Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Building Efficiency”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 739 records · Page 41
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Building America Expert Meeting: Combustion Safety

This is a meeting overview of 'The Best Approach to Combustion Safety in a Direct Vent World', held June 28, 2012, in San Antonio, Texas. The objective of this Expert Meeting was to identify gaps and barriers that need to be addressed by future research, and to develop data-driven technical recommendations for code updates so that a common approach for combustion safety can be adopted by all members of the building energy efficiency and code communities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2013

Building America Expert Meeting: Combustion Safety

This is an overview of "The Best Approach to Combustion Safety in a Direct Vent World," held June 28, 2012, in San Antonio, TX. The objective of this Expert Meeting was to identify gaps and barriers that need to be addressed by future research, and to develop data-driven technical recommendations for code updates so that a common approach for combustion safety can be adopted by all members of the building energy efficiency and code communities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2019

Moisture Transfer in Commercial Buildings Due to Air Leakage: A New Feature in the Online Airtightness Savings Calculator

Air leakage through the building envelopes is responsible for a large amount of energy use. The US Department of Energy Windows and Building Envelope Research and Development Roadmap for Emerging Technologies states that, in 2010, air infiltration was responsible for 20% of primary energy consumption attributable to the fenestration and building envelopes of commercial buildings. Despite this fact, improving airtightness is not always recognized by commercial building owners, as they have been slow in acknowledging and diminishing the detrimental effects of air leakage on energy use, comfort, indoor air quality, and building material durability.The design and construction industry would benefit from a credible, easy-to-use tool that estimates potential energy and financial savings in a standardized manner so designers and contractors can give building owners compelling reasons to invest in reducing air leakage. In 2016–2017, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Air Barrier Association of America, and the US-China Clean Energy Research Center for Building Energy Efficiency collaborated to develop an online calculator. This user-friendly calculator is free to the public and uses the simulation results of the whole building energy simulation tool EnergyPlus and the airflow simulation tool CONTAM. In 2018–2019, the calculator was expanded to add moisture transfer calculations given that air leakage through the building envelope can have a significant impact on moisture transfer and associated impacts. Four more commercial building types were also added to the existing database of three building types as part of this update. This paper describes the procedure used to calculate moisture transfer due to air leakage and provides examples that demonstrate the moisture transfer for each of the seven commercial building types that are currently part of the calculator.

Shrestha, Som↗
DOE OSTI2010

Potential model for single-sided naturally ventilated buildings in China

The paper investigates a single-sided naturally ventilated buildings potential model considering number of factors in China. This model can be used to estimate potential of natural ventilation via local climate data and building parameters. The main goal of the model is to predict natural ventilation hours and hourly ventilation flow rate. In fluid model, formula of single-sided natural ventilation by coupling wind pressure and temperature difference was used to calculate air flow rate. Accordingly, the paper analyzed four typical cities in different climate region in China and calculated pressure difference Pascal hours (PDPH). The results show that single-sided ventilation has fewer adaptive comfort hours than two-sided ventilation and much less ventilation volume. This model provided quantitative information for early stage architectural natural ventilation design and building energy efficiency evaluation. (author)

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Building a More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Energy Efficiency Workforce

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) envisions a future where the U.S. building industry leads globally in delivering quality efficiency products and services to American consumers and businesses. One barrier to achieving this vision is the difficulty reported by energy efficiency employers in finding qualified candidates (NASEO and EFI 2020). However, this barrier also presents an opportunity for the industry to expand in a way that invites and supports a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. The scope of energy, climate, and technology challenges the country faces will require the talents of all Americans. The purpose of this study therefore is to identify key factors to creating successful workforce development and inclusion programs that will support the future of the building industry. These factors can be applied to individual companies, training programs, or broader industry efforts.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

On data-driven energy flexibility quantification: A framework and case study

Building energy flexibility is an important resource for a sustainable and resilient power grid, and an important measure to reduce utility costs for building owners. Quantifying energy flexibility for existing buildings can provide critical insights in optimizing their operation. Data-driven methods for building energy modeling and analytics are gaining popularity due to the increasingly available sensor and meter infrastructure, affordable computational resources, and advanced modeling algorithms. However, their application in quantifying the energy flexibility of real buildings is still limited due to the heterogeneous data types and limited data availability. Here, this study proposes a framework for building-level data-driven energy flexibility quantification that considers different levels of data availability and use cases. Two case studies with real building data collected at different scales were conducted to demonstrate the proposed framework for different purposes.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

