching Tip: Using Rapid Game Prototyping for Exploring Requirements Discovery and Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Dalal, Nikunj

2012-01-01

We describe the use of rapid game prototyping as a pedagogic technique to experientially explore and learn requirements discovery, modeling, and specification in systems analysis and design courses. Students have a natural interest in gaming that transcends age, gender, and background. Rapid digital game creation is used to build computer games…

Enhancing experience prototyping by the help of mixed-fidelity prototypes

OpenAIRE

Yasar, Ansar-Ul-Haque

2007-01-01

In this research review I undertook the problem related to the usage of a new concept known as the Mixed- Fidelity Prototype which is a mixture of its predecessors Low- and High- Fidelity Prototypes in Experience Prototyping. Experience Prototyping is a good way to explore, communicate and interact with the designs we develop like experiencing cycling on the ice, although the mood, snow conditions, bicycle type and many other factors really matter and tend to change with time. Experience Prot...

On variations of space-heating energy use in office buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Hung-Wen; Hong, Tianzhen

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Space heating is the largest energy end use in the U.S. building sector. • A key design and operational parameters have the most influence on space heating. • Simulated results were benchmarked against actual results to analyze discrepancies. • Yearly weather changes have significant impact on space heating energy use. • Findings enable stakeholders to make better decisions on energy efficiency. - Abstract: Space heating is the largest energy end use, consuming more than seven quintillion joules of site energy annually in the U.S. building sector. A few recent studies showed discrepancies in simulated space-heating energy use among different building energy modeling programs, and the simulated results are suspected to be underpredicting reality. While various uncertainties are associated with building simulations, especially when simulations are performed by different modelers using different simulation programs for buildings with different configurations, it is crucial to identify and evaluate key driving factors to space-heating energy use in order to support the design and operation of low-energy buildings. In this study, 10 design and operation parameters for space-heating systems of two prototypical office buildings in each of three U.S. heating climates are identified and evaluated, using building simulations with EnergyPlus, to determine the most influential parameters and their impacts on variations of space-heating energy use. The influence of annual weather change on space-heating energy is also investigated using 30-year actual weather data. The simulated space-heating energy use is further benchmarked against those from similar actual office buildings in two U.S. commercial-building databases to better understand the discrepancies between simulated and actual energy use. In summary, variations of both the simulated and actual space-heating energy use of office buildings in all three heating climates can be very large. However

Straw insulated buildings. Nature building materials; Strohgedaemmte Gebaeude. Naturbaustoffe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-06-01

Straw is one of the major agricultural by-products and is mainly used as litter in animal husbandry and to compensate the balance of humus. A relatively recent development is the use of straw bales for the construction of buildings. The brochure under consideration documents the technical development of straw construction in Germany. Possibilities of the use of straw in single family homes up to commercial buildings are described.

Technology review: prototyping platforms for monitoring ambient conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Afolaranmi, Samuel Olaiya; Ramis Ferrer, Borja; Martinez Lastra, Jose Luis

2018-05-08

The monitoring of ambient conditions in indoor spaces is very essential owing to the amount of time spent indoors. Specifically, the monitoring of air quality is significant because contaminated air affects the health, comfort and productivity of occupants. This research work presents a technology review of prototyping platforms for monitoring ambient conditions in indoor spaces. It involves the research on sensors (for CO 2 , air quality and ambient conditions), IoT platforms, and novel and commercial prototyping platforms. The ultimate objective of this review is to enable the easy identification, selection and utilisation of the technologies best suited for monitoring ambient conditions in indoor spaces. Following the review, it is recommended to use metal oxide sensors, optical sensors and electrochemical sensors for IAQ monitoring (including NDIR sensors for CO 2 monitoring), Raspberry Pi for data processing, ZigBee and Wi-Fi for data communication, and ThingSpeak IoT platform for data storage, analysis and visualisation.

Medication Reconciliation: Work Domain Ontology, prototype development, and a predictive model.

Science.gov (United States)

Markowitz, Eliz; Bernstam, Elmer V; Herskovic, Jorge; Zhang, Jiajie; Shneiderman, Ben; Plaisant, Catherine; Johnson, Todd R

2011-01-01

Medication errors can result from administration inaccuracies at any point of care and are a major cause for concern. To develop a successful Medication Reconciliation (MR) tool, we believe it necessary to build a Work Domain Ontology (WDO) for the MR process. A WDO defines the explicit, abstract, implementation-independent description of the task by separating the task from work context, application technology, and cognitive architecture. We developed a prototype based upon the WDO and designed to adhere to standard principles of interface design. The prototype was compared to Legacy Health System's and Pre-Admission Medication List Builder MR tools via a Keystroke-Level Model analysis for three MR tasks. The analysis found the prototype requires the fewest mental operations, completes tasks in the fewest steps, and completes tasks in the least amount of time. Accordingly, we believe that developing a MR tool, based upon the WDO and user interface guidelines, improves user efficiency and reduces cognitive load.

