Energy Use In Residential Buildings Research Articles

Representative building design and internal load patterns for modelling energy use in residential buildings in Hong Kong

Based on the data collected in recent surveys, models have been established to represent the energy characteristics of living and dining rooms and bedrooms in typical residential buildings in Hong Kong, in respect of the layout and construction; the density and pattern of occupation; the power intensities and operating patterns of lighting and appliances; and air-conditioner operation patterns. With the help of computer simulation, the impacts of varying these characteristics on the annual space cooling load have been evaluated, which allowed representative internal load patterns for residential units to be defined. These are essential data for predicting energy use in residential buildings, which, in turn, is an indispensable part of studies on ways to assess and minimise energy use in such buildings. This paper presents the building model and the internal load and air-conditioner operation patterns established in the study.

Energy conservation of residential buildings in Beirut

Energy conservation measures on buildings have a significant role to play in reducing the burden of the energy bill on the Lebanese economy. The residential sector is one of various sectors that energy measures can be applied to. Such measures include the use of insulation materials, double-glazed windows, shading, efficient air-conditioning systems, economical lighting and reduction of infiltration rates. It is demonstrated through detailed energy analysis of typical residential and office buildings that strict conservation is benificial on the micro- and macro-economic levels. A code of practice is suggested to establish acceptable standards for energy use in residential buildings and ranking is done of energy measures based on economical indices. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modeling natural energy flow in houses

A model for predicting the energy use of residential buildings is developed for the purpose of investigating the effect on energy consumption of various changes in building design, construction and operation. The model differentiates between the thermal behavior of the north and south zones of the house, and describes an innovative method of air-handling. The model is incorporated into an analytical computer program called TWOZONE. This program is used to evaluate the effect on annual energy use of various amounts and locations of glass areas in houses. The results are compared with recent work on the energy value of windows in houses. Among the findings, when using this particular model and load program, is the fact that single-glazing is a net loser in any climate. Energy-use curves for several climates are given for single- versus double-glazing, thereby permitting cost-effectiveness analysis to be done.