Energy and Building

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The energy consumed by building can be reduced significantly by proper

designing. With the cost of energy rising and availability decreasing, the need to
provide energy efficient building designs become more important. Escalating
energy cost is forcing us to change our design habits. It is no longer possible to
design buildings without specific reference to the projected energy consumption.

This module discusses aspects like the pattern and magnitude of energy
consumed by buildings, also the various heads under which the building design
and construction process consume energy. It is most important to save energy,
primarily to reduce pollution and finally to save the environment, thus to save
our dear planet. Factors influencing energy consumption in buildings has been
identified and major methods of energy conservations have been discussed here.

To make a building is to create an efficient performing system linked to its


surrounding environment and subject to a range of interactions affected by
climate and requirements of occupants.

Thus the main objective of this building system is to perform efficiently to


provide desired and required comfort level. This comfort of users of a building
may be categorized as the thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustical comfort,
air quality etc. To achieve these comfort levels the building requires energy
supply through both passive and active strategies.

This module intends to describe different technologies related to energy


performance to be achieved by the buildings, combined with an understanding of
what constitutes human comfort and discomfort and how these conditions can be
affected by changes in climate

The total energy consumption in a building is the result of many variables and
their interaction. These variables may be termed as energy factors :

Site and Climate – Natural Environment

Buildings and Systems – Built Environment

Users and Operation – Activity of Human beings

The groups relate to the influence of natural environment (site/Climate), built


environment (building /systems) and activity of human beings (user/operations)

Thus the building energy consumption constitutes a complicated system. The


large number and different quality of variable influencing factors make it difficult
to understand and to describe the working of the same. The following factors
guide the major energy consumption pattern in a building:

1. Technical Factors: construction technology, maintenance technology,


mechanization, energy sources, etc.

2. Economic Factors: Economic development, energy prices.

3. Financial Factors: Financial background of the owner/user of the building.

4. Organization Factors: Organization pattern and distribution of the spaces.


5. Social Factors: Users’ social and cultural behaviour.

6. Sociological and psychological Factors: Problems of building estimates,


pressure of land by population , energy related behaviour etc.

There are six main reasons of energy consumption differences in identical


buildings, that is building of same design and built at the same time.

· Technical status in buildings due to construction quality and maintenance


deficiencies.

· Micro-climate: Even in group housing, the microclimate around individual


houses may differ-some buildings are in windy location and some are on the
sunny side.

· Energy conservation measures and other changes in installation and


building.

· Basic factors : These cover household size, employment situation, leisure


facilities, etc.

· Users habits and life style:

· Energy attitudes, consciousness and knowledge: This is one of the major


reasons effecting the energy consumption in buildings.

So far no such energy audit is known to be taken in any developing country. It


would be worthwhile to make a systematic energy study on old and new building
block over a period of time to enable the energy consumption pattern in building
and how can be modified for reducing the energy consumption.

In –India , similar studies may be under taken in Delhi, Bombay ,


Calcutta , Kanpur and Banglore at the first instance. The data collected may be
analysed for different housing conditions. The study may be made further broad
based by expanding the same to different state capitals.

Energy consumption of building can be categorized in two groups:

1. During Operation: During operation of bldg. i. e. the energy required to


use the structure for its intended purpose operational energy and

2. During Construction: To build the building i.e. the energy required for
construction.

· Energy required to manufacture materials

· Transport them to the site

· to construct the facility

Every analysis in house construction covers


1. Direct energy – the fuel and power used at both of the building site in
transporting the materials to the site, and

2. Energy embodied in materials , which includes the energy used to


manufacture the components tools and machinery plus the energy required to
extract and transport the row materials.

Many of the factors, which are primarily related to the building design and which
impact energy consumption largely, must be considered in the initial designing
process only, like -

· Orientation of the building.

· Building materials

· Building Technology

· Insulation to establish thermal quality of the building.

· Fenestration and window areas to increase the amount of passive energy

The other major factors for consumption of energy in general in buildings are as
follows:

· Function of building

· Type of control

· Energy distribution

· Hours of operation

· Ventilation & thermal quantity.

FUNCTIONS OF BUILDING – Building function determine the energy consumption


rate expected for that building to function. As an example, a building designed to
house computers and electronic equipments would be expected to have a higher
energy consumption rate. Industrial buildings are designed for minimal
occupancy and then have lower comfort- level requirements. So one of the first
step in analyzing a building is to determine the basic function of the building
system, next to determine allowable limits of comfort zone and next to
determine if these comfort levels are required throughout the building or not,
throughout the year, throughout the day etc.

TYPE OF CONTROL --- The type of control in a heating ventilating and cooling
operation can greatly influence the energy use of a building.

