Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Nassif, Nabil Dr.

Abstract

This study discusses the application of the CO2-based demand-controlled ventilation (CO2-DCV) strategy along with an economizer for air source heat pumps in schools. An investigation was performed of their impact on annual energy consumption, and the potential savings achieved in different USA locations was determined. The study includes detailed energy analysis on an existing middle school through entire building energy simulation software. The simulation model is first calibrated and checked for accuracy using the actual monthly utility data of the school. Second, this model is used for saving calculations due to the application of an integrated CO2- based DCV and an economizer. The study considers various occupancy profiles and USA locations. The results show the savings could be up to 20% as compared to the current operating strategy implemented in the existing system, and these savings depend mainly on actual occupancy profile and building locations. The objectives of the study include: (1) Modeling of an existing 118,000 ft2 middle school located in North Carolina with building simulation energy software, e-Quest. (2) Model calibration by comparing the energy consumptions simulated by the model with the actual monthly energy data collected over five years, and (3) Energy savings calculations by running the validated model with CO2-based demand-controlled ventilation DCV and economizer for different occupancy profiles and USA ASHRAE climate zones, as compared with the actual existing ventilation strategy.

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