IEA EBC annex 53: Total energy use in buildings—Analysis and evaluation methods

One of the most significant barriers to achieving deep building energy efficiency is a lack of knowledge about the factors determining energy use. In fact, there is often a significant discrepancy between designed and real energy use in buildings, which is poorly understood but are believed to have more to do with the role of human behavior than building design. Building energy use is mainly influenced by six factors: climate, building envelope, building services and energy systems, building operation and maintenance, occupants’ activities and behavior, and indoor environmental quality. In the past, much research focused on the first three factors. However, the next three human-related factors can have an influence as significant as the first three. Annex 53 employed an interdisciplinary approach, integrating building science, architectural engineering, computer modeling and simulation, and social and behavioral science to develop and apply methods to analyze and evaluate the real energy use in buildings considering the six influencing factors. Finally, outcomes from Annex 53 improved understanding and strengthen knowledge regarding the robust prediction of total energy use in buildings, enabling reliable quantitative assessment of energy-savings measures, policies, and techniques.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

NREL's Building-Integrated Supercomputer Provides Heating and Efficient Computing (Fact Sheet)

NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) is meant to investigate new ways to integrate energy sources so they work together efficiently, and one of the key tools to that investigation, a new supercomputer, is itself a prime example of energy systems integration. NREL teamed with Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Intel to develop the innovative warm-water, liquid-cooled Peregrine supercomputer, which not only operates efficiently but also serves as the primary source of building heat for ESIF offices and laboratories. This innovative high-performance computer (HPC) can perform more than a quadrillion calculations per second as part of the world's most energy-efficient HPC data center.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laboratory Efficiency Strategies and the Smart Labs Program

Focusing on critical spaces, such as labs, will enable agencies to prioritize federal energy efficiency and decarbonization goals. FEMP's Smart Labs program is an example of emerging efficient laboratory building strategies. The benefits of this program include improved safety and health, reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions, lower operating costs, reduced degradation, and increased retention and recruitment of top talent researchers and sciences. In this session, with the help of our national lab partners, Sandia National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, you will learn about the steps to implement a Smart Labs program of your own and the methods behind the high-performance laboratory building. The partners will share best practices in implementation, practical advice for building a team, and how to address these critical facilities.

decarbonization↗
DOE OSTI2014

Energy Efficiency Financing Program Implementation Primer

Provides key considerations for policymakers, energy efficiency program administrators, and program partners om implementing successful energy efficiency financing programs for existing buildings.

energy efficiency financing, financing, SEE Action↗
DOE OSTI2016

Active Magnetic Regenerative Liquefier

This final report for the DOE Project entitled Active Magnetic Regenerative Liquefier (AMRL) funded under Grant DE-FG36-08GO18064 to Heracles Energy Corporation d.b.a. Prometheus Energy (Heracles/Prometheus) describes an active magnetic regenerative refrigerator (AMRR) prototype designed and built during the period from July 2008 through May 2011. The primary goal of this project was to make significant technical advances toward highly efficient liquefaction of hydrogen. Conventional hydrogen liquefiers at any scale have a maximum FOM of ~0.35 due primarily to the intrinsic difficulty of rapid, efficient compression of either hydrogen or helium working gases. Numerical simulation modeling of high performance AMRL designs indicates certain designs have promise to increase thermodynamic efficiency from a FOM of ~0.35 toward ~0.5 to ~0.6. The technical approach was the use of solid magnetic working refrigerants cycled in and out of high magnetic fields to build an efficient active regenerative magnetic refrigeration module providing cooling power for AMRL. A single-stage reciprocating AMRR with a design temperature span from ~290 K to ~120 K was built and tested with dual magnetic regenerators moving in and out of the conductively-cooled superconducting magnet subsystem. The heat transfer fluid (helium) was coupled to the process stream (refrigeration/liquefaction load) via high performance heat exchangers. In order to maximize AMRR efficiency a helium bypass loop with adjustable flow was incorporated in the design because the thermal mass of magnetic refrigerants is higher in low magnetic field than in high magnetic field. Heracles/Prometheus designed experiments to measure AMRR performance under a variety of different operational parameters such as cycle frequency, magnetic field strength, heat transfer fluid flow rate, amount of bypass flow of the heat transfer fluid while measuring work input, temperature span, cooling capability as a function of cold temperature as a function of the amount of bypass flow of the heat transfer fluid. The operational AMRR prototype can be used to answer key questions such as the best recipe for multiple layers of different magnetic refrigerants in one or more integrated regenerators with varying amounts of bypass flow of the heat transfer fluid. Layered regenerators are necessary to span the AMRR range from 290 K to 120K. Our AMRR performance simulation model predicts that ~10-15 % of bypass flow should significantly improve the thermodynamic performance. Initial results obtained with regenerators made of gadolinium spheres were very encouraging; a temperature span of ~ 50 K (between 295K and 245 K) across both regenerators was achieved with zero bypass flow of the heat transfer fluid and with the magnetic field strength of ~4 T.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs Medical Center: Smart Buildings Case Study

