Retrofit Packages Research Articles

Specifying residential retrofit packages for 30 % reductions in energy consumption in hot–humid climate zones

The purpose of this research was to demonstrate the application of energy simulation as an effective tool for specifying cost-effective residential retrofit packages that will reduce energy consumption by 30 %. Single-family homes in the hot–humid climate type of the Southeastern USA were used to demonstrate the application. US census data from both state and federal studies were used to create 12 computer simulation homes representing the most common characteristics of single-family houses specific to this area. Well-recognized energy efficiency measures (EEMs) were simulated to determine their cumulative energy reduction potential. Detailed cost estimates were created for cost-to-benefit analysis. For each of the 12 simulated homes, 4 packages of EEMs were created. The four packages provided home owners options for reducing their energy by 30 % along with the estimated up-front cost and simple payback periods. The simple payback period was used to determine how cost-effective a measure was. The packages are specific to a geographic area to provide a higher degree of confidence in the projected cost and energy savings. The study provides a generic methodology to create a similar 30 % energy reduction packages for other locations and a detailed description of a case study to serve as an example. The study also highlights the value that computer simulation models can have to develop energy efficiency packages cost-effectively and specific to home owner’s location and housing type.

Retrofit of the Cost and Effectiveness Model in Large Enterprise

What is a steam turbine retrofit and what are the advantages of such retrofit - hundreds of papers have been written on the subject and thousands of presentation, not to mention multi-million euro retrofit market and businesses devoted to this activity. Upon deeper reflection it may be concluded that the idea of retrofit may be applied not only to steam turbines but to large enterprises too, including those which supply steam turbines. As an old adage says: medice, cura te ipsum.The analysis of cost and effectiveness management in a large enterprise indicates the occurrence of phenomena of no man's land and imaginary cost. Even thought they significantly influence the economic result, the classic management model does not account for these phenomena at all. This paper presents three propositions of retrofit packages of management system of large enterprises, functioning on the global marked of complex products with strong competition.

Economic potential of energy-efficient retrofitting in the Swiss residential building sector: The effects of policy instruments and energy price expectations

The aim of this paper is to analyse the profitability of energy-efficient retrofit investments in the Swiss residential building sector from the house owner's perspective. Different energy price expectations, policy instruments such as subsidies, income tax deduction and a carbon tax, as well as potential future cost degression of energy efficiency measures were taken into account. The discounted cash flow method was used for the investment analysis of different retrofit packages applied to a model building scheduled for renovation, i.e. a single-family house constructed between 1948 and 1975. The results show that present Swiss policy instruments push investments for energy-efficient retrofitting to profitability. Cost degression has a minor significance for investment profitability. However, the most relevant factor for the investment analysis is the expected energy price. Expecting a future fuel oil price at the level of 2005, efficiency investments are close to profitability even without policy support. If higher energy prices were expected, energy-efficient retrofitting would be an attractive investment opportunity.

Low-Cost NOx Reduction Retrofit for Pump Scavenged Compressor Engines

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the resulting individual State Implementation Plans will require many natural gas pipeline operators to install NOx reduction equipment on existing compressor station engines. A program was undertaken to develop lower cost NOx control options for these engines as compared to traditional techniques. The initial work, described in this paper, focused on the development of a low-cost retrofit package for Cooper-Bessemer GMV and GMV-TF pump scavenged integral compressor engines. The retrofit concept relied on highly dilute combustion to achieve low engine-out NOx emission rates. A significant portion of the effort concentrated on low-cost methods for delivering the required air charge and ignition enhancements to achieve reliable and robust combustion. The prototype retrofit kit has been installed on a GMV-6 in gas compressor service. Performance results showed a 70 percent reduction in NOx emission rates without a corresponding increase in HC emission rates.

Energy savings of water-heater retrofits: Evidence from Hood River

This paper assesses the energy savings of water-heater retrofits based on evidence from the Hood River Conservation Project (HRCP). It examines: (1) the electricity saved by the water-heater retrofit package as a whole; (2) the savings attributable to each of three individual measures (the water-heater wrap, pipe wrap and low-flow showerhead); (3) the impact of demographic and dwelling-unit characteristics upon savings; and (4) demand reductions during winter. Water-heater retrofits saved, on average, 540 kWh/year and were highly cost-effective. Each kWh of savings cost less than $0.04 (excluding the expense of the installer's visit), and the levelized cost over an assumed ten-year lifetime for the measures was only $0.0039/kWh. The water-heater retrofit was one of the most cost-effective components of the HRCP package. Its effectiveness was due largely to the water-heater pump. Water-heater demand also decreased at a cost of only $333 per kW.

Results of the walnut creek house doctor project

We present the results of an experiment designed to measure the additional energy savings achieved by adding two person-days of house doctoring to a standard energy audit. We compare a house doctor and audit treatment to an audit alone and to a passive control group. The treatments were applied to randomly selected groups of 10 houses each in Walnut Creek, California. The difference in energy savings between the treatments, based on monthly utility bills, were not statistically significant due to wide variation in savings and the loss of several houses from each group. Predicted energy savings, based in part on measured air leakage area reductions, indicated that the retrofit package completed during house doctoring had a cost of conserved energy of $4.00/GJ.

A 1-Watt, 6-Gigahertz IMPATT Amplifier for Short-Haul Radio Applications

A 1-watt impatt diode amplifier has been developed for short-haul FM radio relay applications in the 6-GHz common-carrier band. The amplifier is used in the new tm-2 system and as part of a retrofit package to upgrade the performance of the existing tm-1 system. Amplification is provided by a single silicon impatt diode which is used in an injection-locked mode. A finned heat sink provides impatt diode cooling by natural air convection within the radio bay. The diode is expected to have a mean life greater than 10 years, and it can be replaced in the field without the use of special tools or equipment. This microwave-integrated amplifier contains the rf samplers and detectors necessary to monitor both input and output rf power levels. The input power monitor also provides an input to a power-supply squelch circuit that removes dc power from the impatt diode if the rf input signal level becomes too low for adequate performance. The influence of the system requirements upon the amplifier design is described, and data on system performance are presented.