Norman Bourassa

An engineering-economic analysis of combined heat and power technologies in a (mu)grid application

This report describes an investigation at Ernesto Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) of the potential for coupling combined heat and power (CHP) with on-site electricity generation to provide power and heating, and cooling services to customers. This research into distributed energy resources (DER) builds on the concept of the microgrid (mGrid), a semiautonomous grouping of power-generating sources that are placed and operated by and for the benefit of its members. For this investigation, a hypothetical small shopping mall ( Microgrid Oaks ) was developed and analyzed for the cost effectiveness of installing CHP to provide the mGrids energy needs. A mGrid consists of groups of customers pooling energy loads and installing a combination of generation resources that meets the particular mGrids goals. This study assumes the mGrid is seeking to minimize energy costs. mGrids could operate independently of the macrogrid (the wider power network), but they are usually assumed to be connected, through power electronics, to the macrogrid. The mGrid in this study is assumed to be interconnected to the macrogrid, and can purchase some energy and ancillary services from utility providers.

RESEM-CA: Validation and testing

This report documents the results of an extended comparison of RESEM-CA energy and economic performance predictions with the recognized benchmark tool DOE2.1E to determine the validity and effectiveness of this tool for retrofit design and analysis. The analysis was a two part comparison of patterns of (1) monthly and annual energy consumption of a simple base-case building and controlled variations in it to explore the predictions of load components of each program, and (2) a simplified life-cycle cost analysis of the predicted effects of selected Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs). The study tries to analyze and/or explain the differences that were observed. On the whole, this validation study indicates that RESEM is a promising tool for retrofit analysis. As a result of this study some factors (incident solar radiation, outside air film coefficient, IR radiation) have been identified where there is a possibility of algorithmic improvements. These would have to be made in a way that does not sacrifice the speed of the tool, necessary for extensive parametric search of optimum ECM measures.

Functional testing guide for air handling systems: From the fundamentals to the field

California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research Program LBNL No. 52571 HPCBS # E5P2.1T1d HPCBS High Performance Commercial Building Systems Functional Testing Guide for Air Handling Systems: From the Fundamentals to the Field Element 5—Integrated Commissioning and Diagnostics Project 2.1 Commissioning and Monitoring for New Construction Developed by: David Sellers, Hannah Friedman, Tudi Haasl Portland Energy Conservation, Inc. 1400 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 700 Portland, OR 97201 Norman Bourassa and Mary Ann Piette Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 1 Cyclotron Road Berkeley, CA 94720 May 2003