Papers by Michael Brambley
Training radon mitigators and ensuring that they provide high-quality work on the scale necessary... more Training radon mitigators and ensuring that they provide high-quality work on the scale necessary to reduce radon to acceptable levels in the large number of homes and schools requiring some mitigation is a challenging problem. The US Environmental Protection Agency and several states have made commendable efforts to train mitigators and ensure that they provide quality services to the public. Expert systems could be used to extend and improve the effectiveness of these efforts. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the radon community to this promising new technology. The paper includes a description of a prototype system developed by Pacific Northwest Laboratory that illustrates several of the capabilities that expert systems can provide, a brief explanation of how the prototype works, and a discussion of the potential roles and benefits of fully-developed expert systems for radon mitigation. 4 refs., 3 figs.
Energy, 1982
We have studied energy use for heating circular spas, with diameters between 6 and 8 ft and a vol... more We have studied energy use for heating circular spas, with diameters between 6 and 8 ft and a volume-to-surface area ratio of lOgal/ft*, in San Diego County. Energy use and costs may be minimized by using spa covers which have cost-payback periods of 2-22 months; heaters should only be used to reheat spas prior to and during use; energy costs will be reduced by shortening use periods and lengthening intervals between spa uses. Quantitative estimates are given for several spa-use scenarios. The methodology employed in this analysis is generally applicable to the heating of water bodies. NOTATION surface area of spa, ft* cost, $ constant pressure specific heat,-1 Btul"R-lb for water and-0.24 Btul"R-lb for air diffusion coefficient of water vapor in air, ft*/sec energy, Btu gravitational acceleration, ft/sec* convection heat-transfer coefficient, Btu/hr-ft*-"R mass-transfer coetficient, ft/hr heat of vaporization of water per unit mass at K, Btu/lb thermal conductivity, Btu/ft-"R-hr characteristic length of a surface = 0.9d for circular disks) with diameter d, ft rate of mass loss, Ib/hr miles per hour power, Btulhr partial pressure of water vapor above the spa, Ibf/ft* partial pressure of water vapor in the free stream, Ibdft* saturation vapor pressure at temperature Ta, Ib,/ft* rate of convective heat loss per unit of surface area, Btu/hr-ft* rate of heat loss by evaporation, Btuihr rate of heat loss by radiation, Btu/hr specific gas constant for air = 53.3 ftl"R time, hr temperature, "R average absolute temperature of air = (l/2)(T, t T,), "R wind speed, ftlsec spa volume, gal mass fraction of water in air above the spa surface mass fraction of water in air in the free stream volume coefficient of expansion of air, 'R-r effective emissivity of the spa surface viscosity, lb/f&set kinematic viscosity = w/p, ft*/sec density = 8.34 lb/gal for water and = 0.0735 Ib/ft' for air at 80°F Stefan-Bohzmann constant = 1.714 x lo+ Btu/ft*-hr-"R' relative humidity Dimensionless parameters Gr Grashof number = (gpr-'/~*)(T,-7") Le Lewis number = k/(pC,D) N, mean Nusselt number = h,l/k Pr Prandtl number = &/k Re Reynolds number = u//v SC Schmidt number = v/D Sh Sherwood number = h,//D tSupported by the San Diego Gas and Electric Company under a grant to the UCSD Energy Center.
Ashrae Journal, 1993
Correct HVAC systems maintenance and proper operation practices can reduce overall equipment cost... more Correct HVAC systems maintenance and proper operation practices can reduce overall equipment costs and improve energy efficiency.
