EFFICIENCY AND COMFORT THROUGH DEEP ENERGY RETROFITS: BALANCING ENERGY AND MOISTURE MANAGEMENT

Homes that survived to be called“historic”did so because they worked;that is,they delivered a level of performance that met the owner’s expectations and tolerance level without catastrophic damage to the home,pocketbook,or surrounding environment.Home performance expectations have changed and now include a desire to use less energy while at the same time realizing a level of comfort that includes air conditioning and constant temperatures in all rooms.In order to meet these performance expectations,old homes often require some“re-engineering.”Increasing insulation will advance energy efficiency goals,reduce costs,and make a home more sustainable but by itself is insufficient,and,often,it can also upset the moisture balance resulting in unexpected mold and sick building syndrome.Improvement in moisture management design is a critically important consideration whenever energy efficiency is increased;however,many projects fail to address moisture adequately.This article will walk through the process of insulating and air sealing a house(two very different activities,sometimes combined,sometimes not),and shed particular light on how different approaches encourage or discourage moisture problems.

RISK FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING BUILDING RETROFITS

Energy performance contracting(EPC)has emerged as a useful project financ-ing and delivery tool for building retrofits,particularly among building owner-ships which have experienced reduced funding for capital projects.Through EPC,a contractor(called the EPC contractor or the energy service company)guaran-tees minimum energy savings performance and enables the building owner to finance the project using utility savings over the length of the project(which is typically 12-15 years,or longer).Despite its growing use,there is a dearth of lit-erature regarding a contractor’s risks related to the delivery and execution of EPC building retrofits.This is particularly important as the performance guarantee effec-tively transfers project performance risk from the owner to the EPC contractor.This research proposes a project factors-based risk framework for EPC building retrofits,initially developed through a comprehensive review of relevant literature and project documents and refined through the elicited expertise of 19 highly expe-rienced EPC contracting professionals.A Delphi technique-based expertise elici-tation strategy was used to confirm the findings of the a priori(literature-based)framework and provide additional analysis related to risk causes and control mea-sures as well as relative risk importance.This information was used to construct a refined risk framework which provides insight into the lengthy project performance period during the earliest phases of the project’s life cycle.This has the advantage of providing rapid screening of the project factors that can potentially lead to the greatest project performance risks.

MECHANICAL INSULATION CASE STUDY-TIMELY OPPORTUNITY FOR RETROFITS AND NEW CONSTRUCTION

INTRODUCTION“You won’t find any issues in our newly constructed and retrofitted buildings,”was the response that Lyndon Johnson,representative of the BC Insulators,got from the campus facility manager when explaining the poor state of practice of mechanical insulation,“let me show you one of our showcase buildings.”The building in question had just undergone$80 million in upgrades and was designed to achieve LEED®Silver equivalent rating.The upgrades included a high-performance climate control system that allows for precise control of temperature and humidity in different rooms.“We toured the building and found many problems with the mechanical insulation,”explained Mr.Johnson afterwards,“including substandard finish,adhesive tape lifting,and most disturbing,20 feet of missing insulation on each floor of the building along the dividing line of the two phases of the project.One or both sets of contractors that worked on the job had completely left off the insulation.The saddest part is,this didn’t surprise me given what we know about the state of the industry today.”

DECISION PROCESS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING RETROFITS:THE OWNER’S PERSPECTIVE

The process by which a building owner evaluates and decides upon energy conservation measures(ECMs)for a building retrofit is key towards achieving efficient results.However,many owners rely on unsophisticated evaluation methods,which potentially limits the amount of energy reduced in the commercial building.Reducing energy in the nearly 4.9 million commercial buildings is critical because they account for approximately one fifth of the total energy consumption in the United States.Reducing their energy consumption levels will have significant impacts on energy dependency,Greenhouse Gas emissions(GHG),and operations costs.The decision processes of twelve private and public organizations in New Mexico were evaluated through collective case study research.The processes of each organization were compared and key steps were identified.Then the most used and critical steps were combined to create an integrated decision approach that optimizes cost savings and GHG emission reductions.This integrated decision process involves five main steps:(1)Building Energy Data;(2)Energy Identification and Analysis;(3)Assessment;(4)Design and Planning;and(5)Approval.

