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Reducing Building Energy Costs Using Optimized Operation Strategies for Constant Volume Air Handling Systems
Abstract
Building energy consumption can be substantially
reduced after implementing what we call Extended
O&M Measures. The Extended O&M Measures are a
scientific refinement of traditional O&M measures.
Specifically, they involve resetting the cooling deck or
heating deck temperature according to the ambient
temperature such that maximum energy efficiency can
be achieved without compromising indoor air quality
and comfort. Extended O&M Measures optimize
system performance as a whole rather than focusing on
the malfunction of individual component. Our study
involving five medical and institutional buildings at
the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).
Galveston shows that Extended O&M Measures can
reduce chilled water and condensate costs by
$517,800/yr or 19% of the total building energy cost
($2.7 million dollars). This potential percentage
savings is comparable to the LoanSTAR measured
thermal energy savings in 10 buildings at another
University of Texas campus where constant air volume
systems have been converted to variable volume
systems. Though in the later case fan electricity
consumption is also reduced but with some investment
cost. On the other hand, Extended O&M Measures do
not require any retrofit or investment cost. Extended
O&M Measures have been implemented in one of the
five buildings, and the measured savings are consistent
with predicted savings. It seems that the Extended
O&M Measures are an excellent alternative to
converting constant volume systems to variable
volume systems, especially if there are no retrofit funds available.
Citation
Liu, M.; Athar, A.; Reddy, A.; Claridge, D. E.; Haberl, J. S.; White, E. (1994). Reducing Building Energy Costs Using Optimized Operation Strategies for Constant Volume Air Handling Systems. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6645.