Thermal Performance of Sustainable Energy Features

Lu Aye1, W. W. S. Charters2, A. M. Fandiño1,3 and J. R. W. Robinson3

1
International Technologies Centre (IDTC), Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
2
Department Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
3
Department of Architecture Building and Planning
The University of Melbourne, Vic 3010
AUSTRALIA
E-mail: lua@unimelb.edu.au
Abstract

A pilot study is undertaken comprising the recording of indoor comfort conditions and outdoor climate
conditions in an office building that contains different sustainable energy features. The study was
conducted for a period of one week in March 2005 at The University of Melbourne, Australia. The
objective was to test the method developed to quantify and compare the effects of sustainable energy
features on the thermal performance of new office buildings. The results of the study serve as a
foundation to verify the correctness of an energy simulation model based on actual and predicted
building energy consumption. Analysis and discussion of the preliminary findings of the investigation
are directed primarily at assessing the usefulness of the method adopted to complete the study.

1. INTRODUCTION

The main factors determining the thermal performance of office buildings are heat gains or losses
through various structural elements, such as walls, windows and floors, internal heat loads and rate of
ventilation. In turn, this thermal response determines the amount of energy required for heating and
cooling to maintain optimal thermal comfort conditions for occupants. In general, the way a building
uses energy can be understood as the interaction of several related energy systems that continually
respond to changing climatic conditions and comfort requirements of occupants. These basic energy
systems are defined during building design and directly impact the energy efficiency of a building.
Such building features could be regarded as sustainable energy features when their primary aim is to
reduce the need for energy use in heating and cooling. They became noteworthy after the energy
crisis in the 1970s when they were incorporated into the building design process (Krishan et al. 2001).
Some examples of sustainable energy features (SEFs) are north facing orientation (for buildings
located in the Southern Hemisphere), materials (that use resources efficiently), size of windows,
shading, wall specification, ventilation, insulation and high performance heating ventilation and air-
conditioning (HVAC) systems.

It is clear that each of the SEFs of a particular building has an impact on its overall thermal
performance, energy consumption and associated environmental impacts. However, until now no
comparative study on the effects of SEFs on the thermal performance of office buildings and
associated environmental impacts has been reported. Thus, the aim of this study is to develop a
methodology for a current research project seeking to quantify the effects of sustainable design
features on the thermal performance of new office buildings. To achieve this, the first step is to
develop a building simulation model that quantifies life cycle energy use and environmental impacts
(associated with embodied energy), while the second step is to apply an optimisation technique with
the model developed to identify the set of optimal variables which influence thermal performance of
office buildings. Two office buildings are investigated, one conventional and the other having a range
of energy efficient features (Figure 1). Measuring instruments and the selected thermal performance
prediction software TRNSYS (Appendix A) will be utilised as tools.

The proposed methodology is divided in four parts: 1) analysis of thermal comfort, 2) energy
consumption, 3) embodied energy and life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) and 4) identification of
optimum set of variables influencing thermal performance of office buildings as presented in Figure 2.

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A B

Figure 1: Allan Gilbert Building (A) (SEF) and ICT Building (B) (Conventional)

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

- Measurements - Thermal
- Model simulation comfort

- Energy audit - Energy

- Energy simulation consumption
SEDF
Buildings
A and B - Embodied
- Material analysis
energy and
- Quantification
LCEA

- Optimisation
- Effects of
SEDF on the
- Optimun set thermal
of variables performance
of office
buildings

Figure 2: Methodology

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2. THERMAL COMFORT: MEASUREMENTS AND SIMULATION

2.1. Measurements

There are three aspects requiring consideration in any discussion of the thermal design of buildings.
First, an evaluation must be made of the indoor environmental conditions related with comfort, health,
safety and general well-being of the occupants. Second, it is necessary to describe typical weather
conditions that must be taken into account when developing the best design to suit specific
requirements and third, it must be shown how design procedures and physical properties of different
structural materials can be effectively utilised to ensure the best possible control of living and working
environments (Straaten 1967).

The thermal interaction of human bodies and the environment relates to different factors such as:

The surrounding air (air temperature, air velocity and relative humidity),
Surfaces in the immediate environment (mean radiant temperature),
Evaporative heat loss (from skin),
Respiration (sensible heat loss and evaporative heat loss due to respiration),
Exposed surface (temperature of clothing surface, intrinsic clothing thermal efficiency, and
emissivity),
Clothing (clothing and change due to clothing),
Sweat (saturated water vapour pressure at skin temperature and skin wetness), and
Skin (skin temperature, surface area of nude body and sensible heat loss).