Proceedings of the …, 2003
The Whole Building Diagnostician (WBD) is a modular diagnostic software system that provides dete... more The Whole Building Diagnostician (WBD) is a modular diagnostic software system that provides detection and diagnosis of problems with the operation of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and major energy end-uses. It has been extensively field tested and demonstrated in buildings over the past several years. WBD found problems with many air-handling units at all sites. The problems ranged from a simple set point deviation to improper implementation of controls. The results from these demonstrations, along with the feedback from building operators and managers on the use of diagnostic tools, are presented in the paper. Experience from field tests indicates that providing diagnostic tools to building operators can increase their awareness of equipment faults, but it will not by itself solve the problems of inefficient operations. Changes in operation and maintenance practices and behavior are needed. We discuss how these new technologies might be delivered and used more effectively to better manage facilities, improving their condition and increasing their energy efficiency.
Computer technology provides many opportunities to improve the energy performance of commercial b... more Computer technology provides many opportunities to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings throughout the entire building life cycle. We are faced with developing those technologies to put the results of many years of buildings research into the hands of building owners, designers, and operators. This report discusses both the philosophical and technological aspect associated with this topic.
ph: (865) 576-8401 fax: (865) 576-5728 email: reports@adonis.osti.gov Available to the public fro... more ph: (865) 576-8401 fax: (865) 576-5728 email: reports@adonis.osti.gov Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161 ph: (800) 553-6847 fax: (703) 605-6900 email: orders@ntis.fedworld.gov online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm
The World Wide Web (the Web) is rapidly transforming many business practices. The purpose of this... more The World Wide Web (the Web) is rapidly transforming many business practices. The purpose of this chapter is to show readers how facility management tools provided by application service providers (ASPs) via the Web may represent a simple, cost-effective solution to their facility and energy management problems. Accessing tools simply by using a web browser and an Internet connection, all
ph: (865) 576-8401 fax: (865) 576-5728 email: reports@adonis.osti.gov Available to the public fro... more ph: (865) 576-8401 fax: (865) 576-5728 email: reports@adonis.osti.gov Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, VA 22161
PNNL Report PNNL-15149, 2005
This document provides a market assessment of existing building sensors and controls and presents... more This document provides a market assessment of existing building sensors and controls and presents a range of technology pathways (R&D options) for pursuing advanced sensors and building control strategies. This report is a synthesis of five white papers, each devoted to either the market assessment or
the identification of R&D options to expand the market, and resultant energy savings, from advanced building controls and sensors.
The ideas presented in these white papers were purposefully unconstrained by budget to attempt to capture the full range of potential options. As such, choosing and summarizing highlights from each of these papers, and in turn highlighting this in an Executive Summary, is quite challenging. Instead, what is contained in this Executive Summary is an overview of each chapter.
Market Assessment
The market assessment includes estimates of market potential and energy savings for sensors and control strategies currently on the market as well as a discussion of market barriers to these technologies. Contributors to this report believe that significant energy savings and increased comfort and control for occupants can be achieved with advanced technologies. An estimation of the potential market and energy savings from these advanced technologies is the subject of a follow-on market assessment by TIAX, which should be available in 2005.
Technology Pathways
The Technology Pathway is organized into four chapters:
• Current Applications and Strategies for New Applications
• Sensors and Controls
• Networking, Security, and Protocols and Standards
• Automated Diagnostics, Performance Monitoring, Commissioning, Optimal Control, and Tools.
These chapters can roughly be characterized as follows:
1. Applications to building sub-systems (e.g., lighting) and potential new applications (e.g. disaster mitigation).
2. Sensor and controls hardware including wireless devices and actuators.
3. Issues relating to the inter networking of sensors, controls, and actuators and standards and protocols required for full interoperability.
4. Tools and applications for whole building system integration, monitoring, and controls.
Each technology pathway chapter gives an overview of the technology or application. This is followed by a discussion of needs and the current status of the technology. Finally, a series of research topics is proposed.
The design of energy-efficient buildings can be aided by intelligent computer tools that can eval... more The design of energy-efficient buildings can be aided by intelligent computer tools that can evaluate design solutions and make recommendations for improving the buildings' energy performance. Such tools can be very productive when they are integrated with existing computer-aided design technology. Pacific Northwest Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of Oregon, the California Polytechnic State University, and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, is developing such tools and integrating them into a computational environment that can be easily used by architects, engineers, and designers. This project, called the Advanced Energy Design and Operations Technologies (AEDOT) project, intends to demonstrate how building energy performance can be improved by combining expertise from a variety of domain perspectives during the design process. This paper describes the first prototype to emerge from the AEDOT work. AEDOT Prototype 1 consists of several design and energy tools th...