(i) Direct control: A simple thermostat control which senses the need
for additional heat or cooling and turns on furnace or air conditioner at an
appropriate time.
(ii) Indirect control: Indirect control include cases where energy
systems are designed peak energy uses, usually during extreme weather
conditions.

ENERGY DITRIBUTION - This represents the energy required to convey heated


air and cooled air to point of use.

HOURS OF OPERATION - This is the issue related to the timing of the building
when it functions. If we consider a school bldg, which only function during
daytime, so the energy consumption will be only those 8/10 hours duration out
of total 24hours a day. But when we consider a residential building, it functions
both day and night i.e 24 hours. So for different duration of operational hours of
a building we have to consider energy consumption accordingly.

VENTILATION AND THERMAL QUALITY - If air circulation within the building, as


well as required air temperature can be maintained to the desired comfort level
for the users, then artificial/mechanical control system will not be necessary at
all, and thus, a lot of energy can be saved.

An energy model is a representation of a building for the purposes of the


building energy simulation. Energy model can be used for analyzing building
energy use. It consists of all the design and operating parameters associated
with the energy consumptions of that building.

The integrated-design approach targets energy and other performance issues at


the most fundamental conception of design and relies on an ongoing holistic
design philosophy and interdisciplinary communications to insure optimum
performance. It is in the integrated design approach where building energy
simulations are essential. A truly integrated design cannot proceed without a
better understanding of the building at hand. Design parameters include wall
and roof constructions, window performance values, installed electricity for
lighting and user equipment, occupant numbers, ventilation requirements, air
and water distribution system descriptions, and cooling and heating equipment
details.

Operating parameters include operational schedules for the lights, user


equipment, occupants, thermostats and fans as well as HVAC controls and utility
data. The simulation takes in the energy model data, combines it with historic
weather data, and estimates the performance of the entire building and system
components for every hour of the year.

As a design tool, energy models provide a comparative analysis between


options. This can occur during conceptual stages to determine the energy
impacts of an architectural form or can occur later in the design to evaluate the
impact of a specific glazing choice.
As an accounting tool, energy models are most often used to compare a
proposed design against a benchmark. The Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, state energy codes, and federal tax
incentives are all examples of using energy models in this capacity.

Energy modeling tools, such as eQUEST (a front end to DOE-2), EnergyPlus, IES
Virtual Environment, Trane TRACE, and Carrier HAP provide three distinct
functions: a design tool throughout all phases of design, an accounting tool for
the end of design, and a financial justification tool after occupancy and
calibration.

Energy model functions as described here. Building components can be broken


down into "spaces" and "systems." Spaces refer to the building as a whole and
the rooms that comprise the building. Spaces are made up of walls, windows,
roofs, doors, floors and shades. Implicit in this list are factors like orientation,
construction, and dimension. Also included are lighting levels and plug loads.

Bldg. structure may be viewed as a closed energy system . Temperature within


the building only change as a result of the flow of energy from several sources.
The categories in a building that utilize or consume energy are the heating
systems , cooling systems , ventilation, water heating requirements . Other
energy consumers are cooking equipment , computer equipment and other
machinery used within a building, in addition to the areas contributing to energy
consumption in a building. It is also important to the able to recognize the time
span when energy consumption occurs . Energy consumption is tailored to the
months or season of the year to account for the changing weather conditions
and the building system that service the structure .

ENERGY MODEL OF A TYPICALBLDG.DESIGN ------ Energy consumption is Btus


is plotted along with the ordinate and the time frames in month of year are
plotted along the abscissa .

Building energy simulation will never replace good design judgment but it will
always calibrate and inspire it.

The energy audit in a building is a feasibility study. It serves to identify energy


use among the various services and also identify the opportunities for energy
conservation. It is basically a very first step in establishing an energy
management programme. The audit will produce the data on which such a
programme is based. The study should reveal to the owner, manager, or
management team of the building, the options available for reducing energy
waste, the costs involved, and the benefits achievable from implementing those
energy-conserving opportunities (ECOs).

The energy management programme is a systematic on-going strategy for


controlling a building's energy consumption pattern. It is to reduce waste of
energy by taking different measures like - identifying the climate where the
building is located, its functions, occupancy schedules, and other factors. It
establishes and maintains an efficient balance between a building's annual
functional energy requirements and its annual actual energy consumption.

STAGES IN ENERGY PROGRAMME :

The energy audit may range from a simple walk-through survey at one extreme
to one that may span several phases, followed by monitoring of energy use in
the building services, and then model analysis using computer simulation of
building operation. The complexity of the audit is therefore directly related to the
stages or degree of sophistication of the energy management programme and
the cost of the audit exercise.