However, the thermal performance of a building can be established from field study data only without
using thermal physiology data (Nicol et al. 1995). Accordingly, the following parameters can be
measured indoor and outdoor of the building:

Air temperature,
Radiant temperature,
Air velocity, and
Relative humidity.

Indoor measurements and instrument

A Microtherm Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) instrument (Figure 3) which meets the specifications prescribed
in standards ASHRAE 55-92 and the ISO 7726 1994 (Casella Cell 2000) is used to monitor, record
and calculate the above parameters. At the same time, the Microtherm is able to calculate comfort
parameters such as:
Predicted mean vote (PMV), and
Predicted percent dissatisfied (PPD).

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Black globe Solid state Air

thermometer air temp and velocity
RH probe probe

Figure 3: Microtherm indoor air quality instrument

A description of measured parameters (Casella Cell 2000) and their regulatory threshold values
(ASHRAE-55 1992; ISO-7730 1994) are presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Thermal parameters and regulatory thresholds

Regulatory
Parameters
thresholds
Air temperature (AT) (0C)
This is the temperature in Degrees Celsius of ambient air
experienced by the operative during the work activity. This 18 -26 (0C)
parameter is monitored by the solid-state combined air (ASHRAE 55)
temperature and relative humidity sensor. It forms one of
the fundamental input values for many of the other
calculated parameters.
Values Relative humidity (RH) (%)
recorded
This term is an expression of the ratio between the partial
directly from 30 – 70 (%)
pressure of water vapour and the water vapour saturation
Microtherm (ASHRAE 55)
pressure. This value is often expressed as a percentage. It is
sensors
based on a direct reading taken from the solid-state combined air
temperature and relative humidity sensor.
Air velocity (AV) (m/s)
The air velocity is defined by its magnitude and direction and is Summer Winter
measured in m/s. The value relates to the instantaneous 0.25 (m/s) 0.15 (m/s)
movement of ambient air around the work area. Measurement of (ASHRAE (ASHRAE
55) 55)
air velocity around the operative is omni-directional providing
readings of magnitude with no directional indication.
Predicted Mean Vote (PMV)
The PMV index predicts the mean value of the thermal votes of a
large group of people exposed to the same environment. The
Automatic index is useful in predicting the number of people likely to feel
parameters -1, 0, 1
uncomfortably warm or cool in a given environment. The PMV in the PMV scale
calculated index is derived for steady state conditions and is based on the
by the PC (ISO 7730)
following 7 point thermal sensation scale:
software
once data Hot(+3) Warm(+2) Slightly warm(+1) Neutral(0)
are down- Slightly Cool(-1) Cool(-2) Cold(-3).
loaded from
the Radiant temperature (RT)
From warm From cold
Microtherm This value is associated with the radiation temperature ceilings windows
equipment (expressed in Degrees Celsius) experienced by the operative <5(C)
0 0
< 10 ( C )
from surrounding radiating surfaces. These surfaces act as heat (ASHRAE (ASHRAE
sources, which add to the heat load of the operative and 55) 55 )
consequently cause a rise in the bodies’ core temperature.

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Pilot Measurements Indoor

The instrument has been placed throughout Building A since January 2005 and measurements will
continue until 2006. However, for the purpose of this study, a pilot analysis summarising the main
measurements undertaken by the Microtherm IAQ in Level 4 is presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Pilot Analysis for Building A with Microtherm IAQ

Level 4 From: 07/03/2005,12:41:00 To: 14/03/2005,14:31:00
Parameter Min Date Time Max Date Time Average Units
AT 19.4 14/03/05 05:06 34.5 13/03/05 13:45 22.8 DegC
RH 23.0 13/03/05 13:45 67.0 14/03/05 05:28 47.6 %
AV 0.0 07/03/05 22:10 0.3 11/03/05 12:01 0.07 m/s
PMV -0.6 08/03/05 06:06 2.8 13/03/05 13:44 0.18 -
MRT 18.1 09/03/05 06:13 35.6 13/03/05 13:44 22.5 DegC

Pilot Climatic Measurements Outdoor

Similarly, the weather data were gathered for the same period of time from two weather stations
located in Melbourne. The first one is the University of Melbourne’s McCoy Weather Station from
where ambient temperature, relative humidity, local wind speed, wind direction measurements were
collected. The second one is operated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and located at
Tullamarine Airport from where global and direct solar radiation measurements were collected.

