Construction Technology Assignment

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CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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ENERGY AUDIT
Summary of a custom hotel – Glasgow which is situated in Howard. The building is a 12 story
building with 250 rooms. The entire building unit is approximated to cover an area of 8500
square feet. It will be primarily meant for hotel purposes and also as a conference facility. Note;
all the dimensions of the size of the building are a rough estimate with reference to information
(Azar, 2012)
Lighting
The building is meant to have lighting fixtures including the fluorescent tubes for the rooms and
corridors. For the washrooms, there is the incandescent type of lightning. An upgrade of the
lighting technology greatly saves the amount of energy used in the building.
Ventilation, air conditioning, and heating
The story building is to be cooled and heated using the rooftop unit and gas forced technique.
The windows and the air ducts at the rooftop will; supply the fresh air whereas the same
windows and exhaust fans will assist in cooling of the building. The rooftop of the building is
controlled by a programmable thermostat
Plumbing
The building includes four sets of 2 piece washrooms and also electric water heater. The
plumbing fixtures are made as low as possible to help in minimizing the electrical usage
(Crowley, 2008).
Building envelope

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Gravel membrane and Asphalt are used as built up in covering the building with the outsides
walls being, masonry. The windows are made of an aluminum frame, wooden and also they are
double glazed. The insulating types include polyisocyanurate foam.
Annual consumption and utility cost
The table below shows the annual cost of utility and consumption.
Recommendations
The main objective of this building is upgrading the air conditioning unit, lighting, and the
heating unit. The below table provides some recommendations

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The recommended energy saving techniques will help in minimizing the energy usage in the
building by approximately 12%.
Energy consumption
 Electrical energy
The building unit has just one meter.

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With reference to the above figure, it can be noted that during the cool season, there is
increased consumption of energy. The maximum consumption of electrical energy is during the
winter season when the weather conditions are cold. In the summer months, the consumption
remains in an unchanging mode in order to maintain a cold working condition. The major
contributions of the electrical consumption are the plug loads, equipment and lightning. This is
anticipated since, in summer, the number of customers has increased thereby increasing the
electrical energy usage (Dimoundi, 2008).

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Demand
Form the graph provided, there are two load profiles which are distinct. One for the summer and
the other one for the winter which ranges n between..... Respectively. There is a high demand for
the early fall and the late spring thereby decreasing the peak loads.
 Natural gas
There is the presence of one unit gas meter at the far end of the wall. The maximum amount of
usage for the gas unit is 1700m3. The annual consumption is illustrated below (Hirst, 2005)
Annual consumption costs

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The consumptions of gas are obtained directly from the utility bills .hence there is no
compensation from the adjusted or the estimated readings.
From the graph above, it is clear that during the cooling season, there is no gas consumption.
Hence indicating that the only gas consumption is on the heating system (Hirst and Brow, 1990).
Combined building consumption
From the data collected, an estimate of the combined mechanical and electrical usage is
provided. The major usage of the energy in the building's heating as shown in the figure below.

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Forms of heat loss,
Fabric heat loss
THE Fabric heat loss entails the U-value, the temperature difference of the month, and the area
of the fabric. They emanate from the walls, windows, and doors. Below is the calculation (Krati,
2016)
Ventilation heat loss,

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Ventilation heat loss depends on the volume of the building, the temperature difference, the
number of air changes per hour. Below is the calculation (ma, 2012)
Casual heat gains
the solar gain is from the windows, humans and electrical equipment. Below is the calculation

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Heat needed is
: Fabric heat loss+ ventilation heat loss- casual heat gains.

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Running costs
a) High season

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B) Low season
Investigate the possible on site usage of
 solar PV,
Solar technology or the application of the photovoltaic is a technique which converts the energy
which comes directly from the sun and then converts into a direct form of electricity that can be
used in homesteads. This technique is a renewable form of energy and its basic unit is the solar
cell. This solar cell is composed of a semiconductor material which has electrons that generate
electric current in form of direct current. The amount of solar energy produced has a direct
relationship with the solar intensity such that the more the insolation time, the higher amount of
electricity that is generated (Masoso, 2014).

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 wind turbines
Wind turbine system consists of a wind turbine electrical cables and an inverter. The inverter is
used for the conversion of the direct current form into an alternating current while the cables are
used for the connection to the main supply system and also the connection of the inverter and the
wind turbine. The wind turbine blades are designed in such a way that as they propel they
capture energy in form of wind energy and then convert it into direct form, which is then
converted into the alternating current form by the cables. This technique is the best from among
the renewable methods of electricity generation due to the following
 Savings – through the electrical energy generation, there is money earned from the feed-
in tariffs and also energy is saved, approximately 5.6 tonne of carbon yearly
 Maintenance – minimal maintenance of the turbines a is required as they have the
possibility of operating in even harsh conditions
 Wind turbine output – approximately, a wind turbine has the capacity of generating
13186kwh annually which can be sold and also utilized for heating purposes.
Biomass boilers
A biomass boiler produces electrical energy from the burning of biomass inside a steam or hot
water boiler. The produces which are burnt may include residues and wood chips .the water
present in the boiler is hated under high temperatures and pressure. a generator is attached to the
boiler which and upon the turbine being powered by the steam, it gets to generate energy in form
of direct current which is then converted un alternating current form (Saadatian, 2012).

