A Simplified Characterization Of Hvac System Design On Building Energy Use

A significant portion of the energy in the United States today is used for comfort cooling and heating. Fifteen or twenty years ago, when energy was inexpensive, there was little economic pressure for engineers to provide an energy efficient facility design. In recent years, energy efficiency has become a significant consideration in the design of a new facility. To aid in the design effort, many computer programs have been developed to predict energy use. The complexity of these programs has made them difficult to use and not readily accessible to the practicing engineer. The objective of this work is to develop a simple tool for characterizing facility energy consumption as a function of the space loads, the HVAC system and control method selected and appropriate equipment parameters. Theses. (mjm).