Alex Lekov

Simulating a Nationally Representative Housing Sample Using EnergyPlus

LBNL # Simulating a Nationally Representative Housing Sample Using EnergyPlus Asa S. Hopkins, Alex Lekov, James Lutz, and Gregory Rosenquist Energy Analysis Department Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, CA 94720 Lixing Gu Florida Solar Energy Center March 2011 This work was supported by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Building Technology, State, and Community Programs, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE- AC02-05CH11231.

Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Automated Demand Response in Industrial Refrigerated Warehouses in California

This report summarizes the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorys research to date in characterizing energy efficiency and open automated demand response opportunities for industrial refrigerated warehouses in California. The report describes refrigerated warehouses characteristics, energy use and demand, and control systems. It also discusses energy efficiency and open automated demand response opportunities and provides analysis results from three demand response studies. In addition, several energy efficiency, load management, and demand response case studies are provided for refrigerated warehouses. This study shows that refrigerated warehouses can be excellent candidates for open automated demand response and that facilities which have implemented energy efficiency measures and have centralized control systems are well-suited to shift or shed electrical loads in response to financial incentives, utility bill savings, and/or opportunities to enhance reliability of service. Control technologies installed for energy efficiency and load management purposes can often be adapted for open automated demand response (OpenADR) at little additional cost. These improved controls may prepare facilities to be more receptive to OpenADR due to both increased confidence in the opportunities for controlling energy cost/use and access to the real-time data.

Variability in energy factor test results for residential electric water heaters

Recent modifications to the minimum energy efficiency requirements for residential water heaters have spurred an investigation into the variability in testing high-efficiency electric water heaters. While initial interlaboratory comparisons showed excellent agreement between test results from different labs, subsequent interlaboratory comparisons show differences between measured energy factors of up to 0.040. To determine the source of these differences, analyses of various parts of the test procedure are performed. For one case studied, the uncertainty in test results can be as high as +0.028 if instrument accuracies reach the minimum level allowed in the test procedure. Other areas of the test procedure where variability is introduced are the optional use of pre-draws, the location of the lower tank temperature-measuring device, the use of insulation on tank fittings, and the use of a warm-up period before the simulated-use test commences. The implications of these issues on test results are discussed.

Opportunities for Open Automated Demand Response in Wastewater Treatment Facilities in California - Phase II Report. San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant Case Study

This case study enhances the understanding of open automated demand response opportunities in municipal wastewater treatment facilities. The report summarizes the findings of a 100 day submetering project at the San Luis Rey Wastewater Treatment Plant, a municipal wastewater treatment facility in Oceanside, California. The report reveals that key energy-intensive equipment such as pumps and centrifuges can be targeted for large load reductions. Demand response tests on the effluent pumps resulted a 300 kW load reduction and tests on centrifuges resulted in a 40 kW load reduction. Although tests on the facility?s blowers resulted in peak period load reductions of 78 kW sharp, short-lived increases in the turbidity of the wastewater effluent were experienced within 24 hours of the test. The results of these tests, which were conducted on blowers without variable speed drive capability, would not be acceptable and warrant further study. This study finds that wastewater treatment facilities have significant open automated demand response potential. However, limiting factors to implementing demand response are the reaction of effluent turbidity to reduced aeration load, along with the cogeneration capabilities of municipal facilities, including existing power purchase agreements and utility receptiveness to purchasing electricity from cogeneration facilities.

Opportunities for Energy Efficiency and Open Automated Demand Response in Wastewater Treatment Facilities in California -- Phase I Report

This report summarizes the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory?s research to date in characterizing energy efficiency and automated demand response opportunities for wastewater treatment facilities in California. The report describes the characteristics of wastewater treatment facilities, the nature of the wastewater stream, energy use and demand, as well as details of the wastewater treatment process. It also discusses control systems and energy efficiency and automated demand response opportunities. In addition, several energy efficiency and load management case studies are provided for wastewater treatment facilities.This study shows that wastewater treatment facilities can be excellent candidates for open automated demand response and that facilities which have implemented energy efficiency measures and have centralized control systems are well-suited to shift or shed electrical loads in response to financial incentives, utility bill savings, and/or opportunities to enhance reliability of service. Control technologies installed for energy efficiency and load management purposes can often be adapted for automated demand response at little additional cost. These improved controls may prepare facilities to be more receptive to open automated demand response due to both increased confidence in the opportunities for controlling energy cost/use and access to the real-time data.

Measurement of airflow in residential furnaces

In order to have a standard for furnaces that includes electricity consumption or for the efficiency of furnace blowers to be determined, it is necessary to determine the airflow of a furnace or furnace blower. This study focused on airflow testing, in order to determine if an existing test method for measuring blower airflow could be used to measure the airflow of a furnace, under conditions seen in actual installations and to collect data and insights into the operating characteristics of various types of furnace blowers, to use in the analysis of the electricity consumption of furnaces. Results of the measured airflow on furnaces with three types of blower and motor combinations are presented in the report. These included: (1) a forward-curved blower wheel with a typical permanent split capacitor (PSC) motor, (2) a forward-curved blower wheel with an electronically-commutated motor (ECM), and (3) a prototype blower, consisting of a backward-inclined blower wheel matched to an ECM motor prototype, which is being developed as an energy-saving alternative to conventional furnace blowers. The testing provided data on power consumption, static and total pressure, and blower speed.

Determining benefits and costs of improved water heater efficiencies

Economic impacts on individual consumers from possible revisions to US residential water heater energy-efficiency standards are examined using a life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis. LCC is the consumers cost of purchasing and installing a water heater and operating it over its lifetime. This approach makes it possible to evaluate the economic impacts on individual consumers from the revised standards. The methodology allows an examination of groups of the population which benefit or lose from suggested efficiency standards. The results show that the economic benefits to consumers are significant. At the efficiency level examined in this paper, 35% of households with electric water heaters experience LCC savings, with an average savings of

Estimating Residential Appliance Lifetime for Energy Efficient Policy Analysis

106, while 4% show LCC losses, with an average loss of

Impacts of Imported Liquefied Natural Gas on Residential Appliance Components: Literature Review

40 compared to a pre-standard LCC average of

Development of the household sample for furnace and boilerlife-cycle cost analysis

2565. The remainder of the population (61%) are largely unaffected.