Chapter 8

Energy Efficient Design

Introduction

The HVAC designer is responsible for providing the building owner an efficient HVAC
system that meets of exceeds ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and local energy codes. In the
discussion of Preliminary Design (Chapter 3) it was noted that it is also the
responsibility of the HVAC designer to advise the architect and lighting designer
regarding the energy code requirements of the building envelope, lighting, and
equipment. This is because these elements of the building design are addressed in
Standard 90.1 and strongly affect the size, type, and configuration of the HVAC
system.

This chapter will outline the requirements of 90.1, define critical terms, and discuss
the implementation of energy efficient design.

Equipment
Equipment Performance: AFUE, COP, EER, and SEER

AFUE – Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. This is basically the combustion efficiency
of fossil fuel fired furnaces and boilers rated as “residential” but likely to be used in
small commercial buildings. For conventional combustion equipment, AFUE will
range from 75% to 85%. For condensing furnaces, which capture the latent heat of
combustion, AFUE will be in the low 90’s. Fossil fuel fired heating units classed as
“commercial” are rated only by steady-state combustion efficiency at full fire.

COP – Coefficient of Performance. This is the ratio of heat removed or added by the
HVAC unit in Btuh to the energy input to the unit in Btuh. It is usually applied only
to electric heaters and heat pumps. Electric heaters have a COP of unity because all of
the electric energy input appears as heat in the air stream. Reverse cycle heat pumps
have a heating COP greater than unity because they transfer heat from outdoors to
indoors.

HSPF – Heating Season Performance Factor. Basically, the “average COP” for an
entire heating season, based on a standardized test defined by the Air Conditioning
and Refrigeration Institute (ARI). It is applied to heat pumps with capacity of less
than 65,000 Btuh.

EER – Energy Efficiency Ratio. This is the ratio of cooling capacity in Btuh to input
energy in Watts. It is applied to cooling units with capacity of 65,000 Btuh or larger.
Note that EER is simply COP multiplied by the factor to convert electric input energy
to Btuh.

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 1 Watt = 3.413 * Btuh
COP = Btuho/Btuhi
Btuho /(Btuhi/3.413) = EER
Btuho * 3.413/Btuhi = COP * 3.413 = EER

SEER – Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. This is the “average” EER for an entire
cooling season, based on a standardized test defined by the Air Conditioning and
Refrigeration Institute. It is applied to units with a capacity of less than 65,000 Btuh.

IPLV – Integrated Part Load Value. This is a seasonal “average” EER for units rated
“commercial” (65,000 Btuh or larger).

LPD – Lighting Power Density. The total wattage of lighting per square foot in a
particular space. Maximum lighting power densities are set forth in Standard 90.1
for various space occupancy categories such as offices, auditoriums and lobbies. The
lighting power density of a space is required to compute the space design sensible
cooling load and assign a supply air flow. The HVAC designer must review the
lighting plan for code compliance as well as to perform cooling load calculations.

EUI – Energy Use Index. The total energy in Btu or Watts per unit area used by a
building over some defined time period, usually a year. Typical units would be
Btu/sf/year. For existing buildings, EUI is easily computed using utility data. For new
buildings, EUI can be computed using building simulation software, often based on
the code found in the building energy computer simulation DOE-2.

Meeting the Minimum Standard

Minimum requirements are set forth prescriptively in Standard 90.2. Most building
codes now incorporate these requirements. Following are the most important
requirements. Items in italics are the direct responsibility of the HVAC designer:

Minimum efficiency for air conditioners and heat pumps and furnaces.

Fan power limitations.

Dual set-point thermostats. Thermostats must be capable of separate and independent set
points for heating and cooling.

Seven day time clock control with manual override and night set-up/set-back capability.

Controls to prevent unnecessary activation of heat pump auxiliary heat strips.

Air side economizer. (regionally applied)

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CO2 control of outdoor ventilation and exhaust air when high occupant density requires
full-occupancy ventilation of 3000 cfm or more.

Minimum insulation requirements for walls, roofs, floors, piping and ducts. Maximum
assembly U factors for opaque elements and fenestration, and maximum solar heat
gain coefficients for fenestration.

Maximum LPDs for indoor and outdoor lighting.

Life Cycle Cost

Competing systems can be evaluated for Life Cycle Cost (LCC) using the following
formula:

LCC = First Cost + PWF * Pa

PWF = ((1 + i)n – 1)/(i
1)/(i * (1 + i)n)

where Pa = annual operating and energy cost

PWF = Present Worth Factor
i = annual interest rate
n = useful life in years

Estimating LCC requires a computer program that can model the building and
calculate annual energy costs. First cost can be estimated from the preliminary design
documents. Operating cost savings can usually be manually estimated based on
perceived recurrent labor savings, improved equipment life, and reduced equipment
maintenance.

As noted in the chapter on Preliminary Design (Chapter 3), LCC calculations are
rarely undertaken for the small projects that are the subject of this book. Usually,
decisions on energy efficient design must be made based on the knowledge and
experience of the designer, in consultation with the owner, architect, lighting
designer, and occasionally the contractor. Some jurisdictions, (in particular Florida)
use energy compliance software that computes annual energy cost based on inputs
for building insulation, fenestration, lighting, appliances, and HVAC systems. This
software is used to verify energy code compliance when the project is ready for
permitting. However it can be also be used by the designer for preliminary design
estimates by setting up a mock building similar to that proposed, and then varying
elements of the building and comparing the annual cost.

