Ta. Reddy et al., THE FUNCTIONAL BASIS OF STEADY-STATE THERMAL-ENERGY USE IN AIR-SIDE HVAC EQUIPMENT, Journal of solar energy engineering, 117(1), 1995, pp. 31-39
A proper understanding of the functional basis of energy use in reside
nces has been crucial in spurring energy conservation in such building
stock. In commercial buildings, however, such understanding is lackin
g, partly because there are numerous possible HVAC system types and co
ntrol strategies, and partly because the detailed algorithms available
to simulate energy use in various types of HVAC systems provide littl
e insight into identifying ways of saving energy in existing buildings
. The objective of this paper is to derive closed-form steady-state fu
nctional relations for air-side cooling and heating thermal energy use
for four of the most widespread HVAC system types, namely terminal re
heat and dual-duct, both under constant air volume and under variable
air volume operation. Expressions are derived for hourly energy use as
a function of climatic variables, building characteristics, and syste
m parameters. The effects of economizer cycle and deck reset schedules
are also treated. The expressions derived could be utilized to develo
p functionally accurate regression models of monitored energy use for
retrofit savings determination and to ascertain whether the HVAC syste
m is operating properly, as well as for parameter estimation from eith
er short-term or long-term monitoring and for sensitivity analyses of
how various physical and operating parameters affect energy use.