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This technique greatly helps in reducing carbon emission into the atmosphere since a large
percentage of the wastes are used during the process thereby carbon emission is eliminated.
Besides, it results in a clean energy which is renewable.
Advantages of the above renewable sources
 Ensures that the local resources which are renewable are utilized
 Helps in creating employment opportunities in the sites
 Reduces the emission of v carbon into the atmosphere
 Minimizes the non-renewable energy dependence
 Helps in saving bills and also generate income when the energy generated is fed to
the grid and sold as a tax-free business.
Limitations of the renewable sources of energy
The main problem with these renewable sources of energy, when applied in the on-site, is
about some factors such as location, output power continuity, scale and the cost. Nonetheless, the
on-site installation of the photovoltaic is not that much expensive as compared to the wind and
biomass (Toriti, 2012).
However, there is a recommendation for all these challenges which will help in ensuring that
the energy captured and stored is maximum and very reliable. For instance,
 Integration of various technologies which helps in ensuring that the reliance on energy on
only wind, sunlight etc. is reduced and another renewable option provided.
 Collating the various techniques renewable energy generation while ensuring that the
storage of the primary energy captured is maximum.

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Discuss your findings and propose how energy-saving measures and sustainable design
could help offset the running costs. These can include but are not limited to:
 Better insulation -better insulation in the houses do not quickly lose the heat, the walls of
the houses can be installed with insulating substances such that heating of the rooms
would not be required. For instance, the won out and torn weather-stripping on the doors
and windows. These let in the air during the day and contribute to approximately 10 % of
the total heat loss and may prompt the user to put on the furnace. The door thresholds
should also be adjusted and covered with plastic films
 Increased use of natural light –the buildings should be designed in such a way that more
natural light is allowed in and avoid the use of electric light during the day. Besides,
keeping the curtains opened during the day ensures that maximum amount of sunlight
gets in, and then at night they should be closed to ensure that heat is retained within the
room
 Using an efficient thermostat – thermostats are programmable devices which will help in
regulating the temperature of the houses automatically without the use of furnaces. The
thermostats consume little amount of energy as compared to other room heating devices.
 Use of efficient energy saving devices - These includes devices such as the day
controllers, efficient bulbs, an infrared sensor which switch off the light when they are
not in use i.e. in toilets (welding, 2003).
 Switching of devices when not in uses – this helps in cooling the load and also ensuring
that the electrical energy is not wasted, besides, rearranging the house such that the
devices which consume electricity are strategically placed also helps in ensuring that they
are monitored

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 Do not overheat water as it uses more energy
 Air conditioning – the cooling and the heating systems should not be turned on at the
same time since it's like a parallel operation. Instead, building management systems can
be put in place to monitor the vent illation.
 Refrigeration – regularly defrost the fridges while keeping the evaporators and the
condensers clean always (Krati, 2003).
 Elimination of the draft – the drafts present in the electrical boxes usually let in some air
into the system making them use an increased amount of energy. These can be avoided
by filling the gaps using acrylic latex or foam sealant.
 Preventing warm from escaping the chimneys – usually, there is some amount of energy
that is produced from the kitchen chimneys. This energy in form of heat should not be
allowed to escape and an inflatable chimney balloon can be the best device to use in order
to help in preventing the escape of this energy

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References
Azar, E. and Menassa, C.C., 2012. A comprehensive analysis of the impact of occupancy
parameters in energy simulation of office buildings. Energy and Buildings, 55, pp.841-853.
Crawley, D.B., Hand, J.W., Kummert, M. and Griffith, B.T., 2008. Contrasting the capabilities
of building energy performance simulation programs. Building and environment, 43(4), pp.661-
673.
Dimoudi, A. and Tompa, C., 2008. Energy and environmental indicators related to the
construction of office buildings. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 53(1), pp.86-95.
Doukas, H., Nychtis, C., and Psarras, J., 2009. Assessing energy-saving measures in buildings
through an intelligent decision support model. Building and environment, 44(2), pp.290-298.
GhaffarianHoseini, A., Dahlan, N.D., Berardi, U., GhaffarianHoseini, A., Makaremi, N., and
GhaffarianHoseini, M., 2013. Sustainable energy performances of green buildings: A review of
current theories, implementations, and challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
25, pp.1-17.
Hirst, E. and Brown, M., 1990. Closing the efficiency gap: barriers to the efficient use of energy.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 3(4), pp.267-281.
Krarti, M., 2016. An energy audit of building systems: an engineering approach. CRC press.
Lopes, M.A.R., Antunes, C.H. and Martins, N., 2012. Energy behaviors as promoters of energy
efficiency: A 21st-century review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(6), pp.4095-
4104.

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Lopes, M.A.R., Antunes, C.H. and Martins, N., 2012. Energy behaviors as promoters of energy
efficiency: A 21st-century review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(6), pp.4095-
4104.
Ma, Z., Cooper, P., Daly, D. and Ledo, L., 2012. Existing building retrofits: Methodology and
state-of-the-art. Energy and buildings, 55, pp.889-902.
Masoso, O.T., and Grobler, L.J., 2010. The dark side of occupants' behavior on building energy
use. Energy and buildings, 42(2), pp.173-177.
Saadatian, O., Haw, L.C., Sopian, K. and Sulaiman, M.Y., 2012. Review of windcatcher
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Saadatian, O., Sopian, K., Salleh, E., Lim, C.H., Riffat, S., Saadatian, E., Toudeshki, A. and
Suleiman, M.Y., 2013. A review of energy aspects of green roofs. Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews, 23, pp.155-168.
Torriti, J., 2012. Price-based demand side management: Assessing the impacts of time-of-use
tariffs on residential electricity demand and peak shifting in Northern Italy. Energy, 44(1),
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Virote, J. and Neves-Silva, R., 2012. Stochastic models for building energy prediction based on
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consumption status and energy efficiency potentials in commercial buildings of Shanghai [J]. Hv
& Ac, 6.

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Yun, G.Y., Kim, H. and Kim, J.T., 2012. Effects of occupancy and lighting use patterns on
lighting energy consumption. Energy and Buildings, 46, pp.152-158.