Anatomical Retrofitting:Pi(脾)as Spleen and the Persistence of Ontological Ambivalence

Over the past decade,medical researchers in China have debated whether the Pi(脾)corresponds to the biomedical spleen or pancreas.This debate exemplifies a broader phenomenon of“anatomical retrofitting”,or the anachronistic imposition of contemporary categories onto living historical objects.“Anatomical retrofitting”as a means of rectifying cases of mistranslation further positions the biomedical spleen and pancreas as representing ahistorical,universal truths.This framework gives rise to a conceptual binary:while the biomedical spleen is universalized as what philosophers may describe as“logical”ontology,the Pi connects to a different nature of reality,or“metaphysical”ontology.Far from being an object of imprecision,the Pi was a dynamic vessel that also shared characteristics with the humoral spleen.Given that scholars in China have already subjected Pi to historical scrutiny,this paper urges scholars to do the same with biomedical anatomy.For instance,historically situating the humoral spleen demonstrates that it became less known and less articulated as it transformed into the biomedical spleen.Meanwhile,the pancreas remained an unstable epistemic object that took on the dynamic functions of the humoral spleen in nineteenth-century organotherapy.Through primary source analysis and literature review,this paper contends that the apparent ontological incommensurability between Pi and spleen is neither mutually exclusive nor irreconcilable.Instead,the dynamic nature of internal viscera,their many functions,and their participation in epistemic practices contribute to an ongoing ontological ambivalence that persists despite the forced certainty of anatomical retrofitting.

Evaluating the role of transportation system in community seismic resilience

The swift recuperation of communities following natural hazards heavily relies on the efficiency of transporta-tion systems,facilitating the timely delivery of vital resources and manpower to reconstruction sites.This paper delves into the pivotal role of transportation systems in aiding the recovery of built environments,proposing an evaluative metric that correlates transportation capacity with the speed of post-earthquake recovery.Focusing on optimizing urban population capacity in the aftermath of earthquakes,the study comprehensively examines the impact of pre-earthquake measures such as enhancing building or bridge seismic performance on post-earthquake urban population capacity.The methodology is demonstrated through an analysis of Beijing’s transportation sys-tem,elucidating how enhancements to transportation infrastructure fortify the resilience of built environments.Additionally,the concept of a resource supply rate is introduced to gauge the level of logistical support available after an earthquake.This rate tends to decrease when transportation damage is significant or when the demands for repairs overwhelm available resources,indicating a need for retrofitting.Through sensitivity analysis,this study explores how investments in the built environment or logistical systems can increase the resource supply rate,thereby contributing to more resilient urban areas in the face of seismic challenges.

Rolling Decision Model of Thermal Power Retrofit and Generation Expansion Planning Considering Carbon Emissions and Power Balance Risk

With the increasing urgency of the carbon emission reduction task,the generation expansion planning process needs to add carbon emission risk constraints,in addition to considering the level of power adequacy.However,methods for quantifying and assessing carbon emissions and operational risks are lacking.It results in excessive carbon emissions and frequent load-shedding on some days,although meeting annual carbon emission reduction targets.First,in response to the above problems,carbon emission and power balance risk assessment indicators and assessment methods,were proposed to quantify electricity abundance and carbon emission risk level of power planning scenarios,considering power supply regulation and renewable energy fluctuation characteristics.Secondly,building on traditional two-tier models for low-carbon power planning,including investment decisions and operational simulations,considering carbon emissions and power balance risks in lower-tier operational simulations,a two-tier rolling model for thermal power retrofit and generation expansion planning was established.The model includes an investment tier and operation assessment tier and makes year-by-year decisions on the number of thermal power units to be retrofitted and the type and capacity of units to be commissioned.Finally,the rationality and validity of the model were verified through an example analysis,a small-scale power supply system in a certain region is taken as an example.The model can significantly reduce the number of days of carbon emissions risk and ensure that the power balance risk is within the safe limit.

Wind Turbine Noise Reduction through Blade Retrofitting

This paper outlines a plan for the effective reduction of the audible sound level produced by aerodynamic noise from the power-generating turbine blades. The contribution of aerodynamic noise can be divided into two categories: inflow turbulence and airfoil self-noise. The base model and retrofit blade designs were modeled in SolidWorks. Subsequently, noise prediction simulations were conducted and compared to the base blade model to determine which modification provided the greatest benefit using SolidWorks Flow Simulation. The result of this project is a series of blade retrofit recommendations that produce a more acoustically efficient design and reduce noise complaints while enabling turbines to be placed in locations that require quieter operations.

Seismic strengthening of reinforced concrete columns damaged by rebar corrosion using combined CFRP and steel jacket

In order to study the effectiveness of combined carbon fiber-reinforced polymer （CFRP） sheets and steel jacket in strengthening the seismic performance of corrosion-damaged reinforced concrete （RC） columns, twelve reinforced concrete columns are tested under combined lateral cyclic displacement excursions and constant axial load. The variables studied in this program include effects of corrosion degree of the rebars, level of axial load, the amount of CFRP sheets and steel jacket. The results indicate that the combined CFRP and steel jacket retrofitting technique is effective in improving load-carrying, ductility and energy absorption capacity of the columns. Compared with the corrosion-damaged RC column, the lateral load and the ductility factor of many strengthened columns increase more than 90% and 100%, respectively. The formulae for the calculation of the yielding load, the maximum lateral load and the displacement ductility factor of the strengthened columns under combined constant axial load and cyclically increasing lateral loading are developed. The test results are also compared with the results obtained from the proposed formulae. A good agreement between calculated values and experimental results is observed.

