| Author | Chainuwat Prijyanonda |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.ET-96-17 |
| Subject(s) | Buildings--Energy conservation--Asian Institute of Technology
|
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | This study investigates the retrofit possibilities of an existing building through the use of computer modeling and simulation to evaluate the costs and savings. AIT's Library and Regional Documentation Center (LRDC) is the site selected to model as the base case of an existing building. The software used to conduct the computer analysis is DOE-2 version E which was developed by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories. Three categories of retrofit scenarios were analyzed: (1) building envelope improvement, (2) air conditioning system replacement, and (3) lighting system improvement. The results of the DOE-2 simulation of each retrofit option were used to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility in terms of the electrical energy savings and monetary costs. For the case of the LRDC, the roof and air conditioning system retrofit options promise to be the most attractive retrofit activities. The roof and air conditioning retrofit can potentially save 8.5 % and 21.2 % of the annual energy consumption respectively. Both retrofit options also display attractive economic indicators and thus are cost effective. In terms of the lighting system improvement, the LRDC building has a relatively low potential for daylighting implementation due to obstructions which prevent daylight from penetrating into the interior space. The most viable lighting improvement is to retrofit the existing fluorescent lamp system with low-loss ballasts. However, the experimental retrofit of a continuous lamp dimming system was conducted, and monitoring of the dimming performance indicates that continuous dimming has potential for substantial savings if implemented in buildings where there is high daylight availability. The results of this study indicate that the roof and air conditioning retrofit scenarios are the most promising energy saving activities and should be further investigated towards actual implementation. Another important outcome is that computer modeling and simulation has proved to be a powerful tool in analyzing the building energy performance. |
| Year | 1996 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Energy Technology (ET) |
| Chairperson(s) | Surapong Chiraratananon; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Bhattacharya, Sribas C.;Yu, Cun Yi; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Partial Scholarship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1996 |