Pilot Analysis Indoor Vs Outdoor

Figure 3 presents indoor and outdoor temperatures and global solar radiation from 7 to 13 March 2005
(Monday to Sunday). It can be seen that indoor conditions of Level 4 generally comply with the
ASHRAE and ISO Thermal Standards while the building is operating (Monday to Friday from 6:00 to
18:00).

4000
Global Radiation Outdoor Temp Indoor Temp
36

Indoor & Outdoor (Deg C)

Global radiation (kJ/m 2)

3000 30

24

2000
18

12
1000

0 0
06/03/05 12:00
06/03/05 18:00
07/03/05 00:00
07/03/05 06:00
07/03/05 12:00
07/03/05 18:00
08/03/05 00:00
08/03/05 06:00
08/03/05 12:00
08/03/05 18:00
09/03/05 00:00
09/03/05 06:00
09/03/05 12:00
09/03/05 18:00
10/03/05 00:00
10/03/05 06:00
10/03/05 12:00
10/03/05 18:00
11/03/05 00:00
11/03/05 06:00
11/03/05 12:00
11/03/05 18:00
12/03/05 00:00
12/03/05 06:00
12/03/05 12:00
12/03/05 18:00
13/03/05 00:00
13/03/05 06:00
13/03/05 12:00
13/03/05 18:00
14/03/05 00:00
14/03/05 06:00
14/03/05 12:00

Figure 3: Outdoor & Indoor Temperature and Global Solar Radiation

In addition, measurements indicated that the building responds rapidly and effectively to solar heating.
In general, indoor temperature is maintained within the acceptable temperature band (18 – 26 DegC),
except when the building is not operating.

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2.2. Simulation

Modelling systems and computer software tools are commonly used in the construction industry to
assist in the evaluation of buildings’ thermal performance and its associated environmental impacts.
Since the early 1960s, their use has gradually increased in particular during design, construction, and
operation stages of the building life cycle. These tools have evolved from uncomplicated task
applications with restricted input and output requirements, to sophisticated computer software
packages that can at the same time analyse a variety of performance parameters (Straaten 1967).
However, there is not one best software package that will completely satisfy all of the user’s
requirements. These tools have different quality characteristics and their selection can mainly be
made on the basis of user’s requirements, cost, functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, and in-
house capabilities. As stated above, for the purpose of this study, the building thermal performance
simulation is developed using TRNSYS as the basic framework to determine the relationship between
sustainable energy efficient features and the thermal performance of office buildings.

The model is developed and tested using 2 sets of measured data from 2 office buildings (Figure 1).
One set of measured data is from a building that has sustainable energy design features (Building A)
and the other one is from a building that does not have them (Building B). The model and Melbourne
weather data can be used to predict the long term thermal performance of the buildings. The model
quantifies thermal comfort parameters (relative humidity (%), air temperature (ºC), radiant temperature
(ºC)), energy use (kWh/m2, MJ/m2) and environmental impacts (associated to embodied energy)
based on a number of sustainable energy design features (variables) such as orientation (deg.), high
shading coefficients and low U-values (kW/m2 ºC), high performance double glazing (% glass
area/wall area) and energy efficient HVAC (kW/kWe).

3. ENERGY CONSUMPTION: AUDIT AND SIMULATION

3.1. Audit

Energy usage in a building (i.e. for heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting), can be calculated as
presented in equations 1 and 2 (for electricity and gas). However, a detailed analysis is required in
order to investigate the energy end use on the site.

Electricity : kWhheating + kWhcooling = ∑ kWhe −∑ kWhothers (1)

Gas : MJ heating + MJ cooling = ∑ MJ − ∑ MJ others (2)

Energy audits provide the baseline of current energy use. The following is a breakdown of an energy
audit, (AS/NZ Standards 2000; Drew 2002; Fandiño 2002; SEAV 2000).

Preliminary Assessment

This stage involves the gathering of all available energy accounts and production records. The
objective is to identify and quantify each of the energy forms. Preliminary assessment includes:
Discussions with building operation and maintenance staff,
On site inspections and assessment of energy consuming equipment,
Review of general operations.

Detailed Study

The second stage analyzes the site’s energy use, to identify:

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The sources of energy,

The amount of energy supplied, and
Detail of what the energy is used for.
The analysis identifies important factors affecting energy use such as hours of operation.

3.2. Simulation

As stated above, the simulation model quantifies energy usage (kWh/m2, MJ/m2). Results from the
energy audit and the energy simulation can be compared, and findings will aid to verify the
correctness of the model.