The first stage is to reduce energy use in areas where energy is wasted. It
begins with a detailed, step-by-step analysis of the building's energy use factors
and costs, such as insulation values, occupancy schedules, chiller efficiencies,
lighting levels, and records of utility and fuel expenditures. It includes the
identification of specific ECOs, along with the cost-effective benefits of each one.
The completed study would provide the building owner with a thorough and
detailed basis for deciding which ECOs to implement, the magnitude of savings
to be expected, and the energy conservation goals to be established and
achieved in the energy management programme. However, the ECOs may yield
modest gains.

The second stage is to improve efficiency of energy conversion equipment and to


reduce energy use by proper operations and maintenance. For this reason, it is
necessary to reduce the number of operating machines and operating hours
according to the demands of the load, and fully optimize equipment operations.
Hence the ECOs would include the following:

• Building equipment operation,

• Building envelope,

• Air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation equipment and systems,

• Lighting systems,

• Power systems, and

• Miscellaneous services.

The first two stages can be can be implemented without remodeling buildings
and existing facilities.

The third stage would require changes to the underlying functions of buildings by
remodeling, rebuilding, or introducing further control upgrades to the building.
This requires some investment.
The last stage is to carry out large-scale energy reducing measures when
existing facilities have past their useful life, or require extensive repairs or
replacement because of obsolescence. In this case higher energy savings may
be achieved. For these last two stages, the audit may be more extensive in
order to identify more ECOs for evaluation, but at an increased need for heavier
capital expenditure to realize these opportunities.

Energy conservation is the primary goal of the Energy Policy of the Government
in all the countries. Although, as a developing country, the per capita energy
consumption in India is at present low but it is rising fast in view of increase in
the life standard and the continuing industrialization of the country.

There exist two general areas of energy saving in the building sector,
namely

1. Technological improvement of innovation : Including increase in energy


efficiency of new products and retrofitted adaptations to old building and
products, and

2. Behavioralchange : including residential and commercial life style and


consumer priorities of the community.

Most of the buildings, which will be in use during the next two or three
decades, already exist. It should be immediate task to improve the performance
through better management retrofit. Immediate efforts to conserve energy in
residential and office buildings may begin with attempts to reduce heat flow
through the structural envelope and to increase thermal efficiency in the interior
of the buildings. These may be done by following three strategies:

(i) Reducing infiltration or the ex-change between inside and outside air,

(ii) Reducing conduction by increasing the resistance of the structure to heat


flow through exterior surfaces and

(iii) Improving the general operating efficiency of the energy consuming


equipment of the building, along with functional improvement of the
Government.

Another area which needs serious consideration is the use of local


building materials practices, including the use of materials prepared from
industrial waste like fly ash, rice husk and saw dust.

A systematic study may be started about the use of different building


materials and their intrinsic energy content. In case of imported materials, this is
more important , in spite of lesser financial costs, due to the energy spent in
transport and extra handling during transit.

Energy conservation in buildings covers a large number of activities,


involving almost the entire sector of the society, but the lead in this direction
has to be given by planners and architects.
IMPLEMENTATION TECHNIQUES:

In order to make energy conservation in buildings acceptable to the


major part of the society, it is essential to have the widest possible participation
of all concerned from the very beginning. Generally, four groups of individuals or
organizations are involve in such projects:

1. Individual building owners and building organizations including their planners


and architects.

2. Research institutions and construction agencies.

3. Various energy producing agencies (Electricity Boards etc) and concerned


Ministries of the Government.

4. Heating ,lighting and air conditioning industry including manufacturer and


suppliers of building materials.

By coordinating and managing the interests of all these different organizations


and agencies , it would be possible to achieve a high degree of goal, orientation
and efficiency , but a sense of urgency and awareness has to be developed in
the mind of the building administrators, practicing architects and engineers,
individual building owners, and policy makers and administrators of the
Government.

A green building depletes the natural resources to the minimum during its
construction and operation.The aim of a green building design is to minimize the
demand on non-renewable resources, maximize the utilization efficiency of these
resources, when in use, and maximize the reuse, recycling, and utilization of
renewable resources. It maximizes the use of efficient building materials and
construction practices; optimizes the use of on-site sources and sinks by bio-
climatic architectural practices; uses minimum energy to power itself; uses
efficient equipment to meet its lighting, air-conditioning, and other needs;
maximizes the use of renewable sources of energy; uses efficient waste and
water management practices; and provides comfortable and hygienic indoor
working conditions. It is evolved through a design process that requires all
concerned –the architect and landscape designer and the air conditioning,
electrical, plumbing, and energy consultants – to work as a team to address all
aspects of building and system planning, design, construction, and operation.
They critically evaluate the impacts of each design decision on the environment
and arrive at viable design solutions to minimize the negative impacts and
enhance the positive impacts on the environment.

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