Duct thermal performance models for large commercial buildings

Despite the potential for significant energy savings by reducing duct leakage or other thermal losses from duct systems in large commercial buildings, California Title 24 has no provisions to credit energy-efficient duct systems in these buildings. A substantial reason is the lack of readily available simulation tools to demonstrate the energy-saving benefits associated with efficient duct systems in large commercial buildings. The overall goal of the Efficient Distribution Systems (EDS) project within the PIER High Performance Commercial Building Systems Program is to bridge the gaps in current duct thermal performance modeling capabilities, and to expand our understanding of duct thermal performance in California large commercial buildings. As steps toward this goal, our strategy in the EDS project involves two parts: (1) developing a whole-building energy simulation approach for analyzing duct thermal performance in large commercial buildings, and (2) using the tool to identify the energy impacts of duct leakage in California large commercial buildings, in support of future recommendations to address duct performance in the Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards for Nonresidential Buildings. The specific technical objectives for the EDS project were to: (1) Identify a near-term whole-building energy simulation approach that can be used in the impacts analysis task of this project (see Objective 3), with little or no modification. A secondary objective is to recommend how to proceed with long-term development of an improved compliance tool for Title 24 that addresses duct thermal performance. (2) Develop an Alternative Calculation Method (ACM) change proposal to include a new metric for thermal distribution system efficiency in the reporting requirements for the 2005 Title 24 Standards. The metric will facilitate future comparisons of different system types using a common ''yardstick''. (3) Using the selected near-term simulation approach, assess the impacts of duct system improvements in California large commercial buildings, over a range of building vintages and climates. This assessment will provide a solid foundation for future efforts that address the energy efficiency of large commercial duct systems in Title 24. This report describes our work to address Objective 1, which includes a review of past modeling efforts related to duct thermal performance, and recommends near- and long-term modeling approaches for analyzing duct thermal performance in large commercial buildings