4. EMBODIED ENERGY AND LIFE CYCLE ENERGY ASSESSMENT (LCEA)

Commercial office buildings consume large amounts of energy through their life span, through
construction and operation until its final deconstruction. In consequence, considerations of the extent
to which construction impacts the environment is becoming a topical issue for construction
researchers, as natural resources are being depleted, fossil fuels emit damaging pollutants, and
rainforests are being destroyed (Finch 1992).

There are significant environmental impacts associated with the building materials over the building’s
life cycle. For most building materials, the major environmental impacts occur during the mining,
extraction, harvesting and manufacture stages of their life cycle. Significant environmental impacts
also occur when the building is demolished and all its materials have to be disposed off. At the same
time, the energy used to produce building materials (embodied energy), also generates environmental
impacts due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that result from burning fossil fuels (Lawson 2004).

Methods for quantifying the environmental impacts from building materials are well established around
the world. The common practice is to use LCEA methodologies and/or tools quantifying the embodied
energy of building materials and relating energy consumption with associated environmental impacts
(e.g. climate change as a consequence of GHG emissions). Sima Pro may be used for the LCEA.

The most important applications in SimaPro are:

Analysis of the contribution of the life cycle stages to overall environmental load,
Material analysis.

5. OPTIMISATION

As stated above, the design of a building of optimal thermal performance requires careful analysis and
assessment of all proposed options during the design process. This analysis and assessment is a
problem, usually characterized by the presence of many variables and objectives. The main goal of
optimisation is to find the “best” solution, which corresponds to the minimum or maximum value of a
single objective function that combined all different objectives into one. This type of optimisation is
useful as a tool which should provide decision makers with insights into the nature of the problem
(Deb 2002; Savic 2002).

The objective function, design variables and constraints identified for this study are as follows:

The objective function to be optimized is:

Life cycle energy = Operational energy + Embodied energy.

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The design variables are:

x1 = north facing surface area ratio = projected north facing area / total surface area,
x2 =glazed area ratio = glazed area / total surface area,
x3 = U-values (kW/m2 °C),
x4 = shading coefficients,
x5 = energy efficiency of HVAC system (kW/kWe),
x6 = building materials (kg).

And the design constraint:

Thermal comfort, (refer to Table 1).

A selected optimisation routine will be used in conjunction with the building simulation code to identify
optimum design variables. It is anticipated that this could be used to further enhance the
understanding of the characteristic behaviour of SEFs and serve as the basis to develop a benchmark
to be used in the decision making process for the design of sustainable office buildings.

There are a number of optimisation software tools and techniques available; these include IOSO NS
(NM), Loehle and TRNOPT among others. TRNOPT (by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) is
selected for this study as it is compatible with TRNSYS and interface program is readily available.

6. DISCUSSION
Expected outcomes from this proposed research methodology are:
Opportunity to develop a building simulation model to quantify the effects of SEFs on the
thermal performance of office buildings,
Better understanding of the characteristic behaviour of sustainable energy design features,
A benchmark derived from the relationship between sustainable energy design features and
buildings’ thermal performance, to be used in decision making process in development of new
office buildings.

7. CONCLUSIONS

A methodology for a current research project seeking to quantify the effects of sustainable design
features on the thermal performance of new office buildings has been developed. The methodology
has been performed in a pilot study by using data from office buildings, measuring instrument and
thermal performance simulation software.

The pilot measurements were carried out for one week (Monday to Sunday). The Microtherm IAQ
instrument was used in Building A to measure air temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, and
mean radian temperature. The relevant weather data were gathered for the same period of time from
two weather stations located in Melbourne. Both set of data were analysed and compared, and found
the results are usable.

8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors, all from the University of Melbourne, acknowledge with thanks the generous support of
the Construction Industry Institute of Australia, the Building Commission of Victoria, and the Australian
Research Council.