Upgraded prototype-reactor internal pump for ABWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumagai, Mikio; Amemori, Shiro; Saito, Takehiko

1988-01-01

In 1983, Toshiba, using their own technology, manufactured a commercial grade reactor internal pump (RIP). Recently, however, a licensing agreement with KSB of West Germany covering the RIP technology, has combined the know-how of KSB with Toshiba's technology to produce a truly high-quality prototype RIP. The pump produces the required coreflow for ABWR at low speed and with high efficiency, and simply by increasing the pump speed to the prior level, the coreflow can be further increased for such advantages as improved fuel cycle economy. Here, the advanced features and test results of the RIP are summarized. (author)

Roadmap for the Future of Commercial Energy Codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, Michael I. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hart, Philip R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Zhang, Jian [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Athalye, Rahul A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-01-01

Building energy codes have significantly increased building efficiency over the last 38 years, since the first national energy code was published in 1975. The most commonly used path in energy codes, the prescriptive path, appears to be reaching a point of diminishing returns. The current focus on prescriptive codes has limitations including significant variation in actual energy performance depending on which prescriptive options are chosen, a lack of flexibility for designers and developers, the inability to handle optimization that is specific to building type and use, the inability to account for project-specific energy costs, and the lack of follow-through or accountability after a certificate of occupancy is granted. It is likely that an approach that considers the building as an integrated system will be necessary to achieve the next real gains in building efficiency. This report provides a high-level review of different formats for commercial building energy codes, including prescriptive, prescriptive packages, capacity constrained, outcome based, and predictive performance approaches. This report also explores a next generation commercial energy code approach that places a greater emphasis on performance-based criteria.

Distributed Energy Resources On-Site Optimization for Commercial Buildings with Electric and Thermal Storage Technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacommare, Kristina S H; Stadler, Michael; Aki, Hirohisa; Firestone, Ryan; Lai, Judy; Marnay, Chris; Siddiqui, Afzal

2008-01-01

The addition of storage technologies such as flow batteries, conventional batteries, and heat storage can improve the economic as well as environmental attractiveness of on-site generation (e.g., PV, fuel cells, reciprocating engines or microturbines operating with or without CHP) and contribute to enhanced demand response. In order to examine the impact of storage technologies on demand response and carbon emissions, a microgrid's distributed energy resources (DER) adoption problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program that has the minimization of annual energy costs as its objective function. By implementing this approach in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS), the problem is solved for a given test year at representative customer sites, such as schools and nursing homes, to obtain not only the level of technology investment, but also the optimal hourly operating schedules. This paper focuses on analysis of storage technologies in DER optimization on a building level, with example applications for commercial buildings. Preliminary analysis indicates that storage technologies respond effectively to time-varying electricity prices, i.e., by charging batteries during periods of low electricity prices and discharging them during peak hours. The results also indicate that storage technologies significantly alter the residual load profile, which can contribute to lower carbon emissions depending on the test site, its load profile, and its adopted DER technologies

76 FR 48152 - Commercial Building Asset Rating Program

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-08

... European Union, although the meaning of each grade could be very different across regions. A series of.... Year built. Climate zone. Building type. Year rating is issued. Report serial number (for tracking...

Review of Building Data Frameworks across Countries: Lessons for India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iyer, Maithili [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Stratton, Hannah [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mathew, Sangeeta [Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy, New Delhi (India); Kumar, Satish [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Mathew, Paul [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Singh, Mohini [Synurja, LLC, New Delhi (India)

2017-07-31

The report outlines the initial explorations carried out by LBNL on available examples of energy data collection frameworks for buildings. Specifically, this monograph deals with European experience in the buildings sector, the US experience in the commercial buildings sector, and examples of data collection effort in Singapore and China to capture the Asian experience in the commercial sector. The review also provides a summary of the past efforts in India to collect and use commercial building energy data and its strengths and weaknesses. The overall aim of this activity is to help understand the use cases that drive the granularity of data being collected and the range of methodologies adopted for the data collection effort. This review is a key input and reference for developing a data collection framework for India, and also clarifies general thinking on the institutional structure that may be amenable for data collection effort to match the needs and requirements of commercial building sector in India.

Chemical surveillance of commercial fast breeder reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stamm, H.H.; Stade, K.Ch.

