Abstract
In commercial buildings, HVAC systems are becoming a primary driver of energy consumption, which already account for 45% of the total building energy consumption. In the previous literature, researchers have studied several energy conservation measures to reduce HVAC system energy consumption. One of the effective ways is an economizer in air-handling units. Therefore, this study quantified the impact of the outdoor air fraction by economizer control type in cooling system loads based on actual air-handling unit operation data in a hospital. The optimal outdoor air fraction and energy performance for economizer control types were calculated and analyzed. The result showed that economizer controls using optimal outdoor air fraction were up to 45% more efficient in cooling loads than existing HVAC operations in the hospital. The energy savings potential was 6–14% of the differential dry-bulb temperature control, 17–27% of the differential enthalpy control, 8–17% of the differential dry-bulb temperature and high-limit differential enthalpy control, and 16–27% of the differential enthalpy and high-limit differential dry-bulb temperature control compared to the no economizer control. The result of this study will contribute to providing a better understanding of economizer controls in the hospital when the building operates in hot-humid climate regions.
Highlights
In 2017, the building sector accounted for 20% of total energy consumption in Korea [1]
With building operational data to estimate cooling energy savings potential from from economizer controls, this investigated study investigated the optimal of the four economizer control economizer controls, this study the optimal
The Outdoor Air Fraction (OAF) were calculated for all control types, including the no economizer (NE) and actual operations
Summary
In 2017, the building sector accounted for 20% of total energy consumption in Korea [1]. A proactive method of energy conservation would work for commercial buildings as the second-best plan to make a more efficient approach in air handling units (AHUs) [5]. Researchers studied various methods to improve efficiencies in the HVAC systems in operation stages, including the duty cycle, economizer, load reset, optimal start, optimal stop, and night purge [6,7,8,9,10]. One of the best ways to conserve energy is an economizer that introduces low-temperature or low-enthalpy outdoor air into the building to reduce or eliminate mechanical cooling depending on outdoor air conditions [11,12].
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