Current global efforts for energy conservation and optimization are focused on improvements in energy supply and production systems, and on encouraging the adoption of energy-efficient devices and equipment. However, systematic assessments of economic and technical implications when adopting energy-efficient alternative systems in buildings have not yet been explored thoroughly. The uncertainty about the consequences of investing in alternative energy-efficient systems has led to a prolonged utilization of obsolete building systems (underperforming HVAC systems, inefficient lighting systems, badly maintained and equipment, and so forth). This has led to overall poor energy efficiency, creating considerable burden on the building operation budget. This research discusses the procedure for formulating an investment strategy to improve existing building energy performance. The approach is suitable for large building portfolios where a plethora of potential refurbishment interventions can be considered. This makes our approach especially suited for use on university campuses and most of this report will focus on that particular application utilization protocols especially for use on campuses. This investment model only looks at the energy related savings versus investments; it is well understood that the ultimate selection of the optimal set of improvement options of a portfolio will be determined by additional considerations, such as overall value, occupant satisfaction, productivity improvements, aesthetics, etc. Nevertheless, many campus managers are confronted with the question how much energy they can save with a given investment amount. This is exactly what our approach helps to answer. The investment optimization strategy is implemented in software "InvEnergy," which systematically calculates the costs and benefits of all possible building-technology pairings, taking uncertainties in the saving/investment calculations and estimates into account. This tool empowers decision makers in facility management to make complex investment decisions during continuous building commissioning.

Managing a sustainable built environment with a large number of buildings rests on the ability to assess and improve the performance of the building stock over time. Building stock models are cornerstones to the assessment of the combined impact of energy-related building interventions across different spatial and temporal scales. However, such models, particularly those accounting for both physical formulation and social behaviors of the underlying buildings, are still in their infancy. This research strives to more thoroughly examine how buildings perform aggregately in energy usage by focusing on how to tackled three major technical challenges: (1) quantifying building energy performance in an objective and scalable manner, (2) mapping building stock model space to real-world data space, and (3) quantifying and evaluating energy intervention behaviors of a building stock. This thesis hypothesizes that a new paradigm of aggregation of large-scale building stocks can lead to (1) an accurate and efficient intervention analysis model and (2) a functionally comprehensive decision support tool for building stock energy intervention analysis. Specifically, this thesis presents three methodologies. To address the first challenge, this thesis develops a normative building physical energy model that can rapidly estimate single building energy performance with respect to its design and operational characteristics. To address the second challenge, the thesis proposes a statistical procedure using regression and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling techniques that inverse-estimate building parameters based on building stock energy consumption survey data. The outcomes of this statistical procedure validate the approach of using prototypical buildings for two types of intervention analysis: energy retrofit and demand response. These two cases are implemented in an agent-based modeling and simulation (ABMS) framework to tackle the third challenge. This thesis research contributes to the body of knowledge pertaining to building energy modeling beyond the single building scale. The proposed framework can be used by energy policy makers and utilities for the evaluation of energy retrofit incentives and demand-response program economics.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The Facility Manager of a laboratory environment continuously walks a fine line between safe and economical operation of that facility. The primary responsibility of the laboratory is to provide a safe environment for personnel while optimizing the space for experiment. Energy efficiency is not a necessary goal. Laboratories typically require HVAC systems utilizing 100% outside air to protect the occupants. Facilities demanding the basic design requirement of 100% outside air can result in annual energy costs 4 to 5 times greater than that of the typical office building requiring 20 CFM per person. With energy costs typically representing a substantial part of an organizations operating budget is it prudent for facility managers to seek opportunities to reduce these costs. The intent of this research is to show that participation of a knowledgeable Facility Manager, during the initial design phase of a laboratory facility, can result in a finished product capable of easily incorporating a variety of energy efficiency technologies. The scope of this research is limited to smaller chemical laboratories supported with less than 20,000 CFM of comfort air. When the Facility Manager actively participates in the design process for laboratory environments there is potential for increased HVAC energy efficiency. A substantial portion of this research has been conducted from the authors daily experience and responsibility for a small chemical laboratory. Additional data was collected using personal interviews among industry experts and fellow colleagues working in the Atlanta metropolitan area with significant laboratory experience. This research focused on the mechanical systems supporting laboratories as they represent the largest percentage in first costs, energy consumption, and offer the greatest opportunity for energy reduction. The results of this research are intended to provide guidance to Facility Managers to incorporate cost effective energy recovery systems in either new construction or at a future date. The results of this research project the impact of energy consumption in a small chemical laboratory from the hypothetical installation of a customized energy recovery system.