In an effort to encourage the maximum cost-effective level of energy efficiency in new building d... more In an effort to encourage the maximum cost-effective level of energy efficiency in new building design, energy-efficiency standards have become more location-specific and performance-based. As a result, standards often provide more than one path for ensuring and demonstrating that a design complies, but at the cost of increased complexity. In addition, the burden of remedying a noncompliant design rests on the designers` knowledge and experience, with only general guidance provided by the standards. As part of efforts in the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) Advanced Energy Design and Operation Technologies (AEDOT) project, a team at DOE`s Pacific Northwest Laboratory is developing a computer program known as the Energy Standards Intelligent Design Tool (ES-IDT). The ES-IDT is one component of a prototype computer-based building design environment. It performs automatic compliance checking for parts of ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1989 and provides designers assistance in bringing nonco...
Most commercial buildings designed to today will use more energy to operate, and cost more to des... more Most commercial buildings designed to today will use more energy to operate, and cost more to design and construct than necessary. Significant energy savings cold be achieved with little or not increase in first cost if energy-efficient design technologies were used. Research into integration of building systems indicates that by considering energy performance early in the design process, energy savings between 30% and 50% of current energy consumption rates are technically and economically feasible. However, most building design teams do not adequately consider the energy impacts of design decisions to achieve these savings. The US Department of Energy has initiated a project, led by Pacific Northwest Laboratory, to develop advanced computer-based technologies that will help designers take advantage of these large potential energy savings. The objective of this work is to develop automated, intelligent, energy design assistance that can be integrated into computer aided design syst...
Computer technology could be used to help design teams consider energy performance as an integral... more Computer technology could be used to help design teams consider energy performance as an integral part of the design process. If this becomes possible, their capability to produce much more energy-efficient buildings without increasing the costs of building design would be enhanced. Recognizing this, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated the Advanced Energy Design and Operation Technologies (AEDOT) project, led by Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The aim of the project is to develop advanced computer-based technologies that will help designer take advantage of these large potential energy savings. The success of the AEDOT project depends largely on our ability to develop energy design-support tools that are integrable into comprehensive building design environments so that all parts of the design process will be supported. This integrability is essential: energy, just one consideration among many in building design, must be considered in a context that includes visual, acoust...
It has been estimated that as much as 60% of the energy used to heat, cool, and illuminate buildi... more It has been estimated that as much as 60% of the energy used to heat, cool, and illuminate buildings could be saved through better design. Although energy standards provide a benchmark against which designers may measure their designs, compliance evaluation often requires tedious calculation. We are building a computer program, the Energy Standards Intelligent Design Tool (ES-IDT), that addresses these issues. The ES-IDT automatically and continually evaluates a building design as it is being developed on a CAD system. If the emerging design begins to deviate from compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1989, the ES-IDT notifies the architect, indicating which section of the standard was violated and what design decision(s) caused the violation. The ES-IDT also will suggest some design options to improve the energy efficiency of the building.
Computerized energy management systems (EMSs) are useful, not just for automatic control of build... more Computerized energy management systems (EMSs) are useful, not just for automatic control of building systems, but they can also serve as valuable tools for monitoring and testing the performance of specific components. The overall strategy and examples of the use of the remote monitoring and testing capabilities of EMSs are presented in this paper. Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment under proportional/integral/derivative (PID) control was tested and characterized for two commercial buildings without traveling to the building sites. Several problems encountered in using EMSs for these purposes are identified together with proposed or proved solutions. None of the problems is insurmountable, and the results show that the remote monitoring and communications capabilities of EMSs are valuable tools for providing and maintaining improved building environmental control at lower cost and time commitment.
