Date of Award
5-2007
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Department
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
College
College of Science and Engineering
First Advisor
Kenneth Miller
Second Advisor
Kevin Haglin
Keywords and Subject Headings
Modeling displacement ventilation with EnergyPlus and CFD
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
Energy conservation is drawing renewed attention due to increased energy costs as well as concerns over the environment. Buildings are major consumers of energy in our society. Tools that accurately simulate the way in which a building uses energy are critical to the design process. A well-designed building capitalizes on nature's gifts of sunlight and natural ventilation while providing an energy efficient and healthy environment.
PURPOSE:
EnergyPlus is the newest building energy simulation tool and has the capability of modeling passive forms of ventilation, something not possessed by its predecessors. Displacement ventilation uses natural convection to remove warm contaminated air from the occupied regions of a room. Although well known in Northern Europe, displacement ventilation is still relatively new to the United States. It is widely held that, in the right circumstances, displacement ventilation can improve indoor air quality while significantly reducing energy costs. Until now, there has been no means of conducting a total building energy simulation that used displacement ventilation.
EnergyPlus offers two direct methods for modeling displacement ventilation, the Mundt Model and the UCSD Model, but little is known about the accuracy of the results.
OBJECTIVES:
This research has two objectives. The first objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of EnergyPlus in modeling displacement ventilation by making a comparative analysis with CFO. Finite volume methods, such as those used in CFO, are proficient at determining the distribution of air velocities, temperature, and convective heat transfer coefficients, such as those found in mixed convection flows like displacement ventilation. Results are presented for a classroom modeled with CFD, as well as the Mundt model and the UCSD model.
The second objective involves using EnergyPlus to model a building with displacement ventilation in its core zones and compare the energy consumption to that of standard mixing ventilation. Design day and seasonal results are presented.
FINDINGS:
Results indicate good first order accuracy for the Mundt and UCSD model as compared to CFD. For the total building simulation, displacement ventilation resulted in an increase in cooling coil energy as well as HY AC electricity during a summer design day simulation. Seasonal simulation results for the months of April through September showed a similar increase.
Recommended Citation
Peters, Judith M., "Modeling Displacement Ventilation with EnergyPlus" (2007). Culminating Projects in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. 80.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/mme_etds/80