1988-01-01

After BN-600 (USSR) and SUPERPHENIX (France) were started succesfully, the international development of LMFBRs is standing at the doorstep of commercial use. For commercial use of LMFBRs cost reductions for construction and operation are highly desirable and necessary. Several nations developing breeder reactors have joined in a common effort in order to reach this aim by standardization and harmonization. On the base of more than 20 years of operation experience of experimental reactors (EBR-II, FFTF, RAPSODIE, DFR, BR-5/BR-10, BOR-60, JOYO, KNK-II) and demonstration plants (PHENIX, PFR, BN-350), possibilities for standardization in chemical surveillance of commercial breeder reactors without any loss of availability, reliability and reactor safety will be discussed in the following chapters. Loop-type reactors will be considered as well as pool-type reactors, although all commercial plants under consideration so far (SUPERPHENIX II, BN-800, BN-1600, CFBR, SNR-2, EFR) include pool-type reactors only. Table 1 gives a comparison of the Na inventories of test reactors, prototype plants and commercial LMFBRs

Bellanca building, Yellowknife : building envelope retrofit project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rajewski, G. [A.D. Williams Engineering Inc., Edmonton, AB (Canada)

2008-07-01

The Bellanca building is a ten-story, commercial office building, located in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The owner was concerned about annual fuel consumption, relative to other buildings of similar size. Tenants reported cold drafts and some ice build-up had been reported in the past, on the exterior of the cladding. In addition, some water penetration had occurred during rainfall. This presentation provided background information on the Bellanca building and discussed a building envelope retrofit project. A.D. Williams was hired in late 2006 in order to provide an opinion on the present condition of the building envelope. This presentation described the site investigation and presented an interior and exterior review of the building. It also presented a thermographic survey in order to map thermal anomalies and establish trends. Following acceptance of the report on findings, one of five options was selected for further development. This included removal of existing cladding, exterior gypsum wallboard, fiberglass insulation and application of BASF Walltite CT foam, sheathing, rigid insulation, drainage plane and new cladding. The preliminary design was then presented. This paper also described the tender and award of the contract; construction phase; and substantial completion of the project. tabs, figs.

Commercial Building Loads Providing Ancillary Services in PJM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacDonald, Jason; Kiliccote, Sila; Boch, Jim; Chen, Jonathan; Nawy, Robert

2014-06-27

The adoption of low carbon energy technologies such as variable renewable energy and electric vehicles, coupled with the efficacy of energy efficiency to reduce traditional base load has increased the uncertainty inherent in the net load shape. Handling this variability with slower, traditional resources leads to inefficient system dispatch, and in some cases may compromise reliability. Grid operators are looking to future energy technologies, such as automated demand response (DR), to provide capacity-based reliability services as the need for these services increase. While DR resources are expected to have the flexibility characteristics operators are looking for, demonstrations are necessary to build confidence in their capabilities. Additionally, building owners are uncertain of the monetary value and operational burden of providing these services. To address this, the present study demonstrates the ability of demand response resources providing two ancillary services in the PJM territory, synchronous reserve and regulation, using an OpenADR 2.0b signaling architecture. The loads under control include HVAC and lighting at a big box retail store and variable frequency fan loads. The study examines performance characteristics of the resource: the speed of response, communications latencies in the architecture, and accuracy of response. It also examines the frequency and duration of events and the value in the marketplace which can be used to examine if the opportunity is sufficient to entice building owners to participate.

Simulation of energy- efficient building prototype using different insulating materials

Science.gov (United States)

Ouhaibi, Salma; Belouaggadia, Naoual; Lbibb, Rachid; Ezzine, Mohammed

2018-05-01

The objective of this work is to analyze the energetic efficiency of an individual building including an area of 130 m2 multi-zone, located in the region of FEZ which is characterized by a very hot and dry climate in summer and a quite cold one in winter, by incorporating insulating materials. This study was performed using TRNSYS V16 simulation software during a typical year of the FEZ region. Our simulation consists in developing a comparative study of two types of polystyrene and silica-aerogel insulation materials, in order to determine the best thermal performance. The results show that the thermal insulation of the building envelope is among the most effective solutions that give a significant reduction in energy requirements. Similarly, the use of silica-aerogels gives a good thermal performance, and therefore a good energy gain.

The FAA/NASA flight loads monitoring program - The prototype system and its benefits for the aviation community

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, Julia H.; Thomas, Mitchel E.; Carrelli, David J.; Crabill, Norman L.