基于移动端的智慧校园服务平台研究与实现

文章针对高校移动信息服务的特点和需求,提出了一种基于移动终端的智慧校园服务平台的建设思路,从模式整合、软硬件基础分析、平台设计及实现的关键技术等方面进行研究,最终构建出一个高性能、高可用、安全稳定的"轻量级"移动校园服务平台应用架构,打通各类数据与服务的集成、共享,解决移动服务信息孤岛等问题。

Numerical Calculations and Cold Tests for Flow Fields of a 220t/h Retrofitted Oil-Boiler

In this paper, cold simulation experiments and numerical calculations are conducted to predict 3 D flow field aerodynamics for an oil furnace after being retrofitted due to its fuel variation. K ε model and SIMPLE program under body fit coordination (BFC) system, in which TTM non orthogonal method is used to control the irregular geometric boundary, are adopted to solve the control equations. Model tests are conducted to check the calculation results, showing that they are in agreement with each other. Three different alternatives with different side window locations are also calculated to optimize the designs. The field retrofitting results show that the combination of cold tests with numerical calculations has prosperous application in retrofitting or renewing medium and small boilers.

Strategy for Energy Efficiency Retrofit of Rural Buildings in Hot-summer and Hold-winter Zone——A Case Study in Xinjiang New District,Jiangxi

Under the background of new urbanization, rural buildings＇ energy efficiency retrofit is an essential part of the overall work of the building energy conservation. Therefore, taking rural buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone as the research object, we carried out field investigation by combining geographical climate charactedstics with social-economic conditions and analyzed the energy consumption and energy conservation of rural buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone. On the basis of the investigation and analysis, this paper pointed out the questions with its energy efficiency retrofit and proposed the energy-saving strategy which was suitable for rural buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone based on people＇s livelihood and development.

SUSTAINABLE IMPACT OF BUILDING ENERGY RETROFIT MEASURES

Energy retrofitting is argued to be the most feasible and cost-effective method for improving existing buildings’energy efficiency.As a sustainable development,build-ing energy retrofits require the consideration and integration of all three sustainability dimensions:environmental,economic and social.The objective of this study is to estimate and compare the sustainable impact of building energy retrofits to determine the maximum sustainable benefit when implementing different energy-related mea-sures.The proposed analysis consists of integrating three approaches for evaluating these benefits.Economic benefits are measured by estimating the payback period of energy-related measures,environmental benefits are measured by estimating the CO_(2) equivalent saving per year due to the implementation of energy-related measures,and social benefits are measured by defining a“social impact index”that establishes the impact of energy-related measures on buildings’users.A case study is used to demonstrate the framework for four potential scenarios.The results show that for the case study,energy-related“controlling”and“upgrading mechanical system”measures have the highest sustainable impact among the identified energy retrofitting measures.

A ROADMAP FOR CLIMATE ACTION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY:HIGHER EDUCATION CAMPUSES AS CLIMATE LEADERS

INTRODUCTION As federal and provincial governments debate the viability of absolute emission reduction targets,universities and college across North America are steadfast on a voluntary movement to slash greenhouse gas emissions and model the way forward on climate action.These institutions are taking advantage of campus contexts that offer decentralized energy supply opportunities,district energy systems,large building portfolios,and research partnerships to leverage change.Higher education campuses are emerging as innovation hubs for the deployment of new technologies,policy development,best practices in portfolio scale building operating models,public-private partnership models and more.

Water-Energy Prototype Model for the NEMS Modeling Platform: Thermoelectric Water Demand and Its Implications on Regional Electricity Market

A simplified energy-water prototype model has been developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) as a part of a larger effort to comprehensively model energy-water interactions. The NETL Water-Energy Model (NWEM) prototype passively couples a variety of data on water supply, water availability, and power plant water use with the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) power generation forecasts. NWEM operates at a watershed level and its efficacy in resolving local water supply and water-use trade-offs was demonstrated using data from Sandia National Laboratory along with a water supply scenario projected by the World Resources Institute (WRI). The prototype model only passively utilized a forecast of power generation from an existing forecast;the model’s choices were limited to purchases or retrofitting to meet future water supply constraints. NETL is continuing to integrate the water sub-module into the NEMS framework, which will allow active interaction between the water market and power markets, extending the industry’s ability to re-dispatch its generating units with the price of water as one of the variable costs.

