CFD analysis and energy simulation of a gymnasium

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program EXACT3 has been applied to inv estigate the temperature distribution and air movement within an air-condit ioned gymnasium with four different, but commonly found, exhaust positions in Hong Kong. In this numerical study, the effects of thermal stratificatio n on the energy performance tin terms of cooling load and electricity consu mption) are examined with respect to the HVAC plant oversizing issue. It ha s been found that significant thermal stratification occurs in the gymnasiu m. The annual cooling load can be overestimated by 45.4% for the best exhau st position when the effect of thermal stratification is not considered. Th e corresponding peak cooling load and, hence, chiller plant size, will incr ease from 59.9 to 77.6 kW. The low energy efficiency of the oversized chill er at part-load operation results in a 7% increase in the annual energy use for the HVAC plant. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.