A significant amount of the electrical energy used to cool non-residential buildings equipped with all-air systems is drawn by the fans that transport the cool air through the thermal distribution system. Hydronic radiant cooling systems have the potential to reduce the amount of air transported through the building by separating the tasks of ventilation and thermal conditioning. Because of the physical properties of water, hydronic radiant cooling systems can transport a given amount of thermal energy using less than 5170 of the otherwise necessary fan energy. This improvement alone significantly reduces the energy consumption and peak power requirement of the air conditioning system. Hydronic radiant cooling systems have been used for more than 30 years in hospital rooms to provide a draft-free, thermally stable environment. The energy savings and peak-load characteristics of these systems have not yet been analyzed systematically. Moreover, adequate guidelines for design and control of these systems do not exist. This has prevented their widespread application to other building types. The evaluation of the theoretical performance of hydronic systems could be made most conveniently by computer models. Energy analysis programs such as DOE-2 do not have the capability to simulate hydronic radiant systems yet. In this paper the development of a model that can simulate accurately the dynamic performance of hydronic radiant cooling systems is described. The model is able to calculate loads, heat extraction rates, room air temperature and room surface temperature distributions, and can be used to evaluate issues such as thermal comfort, controls, system sizing, system configuration and dynamic response. The model was created with the Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel (SPARK) developed at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, which provides a methodology for describing and solving the dynamic, non-linear equations that correspond to complex physical systems.

Considerable electrical energy used to cool nonresidential buildings equipped with All-Air Systems is drawn by the fans that transport the cool air through the thermal distribution system. Hydropic Cooling Systems have the potential to reduce the amount of air transported through the building by separating the tasks of ventilation and thermal conditioning. Due to the physical properties of water, Hydropic Cooling Systems can transport a given amount of thermal energy using less than 5% of the otherwise necessary fan energy. They are suited to the dry climates that are typical of California and been used for more than 30 years in hospital rooms. However, energy savings and peak-load characteristics have not yet been analyzed. Adequate guidelines for their design and control systems has prevented lack of their widespread application to other building types. Evaluation of theoretical performance of Hydropic Systems could be made by computer models. Energy analysis programs such as DOE-2 do not yet have the capacity to simulate Hydropic Cooling Systems. Scope of this project is developing a model that can accurately simulate the dynamic performance of Hydropic Radiant Cooling Systems. The model can calculate loads, heat extraction rates, room air temperature and room surface temperature distributions, and can be used to evaluate issues such as thermal comfort, controls, system sizing, system configuration and dynamic response. The model was created with the LBL Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel (SPARK), which provides a methodology for describing and solving the dynamic, non-linear equations that correspond to complex physical systems. Potential for Hydropic Radiant Cooling Systems applications can be determined by running this model for a variety of construction types in different California climates.