The thesis attempts to investigate the issues pertaining to design, fabrication and application of real-time adaptive systems for building envelopes, and to answer questions raised by the idea of motion in architecture. The thesis uses the Solar Decathlon Competition as a platform to base all the research and consequently to verify their applications. Photo-voltaic (PV) panels and shading devices are two different components of Georgia Institute of Technology s the Solar Decathlon House, located above the roof, that are based on the concept of Homeostasis or self-regulated optimization. For the PV panels, the objective is to optimize energy production, by controlling their movement to track the changing position of Sun, whereas, the objective for the shading devices is to reduce heating or cooling loads by controlling the position of shading devices, thus controlling direct and diffused heat gains through the roof. To achieve this adaptive feature, it required three layers of operations. First was the design of the mechanics of movement, which tried to achieve the required motion for the PV panels and shading devices by using minimum components and parameters. Second was the design of the individual parts that are consistent with the overall concept of the House. And finally, the third layer is the design of controls that automates the motion of the PV panels and Shading Devices, using a set of sensors that actuate the attached motors. As a final product, there is an attempt to integrate the precision and material efficiency of digital fabrication with the self-regulated optimization of the roof components.

Building portfolio management on campus and metropolitan scale involves decisions about energy retrofits, energy resource pooling, and investments in shared energy systems, such as district cooling, community PV and wind power, CHP systems, geothermal systems etc. There are currently no tools that help a portfolio/campus manager make these decisions by rapid comparison of variants. The research has developed an energy supply network management tool at the campus scale. The underlying network energy performance (NEP) model uses (1) an existing energy performance toolkit to quantify the energy performance of building energy consumers on hourly basis, and (2) added modules to calculate hourly average energy generation from a wide variety of energy supply systems. The NEP model supports macro decisions at the generation side (decisions about adding or retrofitting campus wide systems) and consumption side (planning of new building design and retrofit measures). It allows testing different supply topologies by inspecting which consumer nodes should connect to which local suppliers and to which global suppliers, i.e. the electricity and gas utility grids. A prototype software implementation allows a portfolio or campus manager to define the demand and supply nodes on campus scale and manipulate the connections between them through a graphical interface. The NEP model maintains the network topology which is represented by a directed graph with the supply and demand nodes as vertices and their connections as arcs. Every change in the graph automatically triggers an update of the energy generation and consumption pattern, the results of which are shown on campus wide energy performance dashboards. The dissertation shows how the NEP model supports decision making with respect to large-scale building energy system design with a case study of the Georgia Tech campus evaluating the following three assertions: 1. The normative calculations at the individual building scale are accurate enough to support the network energy performance analysis 2. The NEP model supports the study of the tradeoffs between local building retrofits and campus wide energy interventions in renewable systems, under different circumstances 3. The NEP approach is a viable basis for routine campus asset management policies.

The care of planet Earth is the responsibility of all that inhabit it. Our environment sustains us, and choices we make can compromise the Earth's capacity to sustain life.This project explores how landscape architecture can be a tool that can aid in the process of sustaining certain systems of the Earth, while providing form and function for humans at the same time. Coupled with environmental education programming, the site design becomes the framework in which the programming is based.To sustain life, the Earth must give of its resources. It is well understood that the resources on the planet are limited. Altering systems of life support on the planet must embrace a holistic view in that all systems must be maintained, yet at the same time allow us to derive our means from them.Environmental education is a magical arena that allows for nurturing of human developmental needs by providing outlets for their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive growth. At the same time environmental education provides answers to questions that children and adults have about the environment. Landscape Design in the arena of environmental education can provide a direct link to issues of sustaining life support systems and how people learn about maintaining those systems wisely. / Department of Landscape Architecture

The purpose of this study was to evaluate and determine different energy components existing within historic buildings that will contribute to the development of guidelines for applying modern technology systems within these strucutres and to show the financial, social and physical benefits, which may result without altering the architectural and cultural significance of the building.Union Station, Indianapolis, is an example of historical and architectural ingenuity. If proper and selected energy systems are applied, Union Station will be a strong active force for revitalizing the surrounding area, which has deteriorated and fallen into disuse in recent times. Similar examples of significant historic buildings are scattered all across the country, and with the new development taking place, these historic structures, which are the physical and visual links between us and our past, are being thregtened for the sake of the "glass-box". This study shows the many advantages in preserving these historic links whether economically, architecturally or socially, by bringing the best technology of both worlds and molding them into one system, in which both technologies work together and compliment each other rather than be an isolated system. / Department of Architecture

