Scott Horowitz

Method for Determining Optimal Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit Packages

Businesses, government agencies, consumers, policy makers, and utilities currently have limited access to occupant-, building-, and location-specific recommendations for optimal energy retrofit packages, as defined by estimated costs and energy savings. This report describes an analysis method for determining optimal residential energy efficiency retrofit packages and, as an illustrative example, applies the analysis method to a 1960s-era home in eight U.S. cities covering a range of International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) climate regions. The method uses an optimization scheme that considers average energy use (determined from building energy simulations) and equivalent annual cost to recommend optimal retrofit packages specific to the building, occupants, and location. Energy savings and incremental costs are calculated relative to a minimum upgrade reference scenario, which accounts for efficiency upgrades that would occur in the absence of a retrofit because of equipment wear-out and replacement with current minimum standards.

Analysis of System Strategies Targeting Near- Term Building America Energy-Performance Goals for New Single-Family Homes FY 2004 Fourth-Quarter Building America Milestone Report

The Building America residential systems research project uses an analysis-based system research approach to (1) Identify research priorities, (2) Identify technology gaps and opportunities, (3) Establish a consistent basis to track research progress, (4) Increase the cost effectiveness of research investments by identifying system solutions that are most likely to succeed as the initial targets for residential system research projects. This report describes the technical approach used by Building America to determine the most cost effective pathways to achieve whole-house energy savings goals. The report provides an overview of design/technology strategies leading to net zero energy buildings as the basis for analysis of future residential system performance. The analysis approach is demonstrated by providing an initial comparison of the least-cost options required to achieve 40% energy savings in five climate zones. The preliminary results from this study will be validated against field studies and updated on an annual basis to reflect best available residential system cost/performance data from ongoing Building America research activities.

USING THE BEOPT AUTOMATED RESIDENTIAL SIMULATION TEST SUITE TO ENABLE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN ENERGY SIMULATION ENGINES

Verification and validation are crucial software quality control procedures to follow when developing and implementing models. This is particularly important because a variety of stakeholders rely on accurate predictions from building simulation programs. This study uses the BEopt Automated Residential Simulation Test Suite (BARTS) to facilitate comparison of two energy simulation engines across various building components and includes building models that isolate the impacts of specific components on annual energy consumption. As a case study, BARTS has been used to identify important discrepancies between the engines for several components of the building models. These discrepancies are caused by differences in the algorithms used by the engines or coding errors.