A Case of Optimizing HVAC System Performance When Every Dollar Counts: Fid-Bau Portal

A Case of Optimizing HVAC System Performance When Every Dollar Counts

Ebrahim, Fatemah / Paige, Frederick / Jazizadeh, Farrokh / Nottingham, Quinton

Building stakeholders must invest an increasing amount of resources in the process of delivering energy-efficient buildings as energy efficiency standards become more aggressive, and building systems become more complex. This paper documents the earlier stages of a larger project, which is a joint venture between Virginia Tech and an industry partner, to predict the benefits and drawbacks of energy investments in the residential housing sector. As such, existing processes for predicting the benefits and drawbacks of energy-efficient technologies in buildings can be improved in the areas of comprehensiveness, precision, accuracy, and elegance. This study presents an exploratory and descriptive field study of an affordable housing development in Virginia, which was recently renovated to improve and explore system performance of one-stage, two-stage, and variable speed HVAC systems. Utilizing this study design, the researchers performed energy analyses on nine duplexes, which include two households per unit, to evaluate the efficacy of the energy investments alongside an updated model of energy analysis. Building upon manufacturer specifications, the researchers had hypothesized that the variable speed HVAC systems would outperform the other two systems in terms of energy savings. Preliminary analyses utilizing pre-existing models of energy monitoring and energy analysis proved contrary to the hypothesis. Data collected and analyzed thus far are considered preliminary results, which support the researchers’ case for updating energy monitoring and energy analysis processes. The preliminary data analysis has shown great potential for updating previous processes to calibrate inaccurate perceptions of behavior-driven energy use; leverage cloud computing for data analytics and visualization to improve data accessibility; and the inclusion of socio-political impacts into decision-making tools. The findings of this study transfer beyond the context of HVAC systems to various building systems. The methodology of this study also provides guidance for better academic-industry-citizen engagement for the real-world testing and design of engineered infrastructure systems.