Computer disk in pocket attached to back cover. / Bibliography: leaves 159-170. / System requirements for accompanying computer disk: Macintosh or IBM compatible computer. Other requirements: Microsoft Excel V 5.0 or later. / ix, 228 leaves : ill., map ; 30 cm + 1 computer disk (3.5") / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / In addressing the identification of the scope of energy-efficient goals within the broader design problem, the conceptions of the energy-efficient dwelling are examined, along with how published advice for the design of energy-efficient houses is derived from these conceptions, and the adequacy of this published advice as a basis for good design decisions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Architecture, 1997

O presente trabalho procura sistematizar o estudo sobre aproveitamento máximo da luz natural por meio do uso de um elemento da arquitetura passiva, a prateleira de luz (lightshelf), visando à redução do consumo de energia elétrica em iluminação artificial de salas de aula. Este tipo de elemento de proteção solar, colocado na parte superior da janela, favorece a distribuição e o controle da luz diurna e da luminância excessiva, proporcionando uma melhor percepção visual, quando houver quantidade e qualidade de luz suficiente. A partir do modelo reduzido de uma sala de aula pré-determinada do Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Paraná, Unidade de Curitiba, foram testadas experimentalmente várias situações com as prateleiras de luz. A metodologia utilizada abrange as seguintes etapas: medições dos níveis de iluminamento com luxímetros digitais, em pontos pré-fixados no interior do modelo em escala reduzida da sala de aula; simulação das condições de exposição ao Sol, considerando diversos períodos do dia e épocas do ano por meio do uso de Relógio de Sol; análise de situações diversas do uso das prateleiras de luz; tabulação e análise dos resultados. Estas medições foram realizadas em três fases: (1) um pré-teste, com a finalidade de testar a maquete e o método proposto; (2) medições com as prateleiras de luz planas, cujos resultados foram comparados com algumas situações simuladas pelo computador, realizadas com a ajuda dos softwares ECOTECT e RADIANCE; (3) foram propostos novos tipos de prateleiras - côncava, convexa, côncava/convexa, e prateleiras planas com inclinação de 25°. As melhores configurações para estes novos tipos de prateleiras foram estudadas com o auxílio do software AUTOCAD 2002. Como resultado, observou-se que a prateleira de luz pode proporcionar iluminação natural mais uniforme, diminuindo o ofuscamento existente próximo às janelas, contribuindo para o melhoramento do balanço do brilho do espaço. Observou-se também que, com os tipos de prateleiras estudados no AUTOCAD 2002, houve um aumento da iluminação nos pontos mais distantes da janela. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, pode-se comprovar que o Sol pode ser usado como fonte de luz, desde que seja controlado por sistemas de iluminação natural bem projetados. / The purpose of the present dissertation is to organize systematically the study of adequate use of daylight by means of an element of passive architecture, the lightshelf, aiming at reducing electric energy consumption for artificial lighting in classrooms. This kind of solar shading element, placed at the upper part of a window, provides daylight control and its distribution, promoting a better visual perception, once there is sufficient daylight, qualitatively and quantitatively. Using a scale-model of a chosen classroom of the Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica do Paraná, Curitiba, different situations were tested with a lightshelf. The used method comprehends following steps: illuminance measurements with digital luxmeters, in prefixed points inside the scale-model; simulation of solar exposition conditions, considering different periods of the day and of the year using sundials; analysis of different situations of lightshelves; data tabulation and analysis. These measurements were carried out in three phases: (1) a pre-test, aiming at testing the procedure; (2) measurements with horizontal lightshelves, comparing results with computer simulations with ECOTECT and RADIANCE; (3) innovative lightshelf types were proposed – concave, convex, concave/convex, and horizontal lightshelves with 25° tilt. Best configurations were studied graphically, with AUTOCAD 2002. As a result, it was noticed that the lightshelf might provide daylight more uniformly, reducing glare close to the window. Also, it was observed that with the innovative lightshelves, from the AUTOCAD study, there was even a daylight increase in the most distant points from the windows. According to the results, it can be proved that the direct sunlight may be used as a light source, once it is controlled by well-projected daylight systems.