Factors Affecting Energy Efficiency Investments—A Case Study of Bhutan

Energy efficiency is providing the same services consuming less energy.Less energy means less energy bill and less greenhouse emissions.Bhutan presents a unique scenario in promoting the use of energy efficiency equipment and investments.Bhutan enjoys availability of adequate low cost hydropower energy resource that is green and clean and enjoys cheap electrical energy.To aggravate the situation,the domestic tariffs are subsidized and even free up to 100 units in rural parts of the country.Export tariffs are determined independently according to entirely different principles.However for cooking,Bhutan imports LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas)from India.With increasing threats of climate change,it is reported water flow in rivers is decreasing.For energy security and related socio environmental issues,prospects of energy supply constraints and increasing demand of quality power in the country,there is a need to take appropriate policy measures which would lead to the development of indigenous,local and dispersed clean energy sources in the future.When a customer is asked to retrofit the house with energy efficiency,the owner questions oneself if the available investment resources are being directed to an effective return.Various criteria are available but all can not to be considered to come to a final decision.This paper presents an overview of many factors which affect energy efficiency investment in building in Bhutan.

LEVERAGING THE U.S.DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SOLAR DECATHLON DESIGN CHALLENGE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR STUDENT-LED ADAPTIVE REUSE PROJECTS TO ADDRESS CONTEXT-SPECIFIC SUSTAINABLE DESIGN,HOUSING AFFORDABILITY,AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

This paper discusses the context,pedagogical approach,and design outcomes of two net-zero energy residential design projects completed by graduate architecture stu-dents as part of a comprehensive design studio course and submitted to the 2018 and 2020 USDOE Race to Zero/Solar Decathlon Design Challenge competition.The competition aims to give students real-word experience designing high-performance buildings by encouraging collaboration,involving community partners,and requir-ing a high degree of technical design development.Working within the competi-tion parameters,two teams at Ball State University worked with outside partners to identify vacant/abandoned homes as a significant problem for rust-belt Indiana com-munities,and then focused their design efforts on high-performance retrofits of two blighted homes in Muncie and Indianapolis.Each project will be described in detail and the implications of the 2018 project on the 2020 project will be addressed.This paper will demonstrate that adaptive reuse projects can be used to engage students in context-specific challenges and to meet stringent high-performance design targets and thresholds.(162)

RISK MODEL FOR ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

Energy performance contracting provides guaranteed minimum energy savings to building owners,enabling them to finance project costs using utility savings over the duration of the project.This has been an attractive project delivery method for organizations with reduced budgets for capital projects,particularly among correctional facilities which frequently have lengthy periods of deferred maintenance and ongoing building operations and maintenance concerns.This research builds on a previously developed project factors risk framework for energy service companies undertaking building retrofits.This paper proposes a risk analysis and evaluation model that includes quantitative,expert-based,and probabilistically derived information.Expected cost was used to evaluate risks over lengthy project life cycles and a new metric was developed for use in the model-expected life cycle value.Model results reveal that the most critical risk factors relate to the reduced availability of“low-hanging fruit”energy conservation measures,work scopes based on traditional design-bid-build procurement,unavailable or inaccurate facility information,facility age and current code requirements,and conducting the investment grade audit too quickly.The life cycle cost-based risk model employed in this paper is proposed as an advancement over traditional risk management methods,and it is expected to be applicable,with modification,across other municipal and state government subdomains,especially high security projects.

Dynamic performance of angle-steel concrete columns under low cyclic loading-I:Experimental study

This paper describes low cyclic loading testing of nine angle-steel concrete column （ASCC） specimens. In the tests, the influence of the shear-span ratio, axial compression ratio and shear steel plate ratio on the hysteretic behavior, energy dissipation, strength degradation, stiffness degradation, skeleton curve and ductility of the ASCCs is studied. Based on the test results, some conclusions are presented. The P-A and sectional M -φ hysteretic models for the ASCCs are presented in a companion paper （Zheng and Ji, 2008）.

Resilience-based retrofitting of existing urban RC-frame buildings using seismic isolation

The improvement of the seismic resilience of existing reinforced-concrete(RC) frame buildings, which is essential for the seismic resilience of a city, has become a critical issue. Although seismic isolation is an effective method for improving the resilient performance of such buildings, target-oriented quantitative improvements of the resilient performance of these buildings have been reported rarely. To address this gap, the seismic resilience of two existing RC frame buildings located in a high seismic intensity region of China were assessed based on the Chinese Standard for Seismic Resilience Assessment of Buildings. The critical engineering demand parameters(EDPs) affecting the seismic resilience of such buildings were identified. Subsequently, the seismic resilience of buildings retrofitted with different isolation schemes(i.e., yield ratios) were evaluated and compared, with emphasis on the relationships among yield ratios, EDPs, and levels of seismic resilience. Accordingly, to achieve the highest level of seismic resilience with respect to the Chinese standard, a yield ratio of 3% was recommended and successfully applied to the target-oriented design for the seismic-resilience improvement of an existing RC frame building. The research outcome can provide an important reference for the resilience-based retrofitting of existing RC frame buildings using seismic isolation in urban cities.