[Bldg-sim] Looking for a slab F-factor paper

Joe Huang yjhuang at whiteboxtechnologies.com
Wed Sep 25 11:14:37 PDT 2013


The 1988 paper is available at 
http://www.whiteboxtechnologies.com/PAPERS/88_YJH_etal_Fdn_Model.pdf

There was a discussion a few months back on the EnergyPlus_Support bulletin board on 
F-factors that you might be interested to read (go back to April 24-25).  Here is what I 
had posted at that time:

-----
Jean, others,

It was quite a surprise to read your e-mail and find that the old F-Factors that I 
calculated back in 1988 are still being referred to in Standard 90.1.  If you're 
interested in more details of that effort, there's an ASHRAE Transaction paper

Huang, Y.J., L.S. Shen, J.C. Bull, and L.F. Goldberg 1988. "Whole-house simulation of 
foundation heat-flows using the DOE-2 program", /ASHRAE Transactions/, Vol. 94-2.

and a 1998 User News article written by Fred Winkelmann on its implementation in DOE-2 ( 
http://www.whiteboxtechnologies.com/PAPERS/Fdn_modeling_user_news_articles02-2.pdf )

The F-Factors are per lineal feet of perimeter from Tout to Tin of the space containing 
the foundation. There are actually several ways to implement this model: (1) model a 
monolithic foundation as an exterior wall and adjust the R-value of the layer so that  U*A 
= F*PL (Perimeter length) -- this is the method shown in the Winkelmann article,  (2) 
decompose the foundation into two regions - a perimeter strip 1-2 ft wide and a core for 
the remainder; model the perimeter as an exterior wall, adjusting its R-value accordingly, 
but model the core as an adiabatic layer.  When I was working with DOE-2, there was a 
practical problem that layers can't be too thick or the response factor would fail, so I 
could only add at most 2.5 ft of soil. I don't know if EnergyPlus has similar 
limitations.  Ideally, you would want to model as much soil as possible to get the thermal 
dampening effect.

The main deficiencies with this technique are (1) Tout is the outside air temperature, (2) 
the foundation is treated as a single layer.  I know there's a temptation to model the 
foundation as a underground layer tied to the soil temperature, but that would be wrong 
since the F-Factors were calculated air-to-air.

In the late 90's (1998-2000), I worked with Fred Winkelmann and Vladimir Bazjanac for the 
Calif. Energy Commission to develop what I think is a much better model that is now the 
approved method for Title-24. This model uses a similar approach as before,  except 
instead of a single F-Factor, there are six Foundation Conductances for two domains 
(perimeter and core) and three heat flow paths ("quick" to the outdoor air temperature the 
past 3 weeks, "slow" to the  monthly ground temperature, and "constant" to the deep ground 
temperature). The model is not only more accurate, but  more flexible for different 
building conditions. If anyone's interested in the report, it's available at 
www.whiteboxtechnologies.com/downloads/00_02.YJH.CEC_Fdn_Model.pdf

If I have it in my power, I would urge everyone to stop using the 1988 model and switch to 
the 2000 model, but since the F-Factors seem to have been institutionalized by now, that 
would be irresponsible. So, I'll be happy to answer questions about the use of either model.

Joe

--------------

Joe Huang
White Box Technologies, Inc.
346 Rheem Blvd., Suite 108D
Moraga CA 94556
yjhuang at whiteboxtechnologies.com
http://weather.whiteboxtechnologies.com  for simulation-ready weather data
(o) (925)388-0265
(c) (510)928-2683
"building energy simulations at your fingertips"

Joe Huang
White Box Technologies, Inc.
346 Rheem Blvd., Suite 108D
Moraga CA 94556
yjhuang at whiteboxtechnologies.com
http://weather.whiteboxtechnologies.com for simulation-ready weather data
(o) (925)388-0265
(c) (510)928-2683
"building energy simulations at your fingertips"


On 25/09/2013 9:56 AM, Gowri, Krishnan wrote:
>
> I am in the process of reconstructing slab F-factor calculation method and would like to 
> get a copy of the paper cited below (used in REScheck):
>
> Y.J.Huang, L.S.Shen, J.C.Bull and L.F.Goldberg, "Whole-House Simulation of Foundation 
> Heat Flows Using the DOE-2.1C Program,"  ASHRAE Trans. 94 (2), 1988
>
> If any of you can help, that would be great.  Thanks,
>
> -krishnan______________________
> *Krishnan Gowri, Ph.D.*
> Senior Research Engineer
>
> Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
> 1100 Dexter Ave.,  BSRC-510
>
> Seattle, WA 98109
> Tel:  206-528-3216
>
>
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