Wood Burning and Creosote Buildup

For many years,wood was the prime source of heating the house and continues to be so in some parts of the world. In this country, we are beginning to see many individuals returning to wood burning--using it as an alternate heat source and even occasionally as a primary heat source. Heating with wood, however, is not for everyone. It is not as simple as heating with gas, oil or electricity. It is not as convenient to use because it requires a considerable amount of labor, a large storage area for the wood, more cleaning of the home, many more safety precautions, and acceptance of fluctuating room temperatures. With the development of efficient wood stoves and furnaces, creosote buildup in the chimney became more of a problem because the flue gas temperatures were lower due to more of the heat being put in the room rather than going up the chimney. Creosote clings firmly to the pipe and chimney walls, causing buildup of a very flammable material. When creosote deposits catch fire, the heat is very intense and can result in roof and house fires. Even if the burning creosote does not cause a fire from flying sparks or cracks in the chimney, it tends to weaken the chimney masonry or warp metal chimneys

Kerosene Heaters

Many families are buying supplemental space heating units in an attempt to use heat only where it is needed and thus lower the total heating bill. lf you turn down your central heat thermostat and place such a unit in a room where the family spends most of their waking hours, heating bills may be reduced. Such savings appear to be significant, but each family first needs to carefully consider the safety risks and their energy savings potential as well as the lifestyle changes that might be necessary

Regional Variation in Temperature Humidity Index for Poultry Housing

A building thermal model was used to compute hourly values of temperature humidity index (THI) for a broiler house with and without an evaporative misting system. Hourly summer time weather data for 238 U.S.A. locations covering 30 years were used to develop extreme occurrences of THI. Results were incorporated into a Geographical Information System (GIS) database to create isolines of THI and percentage of hours exceeding a heat stress threshold. Regional variations in misting as a suitable cooling technique are presented in terms of hours reduction in annual heat stress. The technique may be used for assisting in management decisions regarding poultry facilities housing design and siting, and with appropriate THI may be extended to other livestock production

Demand Response of HVACs in Large Residential Communities Based on Experimental Developments

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems contribute the largest electricity usage for a residential community. Modeling of the HVAC systems facilitate the study of demand response (DR) at both the residential and the power system level. In this paper, the equivalent thermal model of a reference house was proposed. Parameters for the reference house were determined based on the systematic study of experimental data obtained from fully instrumented field demonstrators. The aggregated HVAC load was modeled based on the reference house while considering a realistic distribution of HVAC parameters derived from data that was provided by one of the largest smart grid field demonstrators in rural America. A sequential DR as part of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) control was proposed to reduce both ramping rate and peak power at the aggregated level, while maintaining human comfort according to ASHRAE standard

The Effect of High Efficiency Building Technologies and PV Generation on the Energy Profiles for Typical US Residences

The penetrations of high efficiency technologies and photovoltaic (PV) generation are increasing in the residential sector. Technologies such as improved insulation and efficient HVAC systems significantly affect the energy profile of a house. This effect varies due to climate characteristics, i.e. temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, and wind speeds. The effect of other technologies, such as efficient water heaters, lighting, or kitchen appliances, is mainly governed by human behavior, which may be represented by a schedule. This paper studies the performance of both climate-influenced and scheduled household devices among different levels of efficiency through combined computational and experimental methods. Three houses were constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority and were outfitted with robots that mimicked the occupation of a family. The houses represented three categories of residences, namely, typical builder, retrofit, and near net-zero-energy. With the energy and weather data collected from 2009 to 2014, a total of four house energy models were developed to account for equipment changes throughout the years. The studies performed using these models considered the behavior of the HVAC systems, PV system, and water heaters as well as climate effects

Virtual Power Plant Control for Large Residential Communities Using HVAC Systems for Energy Storage

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems use the most electricity of any household appliance in residential communities. HVAC system modeling facilitates the study of demand response (DR) at both the residential and power system levels. In this article, the equivalent thermal model of a reference house is proposed. Parameters for the reference house were determined based on the systematic study of experimental data obtained from fully instrumented field demonstrators. Energy storage capacity of HVAC systems is calculated and an equivalent state-of-charge is defined. The uniformity between HVAC systems and battery energy storage system is demonstrated by DR control. The aggregated HVAC load model is based on the reference house and considers a realistic distribution of HVAC parameters derived from one of the largest smart grid field demonstrators in rural America. A sequential DR scheme as part of a virtual power plant control is proposed to reduce both ramping rate and peak power at the aggregated level, while maintaining human comfort according to ASHRAE standards