9 research outputs found
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Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort
Radiant cooling and heating systems provide an opportunity to achieve significant energy savings, peak demand reduction, load shifting, and thermal comfort improvements compared to conventional all-air systems. As a result, application of these systems has increased in recent years, particularly in zero-net-energy (ZNE) and other advanced low-energy buildings. Despite this growth, completed installations to date have demonstrated that controls and operation of radiant systems can be challenging due to a lack of familiarity within the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) design and operations professions, often involving new concepts (particularly related to the slow response in high thermal mass radiant systems). To achieve the significant reductions in building energy use proposed by California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC’s) Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan that all new non-residential buildings be ZNE by 2030, it is critical that new technologies that will play a major role in reaching this goal be applied in an effective manner. This final report describes the results of a comprehensive multi-faceted research project that was undertaken to address these needed enhancements to radiant technology by developing the following: (1) sizing and operation tools (currently unavailable on the market) to provide reliable methods to take full advantage of the radiant systems to provide improved energy performance while maintaining comfortable conditions, (2) energy, cost, and occupant comfort data to provide real world examples of energy efficient, affordable, and comfortable buildings using radiant systems, and (3) Title-24 and ASHRAE Standards advancements to enhance the building industry’s ability to achieve significant energy efficiency goals in California with radiant systems. The research team used a combination of full-scale fundamental laboratory experiments, whole-building energy simulations and simplified tool development, and detailed field studies and control demonstrations to assemble the new information, guidance and tools necessary to help the building industry achieve significant energy efficiency goals for radiant systems in California
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Energy Performance of Commercial Buildings with Radiant Heating and Cooling
This report is part of the California Energy Commission (CEC) EPIC project (EPIC-14-009), Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort. The main goal of this research was to determine the building characteristics of projects with radiant heating and cooling and assess their real world energy use compared to standard benchmarks for building energy performance. The energy use was self-reported through surveys and utility data and is based on whole building site energy use for a minimum of 12 months. The report describes the general building characteristics including type, size, location and climate zone of 23 buildings in North America with radiant distribution systems for both heating and cooling the predominant area of the building. The study found that almost all of the 23 buildings outperformed peer buildings and national benchmarks, suggesting that radiant systems are part of the integrated approach that can lead to low energy consumption in commercial buildings. Some operator perspectives from the survey are included to inform design and operation factors regarding radiant systems
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Blind to Blinds: Opening Our Eyes to Savings from New Automated Shading Systems
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Energy Use, Occupant Surveys and Case Study Summary: Radiant Cooling and Heating in Commercial Buildings
While forced-air distribution systems remain the predominant approach to heating and cooling in U.S. commercial buildings, radiant systems are emerging as a part of high performance buildings. Radiant systems transfer energy via a surface that contains piping with warmed or cooled water, or a water/glycol mix and separate ventilation through a dedicated outside air system. These systems can contribute to significant energy savings due to relatively small temperature differences between the room set-point and cooling/heating source, and the efficiency of using water rather than air for thermal distribution1. They can also offer peak demand reduction, load shifting, and improved comfort compared to conventional all-air systems.The California Energy Commission (CEC) EPIC program funded a radiant research project from 2016-2018 to better characterize the energy use, occupant perceptions, opportunities for improvement, and provide data and resources to increase market adoption of radiant for both heating and cooling. The Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at UC Berkeley managed the full research project titled Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort. Within this project New Buildings Institute led Task 5: Energy Analysis and Occupant Surveys of Radiant Buildings and conducted the energy analysis and CBE led the occupant satisfaction survey and assessment.The Task 5 research study included a review of the whole-building design characteristics and site energy use in 23 buildings and surveys of occupant perceptions of indoor environmental quality in 26 buildings with 1645 individuals. The following reports from the Task 5 study are available: 1) Energy Use of Radiant Buildings, 2) Occupant satisfaction with thermal comfort and acoustic quality in buildings using radiant and all-air systems and 3) Nine Building Case Studies of Radiant Heating and Cooling at www.cbe.berkeley.edu and www.newbuildings.org.This summary provides an overview of the Energy Report Results and of nine case studies on buildings with radiant heating and cooling systems conducted in Task 5
Recommended from our members
Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort
Radiant cooling and heating systems provide an opportunity to achieve significant energy savings, peak demand reduction, load shifting, and thermal comfort improvements compared to conventional all-air systems. As a result, application of these systems has increased in recent years, particularly in zero-net-energy (ZNE) and other advanced low-energy buildings. Despite this growth, completed installations to date have demonstrated that controls and operation of radiant systems can be challenging due to a lack of familiarity within the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) design and operations professions, often involving new concepts (particularly related to the slow response in high thermal mass radiant systems). To achieve the significant reductions in building energy use proposed by California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC’s) Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan that all new non-residential buildings be ZNE by 2030, it is critical that new technologies that will play a major role in reaching this goal be applied in an effective manner. This final report describes the results of a comprehensive multi-faceted research project that was undertaken to address these needed enhancements to radiant technology by developing the following: (1) sizing and operation tools (currently unavailable on the market) to provide reliable methods to take full advantage of the radiant systems to provide improved energy performance while maintaining comfortable conditions, (2) energy, cost, and occupant comfort data to provide real world examples of energy efficient, affordable, and comfortable buildings using radiant systems, and (3) Title-24 and ASHRAE Standards advancements to enhance the building industry’s ability to achieve significant energy efficiency goals in California with radiant systems. The research team used a combination of full-scale fundamental laboratory experiments, whole-building energy simulations and simplified tool development, and detailed field studies and control demonstrations to assemble the new information, guidance and tools necessary to help the building industry achieve significant energy efficiency goals for radiant systems in California