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9. REFERENCES

AS/NZ Standards (2000), Australian and New Zealand Standards for energy audits. AS/NZ 3598:2000,
Australia.
ASHRAE-55 (1992), Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy, ASHRAE.
Casella Cell (2000), Microtherm Air quality, UK.
Deb, K (2002), Multi-objective optimisation using evolutionary algorithms, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd,
Kanpur, India.
Drew, D (2002), CP730 Cleaner Production Strategies, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne.
EDSL & BTS (2002), TAS Tools Directory, viewed 31 March 2004, <www.eere.energy.gov>.
ESCAPE (1993-97), ECOTECT an Interactive Approach of Environmental Design, NSW, Australia.
ESRU -see Energy Systems Research Unit (1996), Data Model Summary ESP-r, Version 9 Series,
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK.
---- (1997), The ESP-r System for Energy Simulation, User Guide, Version 9 Series, University of
Strathclyde, UK.
Fandiño, A (2002), Reduction of energy usage and associated greenhouse gas emissions through the
implementation of cleaner production strategies, M. Eng. (Cleaner Production) Thesis, Department of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne.
Finch, E (1992), 'Environmental assessment of construction projects', Construction Management and
Economics, vol. 10, pp. 5-18.
ISO-7730 (1994), Moderate thermal environments - Determination of the PMV and PDD indices and
specification of the conditions for thermal comfort, (EN ISO 7730), ISO.
Krishan, A, Baker, N, Yannas, S & Szokolay, SV (2001), Climate responsive architecture: a design
handbook for energy efficient buildings, Tata Mc Graw Hill Pub. Co., New Delhi.
Lawson, R (2004), Environmental Impacts of Building Materials, viewed 6 June 2004,
http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/env_imp.htm.
LBNL -see Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1995), DOE-2, viewed 24 March 2004,
<http://gundog.lbl.gov/dirsoft/d2whatis.html>.
---- (1999), DOE-2, viewed 26 March 2004, <http://eande.lbl.gov/btp/srg.html>.
Nicol, F, Humphereys, M, Sykes, O & Roaf, S (1995), Standards for thermal comfort, First Edition, E &
FN Spon, UK.
Savic, D (2002), Single-objective vs. Multiobjective Optimisation for Integrated Decision Support, Centre
for Water Systems, Department of Engineering School of Engineering and Computer Science,
University of Exeter, UK.
SEAV -see Sustainable Energy Authority Victoria (2000), Energy Management, 2nd ed., Melbourne:
Energy Efficiency Victoria, ISBN:0731184122.
Solar Energy Lab (1996), TRNSYS Manual, A Transient System Simulation Program, Madison, USA.
Straaten, JFV (1967), Thermal Performance of Buildings, Elsevier Pub. Co., Amsterdam.

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APPENDIX A

Available thermal prediction software

Several building thermal performance prediction softwares are available. These can be acquired to
suit specific user needs. These softwares have become fundamental tools in the construction industry
in particular during the design stage, and have been used to design some of the most recognised
green buildings in the world to compare different options such as building geometry and energy
efficient features. Table A1 presents a short description of software packages.

Table A1: Software Description

Developer
Name Characteristics
(source)
(ESRU -see Can predict and assess building energy efficiency determining variables such
Energy Systems as energy consumption, (heating/cooling loads), thermal comfort, internal
Research Unit temperatures, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and daylight utilization. It comprises a
ESP-r
1996, 1997) central Project Manager which consists of arranged support databases, a
Glasgow, simulator, various performance assessment tools and a variety of third party
Scotland. applications for CAD, visualization and report generation.
Simulates the performance of a system by examining each one of the system’s
(Solar Energy Lab interconnected components. It includes a graphical interface, a simulation
1996) engine, and a library of components that range from various building models to
TRNSYS standard HVAC equipment to renewable energy and emerging technologies. It
Madison, has been used for more than 25 years for HVAC analysis and sizing, multi-
Wisconsin. zone airflow analyses, electric power simulation, solar design, building thermal
performance and, analysis of control schemes.
(ESCAPE 1993- Environmental design tool which features an intuitive 3D modelling interface
97) with extensive solar, thermal, lighting, acoustic and cost analysis functions. It
ECOTECT
provides essential visual and analytical feedback from sketch models. It is
NSW, Australia. scalable, handling simple shading models to full-scale cityscapes.
Software package for the thermal analysis of buildings. TAS includes a 3D
(EDSL & BTS modeller, a thermal/energy analysis module, a systems/controls simulator and
2002) a 2D CFD package. There are also CAD links into the 3D modeller as well as
TAS
report generation facilities. It simulates thermal performance of a building, and
Milton Keynes, UK. it is a useful design tool to optimise building’s environmental, energy and
comfort performance.
(LBNL -see
Lawrence Berkeley Analyses energy efficiency of given design or new technologies in buildings.
National Calculates energy performance, life cycle cost of operation and, hourly, whole-
DOE-2 Laboratory 1995, building energy analysis. Other uses include utility demand-side management
1999) and rebate programs, development and implementation of energy efficiency
standards and compliance certification.
Berkeley California

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