1992-01-01

The FAA established the flight load monitoring program to collect a data base of typical flight operational loads experienced by commercial transports. This system will provide a comprehensive monitoring of aircraft loading conditions with over 20 flight parameters being recorded simultaneously. NASA is designing and testing a prototype data collection and analysis system which will be implemented into an FAA operational program. This paper presents the program's objectives and the proposed development testing on a commercial Boeing 737-400. The prototype system, its data processing schemes, and reports are described. The searching criteria or flight attributes generated for each flight are listed. The data processing system will provide the aviation community with a powerful tool for the study of transport flight loading conditions and the system's flexibility will accommodate individual studies and specialized concerns.

Demand side management for commercial buildings using an in line heat pump water heating methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rankin, Riaan; Rousseau, Pieter G.; Eldik, Martin van

2004-01-01

Most of the sanitary hot water used in South African buildings is heated by means of direct electrical resistance heaters. This is one of the major contributors to the undesirably high morning and afternoon peaks imposed on the national electricity supply grid. For this reason, water heating continues to be of concern to the electricity supplier, ESCOM. Previous studies, conducted by the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education in South Africa, indicated that extensive application of the so called inline heat pump water heating methodology in commercial buildings could result in significant demand side management savings to ESKOM. Furthermore, impressive paybacks can be obtained by building owners who choose to implement the design methodology on existing or new systems. Currently, a few examples exist where the design methodology has been successfully implemented. These installations are monitored with a fully web centric monitoring system that allows 24 h access to data from each installation. Based on these preliminary results, a total peak demand reduction of 108 MW can be achieved, which represents 18% of the peak load reduction target set by ESKOM until the year 2015. This represents an avoided cost of approximately MR324 (ZAR) [Int J Energy Res 25(4) (1999) 2000]. Results based on actual data from the monitored installations shows a significant peak demand reduction for each installation. In one installation, a hotel with an occupancy of 220 people, the peak demand contribution of the hot water installation was reduced by 86%, realizing a 36% reduction in peak demand for the whole building. The savings incurred by the building owner also included significant energy consumption savings due to the superior energy efficiency of the heat pump water heater. The combined savings result in a conservatively calculated straight payback period of 12.5 months, with an internal rate of return of 98%. The actual cost of water heating is studied by

The Osseus platform: a prototype for advanced web-based distributed simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Franceschini, Derrick; Riecken, Mark

2016-05-01

Recent technological advances in web-based distributed computing and database technology have made possible a deeper and more transparent integration of some modeling and simulation applications. Despite these advances towards true integration of capabilities, disparate systems, architectures, and protocols will remain in the inventory for some time to come. These disparities present interoperability challenges for distributed modeling and simulation whether the application is training, experimentation, or analysis. Traditional approaches call for building gateways to bridge between disparate protocols and retaining interoperability specialists. Challenges in reconciling data models also persist. These challenges and their traditional mitigation approaches directly contribute to higher costs, schedule delays, and frustration for the end users. Osseus is a prototype software platform originally funded as a research project by the Defense Modeling & Simulation Coordination Office (DMSCO) to examine interoperability alternatives using modern, web-based technology and taking inspiration from the commercial sector. Osseus provides tools and services for nonexpert users to connect simulations, targeting the time and skillset needed to successfully connect disparate systems. The Osseus platform presents a web services interface to allow simulation applications to exchange data using modern techniques efficiently over Local or Wide Area Networks. Further, it provides Service Oriented Architecture capabilities such that finer granularity components such as individual models can contribute to simulation with minimal effort.

Energy Efficiency Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krebs, Martha [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

2016-07-29

The Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI) was established through a Funding Opportunity Announcement led by the U.S. Department of Energy, under a cooperative agreement managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. CBEI is led by The Pennsylvania State University and is composed of partners from academia, the private sector, and economic development agencies. The Consortium has included as many as 24 different partners over the five years, but 14 have been core to the work over the five year cooperative agreement. CBEI primarily focused on developing energy efficiency solutions for the small and medium commercial building market, with a focus on buildings less than 50,000 square feet. This market has been underserved by the energy efficiency industry, which has focused on larger commercial buildings where the scale of an individual retrofit lends itself to the use of sophisticated modeling tools and more advanced solutions. Owners/operators and retrofit providers for larger buildings have a greater level of understanding of, and experience with different solutions. In contrast, smaller commercial building retrofits, like residential retrofits, often have owners with less knowledge about energy management and less time to learn about it. This market segment is also served by retrofit providers that are smaller and often focused on particular building systems, e.g. heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, roofing, or insulation. The size of a smaller commercial building retrofit does not lend itself, from a cost perspective, to the application of multiple, sophisticated design and modeling tools, which means that they are less likely to have integrated solutions.