Schinnerer's RM Blog - energyefficiency tag

Study of MIT Buildings Suggests Additional Approaches to Energy Efficiency

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:11:00 GMT

Colleges and universities are notorious for inefficiency in energy use. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of two MIT buildings can assist both other educational institutions and other types of facility owners in reducing energy use through planning and scheduling. Titled “ENERNET: Studying the dynamic relationship between building occupancy and energy consumption,” the paper deals with the significant issue of matching building and equipment schedules with dynamic occupancy patterns.

Many workplaces feature major changes in occupancy over the course of a day or throughout the week. As a result, energy use tends to be inefficient—too large or too small—in relation to the use pattern.

The MIT study reveals some data that could help designers and building managers, on campuses or in the commercial sector, optimize energy usage. It also sets the stage for more research on the subject. The study, published in the April issue of the Energy and Buildings journal, finds that while electricity use corresponds to occupancy fairly well in those spaces, the activity of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in the buildings does not correlate closely to occupancy.

The researchers analyzed two very different kinds of buildings—one housing researchers in a combination of offices, classrooms, and labs, and the other a stand-alone classroom building with a sizable entrance atrium and a large number of offices inside. The study used data about Wi-Fi connections as a proxy for building occupancy, a method the researchers believe could be replicated elsewhere at low cost; while the data does not necessarily reveal an exact population count inside buildings, it does indicate relative occupancy levels over time.

Analyzing data from all four seasons of 2006, the researchers found that both buildings have a distinctive cyclical “signature” of electricity usage that rises and falls daily. Both buildings use more steam (for heat) in winter and spring, and more chilled water (for air conditioning) in summer and fall. But while about two-thirds of the variation in electricity levels can be accounted for by changing occupancy levels, the use of the HVAC systems correlated only weakly to occupancy. These MIT buildings tended to be heated or cooled according to the season but not in a way that optimized the use of energy.

The researchers, part of MIT’s SENSEable City Lab, noted that part of the variance between occupancy and energy use may derive from the special needs of academic buildings, which often house labs with around-the-clock heating or refrigeration demands.

There are many possible architectural or engineering solutions to this issue. Co-author of the study, Carlo Ratti, notes “You can move the people to the energy, in which case the architecture can help a lot, or you can move the energy to the people, which is more futuristic.” The larger point, he says, is that “you want to have a better match.”

The study suggested possible design-based solutions including:

rearranging plans so that heat from larger, less used spaces can seep into more rooms
using sensing based thermometers that regulate temperatures on a more granular basis within buildings,according to the number of people
repurposing large spaces for more intensive and improved use

HP's Cow-Powered Data Centers

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:11:00 GMT

Hewlett Packard has recently published a research paper on the feasibility of “cow-powered” data centers, according to an article from GreenBiz.com.

Cow-power means converting manure into energy by way of a biogas handler and electricity-generating turbines. The strategy’s overall goals are to cut down on methane pollution, reduce energy consumption that might otherwise be derived from burning fossil-fuels, and turn waste products into a usable commodity. Locating any business adjacent to a dairy farm could benefit the environment, the farmer, and the company in a truly symbiotic relationship. One downside involves moving the business away from cities (a move that could, in some cases, decrease total efficiency).

This technology has already been implemented in some power plants and factories. But why are data servers particularly good candidates for biogas? Among other reasons, the servers and storage units produce a lot of heat, and that heat can be put back into the biogas handler as usable energy.

Biogas is just one of many innovative solutions proposed for green design. As with any innovation, new rewards come with new risks. Design professionals must prepare for any possible claims that relate to their green building services. The usual culprits include breach of warranty and breach of contract if the building’s efficiency does not meet the project owner’s expectations. New risks could involve third-party claims concerning health and safety. Green building innovation, however, cannot be ignored as it promises to be the future of the design industry.

Banks and Energy Retrofits

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:00:00 GMT

In an interesting development, the philanthropic arm of Deutsche Bank is financing the creation of a public database of retrofitted buildings in New York, which will in turn help create a companion report to determine the energy savings from these retrofitted buildings. The bank hopes to use the results of the study to create security instruments that can be used to finance retrofit projects based on the energy savings realized.

Boosting Local Energy Efficiency Projects

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:55:00 GMT

The White House’s Retrofit Ramp-Up program was announced yesterday, and it will pump $452 million into local communities to help make retrofits readily available to homeowners and businesses. 25 different communities around the country will receive grants. A full list of the grant amounts (which are subject to negotiation) and those areas receiving the money is available.