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Implementing or Exceeding the Standard

Minimum Efficiency

In general, the air conditioning and heating equipment offered by U.S. manufacturers
will meet or exceed the requirements of Standard 90.1. While this should be verified,
the designer’s challenge will be whether to select a unit that exceeds the minimum.
Even though selecting improved efficiency will probably increase first cost, the
owner’s long term objectives are best met by selecting the highest efficiency unit that
will satisfy the project psychrometric requirements. High SEER or EER cooling units
may have high sensible heat ratio and poor moisture removal. This will show up with
psychrometric analysis, but should also be reviewed for off design performance. Heat
pipes can mitigate this problem.

Air Source vs Water Source

Water source heat pumps have inherently higher SEER/EER than air source units.
However, the overall system efficiency will be degraded by the energy needed to
circulate the water, and by the need for a heat sink and heat source. For boosted
systems, the heat sink will be a cooling tower requiring fan energy and the heat
source will be a boiler requiring fossil fuel or electric heating. Consider a fifteen ton
heat pump with a unit cooling EER of 15 and a unit heating COP of 5. Rated cooling
capacity is 175,000 Btuh, and heating capacity is 184,000 Btuh. The unit requires 43
gpm circulated with a .5 hp pump. For cooling, the cooling tower fan will be 1.5 hp.
Assuming 80% efficient motors, the system EER will be:

EER = Btuho /Wattsi = 175,000/(175,000/15 + (.5+1.5)*915) = 13

Assume an 80% efficient boiler to provide the heat pump source heat, remembering
that the boiler must provide all of the heat for the system unless part of the building
requires heat while part requires cooling. While this condition may occur frequently,
most of the time the building will be in one mode or the other, so the COP will be:

COP = Btuho/Btuhi = 184,000/(184,000/5 + .5*3125 + 184,000/.8) = .69

Note that the water source heat pump’s huge heating advantage with its COP of 5
evaporates when the boiler is added in the boosted system. Therefore, this system
should never be selected where heating may be a significant portion of annual energy
use. On the other hand, a ground source water pump system will have superior
efficiency over most air source systems in nearly all applications, because the only
efficiency loss relative to the unit is the source water pump. See Chapter 2,
Preliminary Design, for a brief description of ground water source systems.

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Fan Power Limitations

The fan power limits in Standard 90.1 will usually be easily met by following the
guidelines outlined in Chapter 11 in the subsection “Ductwork Layout and Sizing”.
The designer should in addition, where practical after consulting with manufacturer’s
reps, call for electric motors meeting the requirements of the Federal Energy
Management Program (FEMP) to be used in all air moving equipment. The FEMP
requirements exceed those in Standard 90.1.

System Controls

The requirements for system controls, thermostats, time-of-day control, and heat
pump auxiliary heat, are discussed in Chapter 11, HVAC Controls.

CO2 Control of Outdoor Air Ventilation

CO2 control is only required by the Standard if the outdoor air requirement exceeds
3000 cfm. This limit may occasionally be exceeded in small assembly buildings such
as churches or dance halls. Even when smaller levels of outdoor air are required, the
designer may want to incorporate CO2 control to save energy and costs for the
operator. HVAC contractors are familiar with CO2 control of intake air dampers,
making it easy for the designer to specify. However, the designer must ensure that as
outdoor air is reduced, exhaust air is also reduced, so that the building retains
positive pressurization. If there is a large amount of required exhaust, such as may be
the case if there are large public restrooms or a large kitchen exhaust, the ability to
reduce the amount of ventilation air will be limited.

Economizer

An air-side economizer is a set of louvers and dampers that allow cooling a zone
wholly or partly with outdoor air, when outdoor conditions permit. Appendix A is a
discussion of economizer design, configuration, and control.

Standard 90.1 establishes eight climate regions, numbered 1 through 8, and a

number of sub-regions designated with appended letters such as 2B, 4C, etc.
Economizers are required for systems over a certain size in all zones except 1A, 2A,
3A, and 4A, which are basically all of the counties east of the Mississippi and south of
the Mason-Dixon line, plus western Louisiana and southeast Texas. In zones 5A, 6A,
and 7A, the size threshold is 135,000 Btuh or larger, and in all other required zones
the threshold is 65,000 Btuh. (Appendix B of the Standard lists the climate zones for
every state and county in the U.S.) The exempted zones are those with normally high
humidity, where energy savings using the economizer are likely to be minor.

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Economizers are not recommended by this writer for small DX projects if not required
by code. Small building owners rarely commission regular competent preventative
maintenance, which is essential to maintain proper economizer operation and avoid
calamitous malfunction.

Handling Large Latent Loads

In Chapter 7 it was seen that large latent loads will often require special processes
such as outdoor air pre-treatment, heat pipes, and reheat. The most energy efficient
of these processes will be heat pipes, which should always be considered before
either outdoor air pre-treatment or reheat. The preferred method of outdoor air pre-
treatment is the energy recovery ventilator, described in Chapter 9.

Hot gas reheat should only be considered if heat pipes or energy recovery cannot
meet the design requirements. Fossil or electric reheat should be avoided at all costs.

Consultation With Other Disciplines

During the preliminary design phase, the HVAC designer should advise the architect
and lighting designer on the following energy points

Explain to the architect and lighting designer that reducing lighting power
densities below the Standard 90.1 maximums will have a profound effect on
the size of the HVAC systems, besides reducing energy costs for the owner.

Review the architectural design and advise the architect of tramp air sources
such as gaps in the pressure and thermal envelopes at eves.

Review the proposed building insulation for code compliance, good practice,
and ac unit size reduction.

Check that the thermal envelope either coincides with or is inside of the
pressure envelope. Notify the designer of problems found.

Advise the building designer regarding glazing – low e, insulated, tinted. Large
glass surfaces can cause occupant discomfort if radiation from the glass is not
mitigated by multi-pane insulation (winter) and tinting (summer).

END