Improving energy efficiency in the Heating Ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings is critical to achieve the energy reduction in the building sector, which consumes 41% of all primary energy produced in the United States, and was responsible for nearly half of U.S. CO2 emissions. Based on a report by the New Building Institute (NBI), when HVAC systems are used, about half of the zero net energy (ZNE) buildings report using a radiant cooling/heating system, often in conjunction with ground source heat pumps. Radiant systems differ from air systems in the main heat transfer mechanism used to remove heat from a space, and in their control characteristics when responding to changes in control signals and room thermal conditions. This dissertation investigates three related design and control topics: cooling load calculations, cooling capacity estimation, and control for the heavyweight radiant systems. These three issues are fundamental to the development of accurate design/modeling tools, relevant performance testing methods, and ultimately the realization of the potential energy benefits of radiant systems. Cooling load calculations are a crucial step in designing any HVAC system. In the current standards, cooling load is defined and calculated independent of HVAC system type. In this dissertation, I present research evidence that sensible zone cooling loads for radiant systems are different from cooling loads for traditional air systems. Energy simulations, in EnergyPlus, and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the heat transfer dynamics in spaces conditioned by radiant and air systems. The results show that the magnitude of the cooling load difference between the two systems ranges from 7-85%, and radiant systems remove heat faster than air systems. For the experimental tested conditions, 75-82% of total heat gain was removed by radiant system during the period when the heater (simulating the heat gain) was on, while for air system, 61-63% were removed. From a heat transfer perspective, the differences are mainly because the chilled surfaces directly remove part of the radiant heat gains from a zone, thereby bypassing the time-delay effect caused by the interaction of radiant heat gain with non-active thermal mass in air systems. The major conclusions based on these findings are: 1) there are important limitations in the definition of cooling load for a mixing air system described in Chapter 18 of ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals when applied to radiant systems; 2) due to the obvious mismatch between how radiant heat transfer is handled in traditional cooling load calculation methods compared to its central role in radiant cooling systems, this dissertation provides improvements for the current cooling load calculation method based on the Heat Balance procedure. The Radiant Time Series method is not appropriate for radiant system applications. The findings also directly apply to the selection of space heat transfer modeling algorithms that are part of all energy modeling software. Cooling capacity estimation is another critical step in a design project. The above mentioned findings and a review of the existing methods indicates that current radiant system cooling capacity estimation methods fail to take into account incident shortwave radiation generated by solar and lighting in the calculation process. This causes a significant underestimation (up to 150% for some instances) of floor cooling capacity when solar load is dominant. Building performance simulations were conducted to verify this hypothesis and quantify the impacts of solar for different design scenarios. A new simplified method was proposed to improve the predictability of the method described in ISO 11855 when solar radiation is present. The dissertation also compares the energy and comfort benefits of the model-based predictive control (MPC) method with a fine-tuned heuristic control method when applied to a heavyweight embedded surface system. A first order dynamic model of a radiant slab system was developed for implementation in model predictive controllers. A calibrated EnergyPlus model of a typical office building in California was used as a testbed for the comparison. The results indicated that MPC is able to reduce the cooling tower energy consumption by 55% and pumping power consumption by 26%, while maintaining equivalent or even better thermal comfort conditions. In summary, the dissertation work has: (1) provided clear evidence that the fundamental heat transfer mechanisms differ between radiant and air systems. These findings have important implications for the development of accurate and reliable design and energy simulation tools; (2) developed practical design methods and guidance to aid practicing engineers who are designing radiant systems; and (3) outlined future research and design tools need to advance the state-of-knowledge and design and operating guidelines for radiant systems.

Addressing the needs of engineers, energy planners, and policy makers, CRC Handbook of Energy Efficiency provides up-to-date information on all important issues related to efficient energy use, including: Efficient energy technologies Economics Utility restructuring Integrated resource planning Energy efficient building design Industrial energy conservation Wind energy Solar thermal systems Photovoltaics Renewable energy Cogeneration Fossil fuel cost projections The rapid changes that characterize the technology of energy generation systems, and the forthcoming competition among energy producers, make this handbook a must for anyone involved in the science, technology, or policy of energy. The 53 expert contributors from industry, government, and universities, and the 600+ figures and tables make CRC Handbook of Energy Efficiency a professional and valuable resource.

Presenting an overview of the use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) within buildings, this book discusses the performance of PCM-enhanced building envelopes. It reviews the most common PCMs suitable for building applications, and discusses PCM encapsulation and packaging methods. In addition to this, it examines a range of PCM-enhanced building products in the process of development as well as examples of whole-building-scale field demonstrations. Further chapters discuss experimental and theoretical analyses (including available software) to determine dynamic thermal and energy performance characteristics of building enclosure components containing PCMs, and present different laboratory and field testing methods. Finally, a wide range of PCM building products are presented which are commercially available worldwide. This book is intended for students and researchers of mechanical, architectural and civil engineering and postgraduate students of energy analysis, dynamic design of building structures, and dynamic testing procedures. It also provides a useful resource for professionals involved in architectural and mechanical-civil engineering design, thermal testing and PCM manufacturing.

Departing from the simple question Why do we heat and cool buildings with air?, this book focuses on the technique of thermally active surfaces. This technique uses water in building surfaces to heat and cool bodies - a method that is at once more efficient, comfortable, and healthy. This technique thus imbues the fabric of the building with a more poignant role: its structure is also its primary heating and cooling system. In doing so, this approach triggers a cascading set of possibilities for how well buildings are built, how well they perform, and how long they will last: pointing the way toward multiple forms of sustainability. The first section of the book contrasts the parallel histories of thermally active surfaces and air conditioning. These histories explain the material, social, marketing, and technical unfolding of building technology in the twentieth century as a means to explain why we build the way we do and why that will change in the new century. The next section of the book covers the physiological and thermodynamic basis of thermally active surfaces. This section is designed for engineers and architects to grasp the logic and advantages of this technique. This section also includes a chapter on the de-fragmentation of buildings and design practice that is inherent in building with thermally active surfaces. The final section covers a series of contemporary case studies that demonstrate the efficacy of this technique. The project list currently includes Kunsthaus in Bregenz by Peter Zumthor, Zollverein School of Management in Essen, Germany by SANAA, and Linked Hybrid in Beijing by Steven Holl, amongst others.