The purpose of this smart buildings case study is to showcase a leading example of a GEB renovation project in the federal buildings space and provide key information on the technology and control upgrades, costs, and energy and utility bill savings. This case study also provides information and recommendations for selecting energy conservation measures (ECMs) and choosing energy and cost reduction strategies from the energy management team at the site. The findings from this successful GEB project can be used to help pave the way for additional GEB retrofits in the future. The Carl T. Hayden Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, demonstrates that GEB strategies and technologies can be realistically deployed today across buildings with substantial energy and cost savings. The project implemented both ECMs and grid-interactive technologies and controls strategies, making it a leading example of a smart, sustainable, and efficient commercial building.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Residential Natural Gas Demand Response Potential during Extreme Cold Events in Electricity-Gas Coupled Energy Systems

In regions where natural gas is used for both power generation and heating buildings, extreme cold weather events can place the electrical system under enormous stress and challenge the ability to meet residential heating and electric demands. Residential demand response has long been used in the power sector to curtail summer electric load, but these types of programs in general have not seen adoption in the natural gas sector during winter months. Natural gas demand response (NG-DR) has garnered interest given recent extreme cold weather events in the United States; however, the magnitude of savings and potential impacts—to occupants and energy markets—are not well understood. We present a case-study analysis of the technical potential for residential natural gas demand response in the northeast United States that utilizes diverse whole-building energy simulations and high-performance computing. Our results show that NG-DR applied to residential heating systems during extreme cold-weather conditions could reduce natural gas demand by 1–29% based on conservative and aggressive strategies, respectively. This indicates a potential to improve the resilience of gas and electric systems during stressful events, which we examine by estimating the impact on energy costs and electricity generation from natural gas. We also explore relationships between hourly indoor temperatures, demand response, and building envelope efficiency.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Big data analytics in the building industry

Catalyzed by recent market, technology, and policy trends, energy data collection in the building industry is becoming more widespread. This wealth of information allows more data-driven decision-making by designers, commissioning agents, facilities staff, and energy service providers during the course of building design, operation and retrofit. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Performance Database (BPD) has taken advantage of this wealth of building asset- and energy-related data by collecting, cleansing, and standardizing data from across the U.S. on over 870,00 buildings, and is designed to support building benchmarking, energy efficiency project design, and buildings-related policy development with real-world data. Here, this article explores the promises and perils energy professionals are faced with when leveraging such tools, presenting example analyses for commercial and residential buildings, highlighting potential issues, and discussing solutions and best practices that will enable designers, operators and commissioning agents to make the most of ‘big data’ resources such as the BPD.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2017

City Reach Code Technical Support Document

This report describes and analyzes a set of energy efficiency measures that will save 20% energy over ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2013. The measures will be used to formulate a Reach Code for cities aiming to go beyond national model energy codes. A coalition of U.S. cities together with other stakeholders wanted to facilitate the development of voluntary guidelines and standards that can be implemented in stages at the city level to improve building energy efficiency. The coalition's efforts are being supported by the U.S. Department of Energy via Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and in collaboration with the New Buildings Institute.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS1990

Considerations of persistence and security in CHOICES, an object-oriented operating system

The current design of the CHOICES persistent object implementation is summarized, and research in progress is outlined. CHOICES is implemented as an object-oriented system, and persistent objects appear to simplify and unify many functions of the system. It is demonstrated that persistent data can be accessed through an object-oriented file system model as efficiently as by an existing optimized commercial file system. The object-oriented file system can be specialized to provide an object store for persistent objects. The problems that arise in building an efficient persistent object scheme in a 32-bit virtual address space that only uses paging are described. Despite its limitations, the solution presented allows quite large numbers of objects to be active simultaneously, and permits sharing and efficient method calls.

Campbell, Roy H.↗