Hi energyPlus
users,
We, a group of
9 engineers/architects all around the globe, participated as a team of energyPlus
(The energy evangelists) volunteers in
the Lowdown Showdown building energy simulation competition at ASHRAE's 2016 summer conference (Salt Lake City, Utah). The baseline
building for the challenge was a 50,000 square foot, three story outpatient
health care facility located in Omaha, Nebraska. A total of nine teams gathered
to model their submissions using the different software. After an enormous
amount of 4 monthsâ?? hard work the team did for this project, we were able to
win â??the most creative & innovativeâ??
category award at the conference.
Team Members: Harshul Singhal (Coach), Annie Marston
(Captain), Arfa Aijazi, Vinay Devanathan, Jason Kirkpatrick, An-Lei Huang, Amir
Rezaei-Bazkiaei, Matthew Dahlhausen, Matthew Larson
EnergyPlus
Team Model Description: The proposed design has a circular form with easy
access to critical areas and 30% window-to-wall ratio. An efficient dedicated
outdoor air system (DOAS) equipped with a desiccant heat recovery wheel and an
evaporative cooler provides fresh air to all the zones. Chilled water (CW) and
hot water (HW) coils were selected for the DOAS unit. Four-pipe chilled and
heated beams provide zone conditioning. A few high load zones were equipped
with supplemental CW fan-coil units to satisfy thermal comfort. PV and combined
heat and power (CHP), fed by local bio-gas from a landfill, provide the entire
building electricity demand with 26% surplus energy fed back to the grid
annually.
1. The compact
circular building form provides ample daylight while minimizing the exterior
exposure.
2. A very tight envelope (0.1 CFM/ft2 infiltration) with R-40 roof,
R-40 wall and triple pane windows (U-0.18 Btu/hr.ft2.F, SHGC-0.2, VT-0.7)
combined with medium thermal mass reduces the HVAC loads.
3. LED lighting for
the entire building and daylight sensors for all the perimeter spaces.
4.
Thorough research was performed on internal loads and key strategies targeted
elevator, medical equipment and office computer loads.
5. DOAS has a desiccant
heat wheel and evaporative cooler to minimize heating and cooling energy.
6.
Both DOAS and four-pipe beamsâ?? CW/HW coils take advantage of a central water
plant heat recovery with a micro-turbine and an absorption chiller.
7. Usage of efficient renewable sources of energy.
At the end, thanks
& congrats to all the other teams for presenting their great work during
the conference.
Attached is the
poster that energyPlus team submitted for the competition. Please contact our team members in case you want more details on the project.
Thanks &
Regards,
Harshul Singhal
Building Energy Modeling Analyst
Cell: +1.480.678.4240
124 Brindley Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
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