University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Work
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      The effect of energy recovery on indoor climate, air quality and energy consumption using computer simulations

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      Thesis_Melanie_Fauchoux.pdf (3.930Mb)
      Date
      2006-06-14
      Author
      Fauchoux, Melanie
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      The main objectives of this thesis are to determine if the addition of an energy wheel in an HVAC system can improve the indoor air relative humidity (RH), and perceived air quality (PAQ), as well as reduce energy consumption. An energy wheel is an air-to-air energy exchanger that transfers heat and moisture between the outdoor air entering and the exhaust air leaving a building. This thesis uses the TRNSYS computer package to model two buildings (an office and a school) in four different cities (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Vancouver, British Columbia; Tampa, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona).The results with and without an energy wheel are compared to see if the energy wheel has a significant impact on the RH and PAQ in the buildings. The energy wheel reduces peak RH levels in Tampa, (up to 15% RH), which is a humid climate, but has a smaller effect on the indoor RH in Saskatoon (up to 4% RH) and Phoenix (up to 11% RH), which are dry climates. The energy wheel also reduces the number of people that are dissatisfied with the PAQ within the space by up to 17% in Tampa. The addition of the energy wheel to the HVAC system creates a reduction in the total energy consumed by the HVAC system in Saskatoon, Phoenix and Tampa (2% in each city). There is a significant reduction in the size of the heating equipment in Saskatoon (26%) and in the size of the cooling equipment in Phoenix (18%) and Tampa (17%). A cost analysis shows that the HVAC system including an energy wheel has the least life-cycle costs in these three cities, with savings of up to 6%. In Vancouver, the energy wheel has a negligible impact on the indoor RH, PAQ and energy consumption.
      Degree
      Master of Science (M.Sc.)
      Department
      Mechanical Engineering
      Program
      Mechanical Engineering
      Supervisor
      Simonson, Carey J.
      Committee
      Schoenau, Greg J.; Faried, Sherif O.; Dolovich, Allan T.; Besant, Robert W.
      Copyright Date
      June 2006
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-06222006-162448
      Subject
      moderating humidity levels
      energy savings
      cost savings
      TRNSYS
      thermal comfort
      HVAC
      perceived air quality (PAQ)
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy