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Highlight • New on/off controller for residential applications validated using minute-level field data. • On/off controller improves the HVAC accuracy around 19% in terms of NMBE. • On/off cycling makes the operation and associated energy use more realistic. Abstract Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are sized using design conditions, conditions that occur only a small percentage of time each year. As a result, HVAC systems frequently operate at part-load conditions since their capacity is larger than necessary except in the most extreme weather conditions. Most HVAC systems for residential and small commercial buildings in the U.S. use on/off controls, however, most energy modeling software tools do not simulate the on/off nature of this type of HVAC controls. This paper presents the development and validation of an on/off controller for residential applications in EnergyPlus using a custom EMS (energy management system). This controller is validated using minute-level field data collected for a house located in Sacramento, California with simulated occupancy and internal loads. The results obtained from EnergyPlus with and without the use of the developed on/off controller are also compared. The application of the developed on/off controller improves the HVAC energy use results accuracy around 19% in terms of the Normalized Mean Bias Error (NMBE) at the one-minute level compared to the results without the application of the on/off controller. It also makes the nature of operation and associated energy use signal of the HVAC system more realistic in terms of the on/off nature of the residential direct expansion coils. Furthermore, in this paper, the accuracy improvement of the results dominated by the internal loads is investigated by applying the one-minute schedule compared to the usual hourly schedules for the internal thermal loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Packaged air-conditioning systems, such as rooftop units (RTUs), are widely used in small commercial buildings in the United States. Although new regulations and standards require new air-conditioning equipment to have multi-speed supply fan operation, most of the installed units employ fixed-speed supply fans. The electrical energy usage associated with constant volumetric air delivery fan systems is on the order of half the total RTU electrical energy usage because supply fans operate continuously during the occupied periods in commercial buildings for ventilation. In addition, compressors within RTUs typically feature single- or two-stage capacity controls leading to frequent unit cycling and thus, deteriorated performance in energy efficiency. This paper presents relatively comprehensive assessment results for three RTU variable-speed retrofit options: 1) retrofits of fixed-speed supply fans with variable-speed fans for single-compressor-speed units, 2) replacement of existing fixed-speed RTUs with RTUs having two-speed compressors with variable-speed supply fans and 3) retrofits of RTUs with new RTUs that incorporate variable-speed compressors and fans (indoor and outdoor). The assessment study involves parametric simulations across different building types and locations in the U.S. to understand the performance variation with respect to location and building use. Performance improvements in terms of energy efficiency, operation cost and indoor comfort delivery for the various retrofit options are demonstrated compared to conventional single-stage RTUs with constant speed supply fans. The assessment results show that all three retrofit options offer significant fan energy savings, but much smaller savings potential for compressor and condenser fan electricity consumption. The variable-speed-unit retrofit provides the highest cost savings potentials, ranging from 40 to 250 $ per rated cooling ton per year depending on the building type and location. In addition to efficiency and economic benefits, the two-stage-unit and variable-speed-unit retrofits also lead to improved indoor humidity regulation performance due to reduced unit cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enthalpy recovery ventilators exchange heat and mass between exhausted air and outdoor ventilation air to reduce mechanical ventilation loads for HVAC systems in buildings. This study demonstrates the energy saving potential of integrating membrane-based energy recovery ventilators at zone-level into the conventional variable air volume (VAV) systems for commercial buildings. Building energy simulations are used to evaluate various operation strategies and potential energy savings for four selected climates including Minneapolis, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Miami. A medium-size DOE reference commercial building model with conventional VAV systems was used as a baseline. Three cases implemented with energy recovery ventilators were simulated using EnergyPlus and their results were compared with baseline cases in compliance with ASHRAE standard 90.1. The annual HVAC energy saving potential can reach up to 18–49% with this technique for various climates. The challenges of implementing and operating the zone-level energy recovery ventilators are also discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The parameters related to NV performance are identified and optimized. • Activation threshold temperature is not the key parameter for NV performance. • A general NV saves up to 82.5% energy but may cause overcooling penalty. • NV optimization improves thermal comfort and further saves up to 38.6% energy. • Optimization of natural NV improves the thermal comfort although it consumes more energy. The rising cooling demand and overheating in the building sector, especially in office buildings, have intensified research interest in recent years. Night ventilation (NV) as a passive energy technology has shown a great potential cooling energy and ameliorate indoor thermal environment. In this paper, a holistic approach involving global sensitivity analysis and evolutionary optimization is developed to exclude insignificant parameters and explore optimal NV performance in terms of energy use and thermal comfort. The proposed approach is based on the simulation research of a three-story office building equipped with daytime air conditioning and NV system in a cold climate region. The NV system is equipped with three levels of specific fan power (SFP), representing cases with natural NV and medium and high SFP mechanical NV, respectively. The results show that the activation threshold temperature is not the key parameter for NV performance. Comparing with the case without NV, the three SFP NV systems under a general scheme save 8.8% to 82.5% total cooling energy consumption (TCEC), but increase the average percentage of dissatisfied during occupied hours (aPPD) from 7.5% to about 15%, which may cause overcooling penalty. The optimization decreases the thermal mass area and the night air change rate setpoint at each hour, while increases the minimum indoor air temperature setpoint compared to the general scheme. All three optimal NV schemes significantly improve the indoor thermal comfort by maintaining the aPPD at 7.5%. The optimal medium and high SFP mechanical NV scheme further save 7.1% and 38.6% TCEC compared to the corresponding general mechanical NV scheme, respectively. With a higher SFP, a greater energy saving potential is contributed through NV optimization process. Even though the optimal natural NV scheme consumes more than twice as much TCEC as the general natural NV scheme, it is still worth optimizing the natural NV since the indoor thermal comfort can be improved and the optimal scheme still saves much cooling energy compared to the base case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]