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Analysis of Energy Recovery Ventilator Savings for Texas Buildings
Abstract
This analysis was conducted to identify the energy cost savings from retrofitting Texas buildings with air-to-air ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator) systems. This analysis applied ERV and psychrometric equations in a bin-type procedure to determine the energy and costs required to condition outside air to return-air conditions. This analysis does not consider interactions with the air-handling system; therefore the effects of economizers, reheat schemes, variable flow rates and other adaptive components were not considered.
This analysis demonstrates that ERV cost-effectiveness is largely dependent upon the building location in Texas (i.e., climate conditions) and outside air fraction:
• For a typical laboratory building that requires 100% outside air, an ERV could save roughly $1.00 to $1.50 per cubic foot per minute (CFM) of outside air during a one year period.
• For a typical office building that only requires 10% outside air, an ERV could save up to $1.00 per CFM of outside air over the period of one year.
Citation
Christman, K. D.; Haberl, J. S.; Claridge, D. E. (2009). Analysis of Energy Recovery Ventilator Savings for Texas Buildings. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /90860.