Building energy simulation is playing an increasingly important role in the development and imple... more Building energy simulation is playing an increasingly important role in the development and implementation of building energy codes and standards in the United States. This trend parallels a progression over the past 15 years from the use of largely prescriptive methods for encouraging energy-efficient building design to reliance on more performance-oriented approaches. A multiyear research project is currently under way to develop a methodology on which to base future energy performance standards for the design of new commercial buildings. This research effort, the Whole-Building Energy Targets project, is sponsored by the US Department of Energy and is being conducted with the assistance of leading buildings-industry associations in the United States. The project, the technical approach under development (in particular its use of economic optimization), and additional potential applications of the methodology are described in this paper. 8 refs., 4 figs.
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Papers by Michael Brambley
the identification of R&D options to expand the market, and resultant energy savings, from advanced building controls and sensors.
The ideas presented in these white papers were purposefully unconstrained by budget to attempt to capture the full range of potential options. As such, choosing and summarizing highlights from each of these papers, and in turn highlighting this in an Executive Summary, is quite challenging. Instead, what is contained in this Executive Summary is an overview of each chapter.
Market Assessment
The market assessment includes estimates of market potential and energy savings for sensors and control strategies currently on the market as well as a discussion of market barriers to these technologies. Contributors to this report believe that significant energy savings and increased comfort and control for occupants can be achieved with advanced technologies. An estimation of the potential market and energy savings from these advanced technologies is the subject of a follow-on market assessment by TIAX, which should be available in 2005.
Technology Pathways
The Technology Pathway is organized into four chapters:
• Current Applications and Strategies for New Applications
• Sensors and Controls
• Networking, Security, and Protocols and Standards
• Automated Diagnostics, Performance Monitoring, Commissioning, Optimal Control, and Tools.
These chapters can roughly be characterized as follows:
1. Applications to building sub-systems (e.g., lighting) and potential new applications (e.g. disaster mitigation).
2. Sensor and controls hardware including wireless devices and actuators.
3. Issues relating to the inter networking of sensors, controls, and actuators and standards and protocols required for full interoperability.
4. Tools and applications for whole building system integration, monitoring, and controls.
Each technology pathway chapter gives an overview of the technology or application. This is followed by a discussion of needs and the current status of the technology. Finally, a series of research topics is proposed.
the identification of R&D options to expand the market, and resultant energy savings, from advanced building controls and sensors.
The ideas presented in these white papers were purposefully unconstrained by budget to attempt to capture the full range of potential options. As such, choosing and summarizing highlights from each of these papers, and in turn highlighting this in an Executive Summary, is quite challenging. Instead, what is contained in this Executive Summary is an overview of each chapter.
Market Assessment
The market assessment includes estimates of market potential and energy savings for sensors and control strategies currently on the market as well as a discussion of market barriers to these technologies. Contributors to this report believe that significant energy savings and increased comfort and control for occupants can be achieved with advanced technologies. An estimation of the potential market and energy savings from these advanced technologies is the subject of a follow-on market assessment by TIAX, which should be available in 2005.
Technology Pathways
The Technology Pathway is organized into four chapters:
• Current Applications and Strategies for New Applications
• Sensors and Controls
• Networking, Security, and Protocols and Standards
• Automated Diagnostics, Performance Monitoring, Commissioning, Optimal Control, and Tools.
These chapters can roughly be characterized as follows:
1. Applications to building sub-systems (e.g., lighting) and potential new applications (e.g. disaster mitigation).
2. Sensor and controls hardware including wireless devices and actuators.
3. Issues relating to the inter networking of sensors, controls, and actuators and standards and protocols required for full interoperability.
4. Tools and applications for whole building system integration, monitoring, and controls.
Each technology pathway chapter gives an overview of the technology or application. This is followed by a discussion of needs and the current status of the technology. Finally, a series of research topics is proposed.