CEE 156/256 Building Systems

Winter 2017
MW 1:30 – 3:20
Building 300, Room 300
4 units

Instructor	Erik Kolderup kolderup@stanford.edu (415) 531-5198 www.kolderupconsulting.com Office hours: By appointment
Course Assistants	Lama Bitar, lbitar@stanford.edu Office hours: Mondays, 4pm - 6pm Curtis Fong, ckfong@stanford.edu  Office Hours: Tuesdays, 6pm - 8pm Location: Y2E2 Room 184 (computer lab) Door code:113751
Q&A Forum	https://piazza.com/stanford/winter2017/cee156256/home
Textbook	These two textbooks are optional, and both are on reserve in the Engineering library. Assignments can be completed without them, but they serve as a good supplement to the lectures. Recommended readings from the textbooks are listed for each class in the course schedule below. Stein, Reynolds, Grondzik, and Kwok, Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, 12th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2014. ISBN 0470195657. ~$155. More architectural focus, also covers non-conventional systems, 1700+ pages. "MEEB"  Music video Janis & Tao, Mechanical and Electrical Systems in Buildings, Fifth Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013. ISBN 0138015626. $172. Better HVAC coverage, better system illustrations, 550 pages.
Prerequisites	There are no specific prerequisites. However, CEE 176A “Energy Efficient Buildings” provides an excellent foundation for this course. An understanding of basic physics - including heat transfer, thermodynamics, and basic electric circuits - is useful but not required. Students without that background might expect extra reading to pick up some concepts.

Course Description

This course covers HVAC, lighting, and envelope systems for commercial and institutional buildings, with a focus on energy efficient design. Students will gain knowledge and skills to play a role in the development of low-energy buildings that provide a high quality environment for occupants. The focus of lectures and assignments is the design of new buildings, but most of the concepts also apply to existing buildings. The following are the primary objectives.

• Develop basic knowledge of building systems and energy efficient design options.
• Learn basics of thermal comfort, indoor air quality and visual environment and how these relate to optimal building system design
• Develop an understanding of how energy is consumed in commercial buildings and where savings opportunities exist
• Learn how to define targets for building energy performance
• Gain an understanding of the design process and design methods
• Develop skills to evaluate and compare design alternatives, especially with respect to optimal energy performance and life-cycle cost
• Gain experience in communicating analysis findings

Assignments include engineering problems, energy simulation exercises and a lighting design task. These assignments will focus on topics covered in class sessions. The software tool eQUEST is used for simulation assignments. This whole-building hourly simulation tool is available for free at www.doe2.com. eQUEST is commonly used by energy consultants and design engineers for building energy analysis. Lighting design is performed with AGi32, an industry-standard tool available at www.agi32.com. Free student licenses will be provided to class members. Both eQUEST and AGi32 require a computer that can run the Microsoft Windows operating system. The programs will also be available in a Y2E2 computer lab for use by students without their own Windows computer.

    

Assignments during the first half of the course will address performance of a simple office building. This work will culminate in a midterm report prepared by each student that summarizes findings and presents design recommendations.

Students will also work in groups to complete final projects consisting of energy and economic analysis of alternative system designs. Groups will have significant freedom to choose the building and the alternatives to be evaluated. Each group will prepare an analysis report and will also make an in-class presentation of findings.

 

 

Course Requirements

Readings. The class schedule (below) lists readings to be completed prior to each class. Class slides or other handouts will be available for download from Canvas in advance of each class.

In-class exercises. Discussion exercises during class time will be held roughly five times during the quarter, as indicated in the schedule below. Attendance and participation is required for credit.

Assignments. Assignments are to be submitted via the Assignments feature of the Canvas website by noon prior to the beginning of class, as shown on the class schedule below. Grades for late assignments will be reduced by 10 points per day after that time. Assignments more than five days late will not be accepted. For example, assignments are typically due noon Wednesday, and late assignments will not be accepted after noon on the following Monday. To accommodate busy schedules, each student is allowed one extension of up to five days without penalty. Notify the instructor by email prior to the original due date if you wish to take advantage of the extension. 

Midterm report. See class schedule for posting date and due date. Grades for late assignments will be reduced by 20 points per day after the due date. Reports more than 5 days late will not be accepted. The extension policy for assignments does not apply to the midterm report.

Final project. Projects will be carried out by groups of three to four students each. See the class schedule for due dates for project proposals, presentations, and final report. Late projects will not be accepted except under special circumstances and with prior permission from the instructor.

Grading

CEE156 and 256 are offered for a letter grade only.

Assignments	500 points	(Five at 100 points each)
Midterm report	200 points
Final project	250 points	Short list = 10 points Proposal = 10 points Presentation = 50 points Final report =180 points
Attendance & participation	50 points	Including attendance, in-class exercise participation, scoring classmate presentations, etc.
Total	1000 points

  

Course Schedule (SUBJECT TO UPDATES)

Class	Date	Topics	Readings (before class)	Assignment
1	Mon  9-Jan	Course overview Building energy basics	None
2	Wed 11-Jan	System design process overview Setting energy performance targets  Intro to simulation and eQUEST  EXERCISE	Primary: eQUEST Tutorial pp 13-28, skim remainder of doc. (In Canvas "Readings" folder) Other: MEEB (11th): Chap. 1 and Sec. 9.2 MEEB (12th): Chap. 1 Lessons from Zero Carbon Prototype Energy Star design process description Getting to Net Zero Design Brief: Building Simulation   Simulation Literacy 101	#1 issued.
	Mon 16-Jan	No class	MLK Day
3	Wed 18-Jan	Heating and cooling loads	Primary: MEEB (11th& 12th): Sec. 7.3 MESB: Sec 2.3-2.7 Other: MEEB (11th& 12th): Sec 7.8 DOE2.2 Vol. 3 Topics - Overview of Load Calc Methodology (pp 129-131) (In “Readings” folder)	#1 DUE noon. #2 issued.
4	Mon 23-Jan	Building enclosure thermal performance and design options EXERCISE	Primary: MEEB (11th& 12th): Sec 7.5 MESB: Sec. 2.8 Other: "Rethinking the All-Glass Building", Environmental Building News, July 2010, searchworks.stanford.edu/view/9580188
5	Wed 25-Jan	Indoor environmental quality: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and ventilation Assignment #1 review EXERCISE	Primary: MEEB (11th): Sec. 4.1 & 4.2 MEEB (12th): Chap. 4 MESB: Sec. 1.6, 2.1, 6.3 Other: MEEB (11th& 12th): Chap. 5 Moving Air for Comfort (In Canvas “Readings” folder) Demand Controlled Ventilation	#2 DUE noon. #3 issued.
6	Mon 30-Jan	Lighting Part 1 Assignment #2 review EXERCISE	Primary: MEEB (11th) Sections 11.26, 11.34, 11.39 MEEB (11th) Sections 12.11-12.15 MEEB (12th): Sections 13.13, 13.23, 13.28 MEEB (12th) Sections 14.5-14.9 MESB: Chap 14 & 15 MESB: Chap 16 & 17 Other: Advanced Lighting Guidelines, Chapters 6 & 7. This is an excellent resource for energy efficient lighting design information. (In Canvas “Readings” folder)
7	Wed 1-Feb	Lighting Part 2	See listing for previous class.	#3 DUE noon. #4 posted.
8	Mon 6-Feb	Daylighting Assignment #3 review EXERCISE	Primary: MEEB (11th) Sections 12.3-12.6 MEEB (11th) Sections 14.1-14.6 MEEB (12th) Sections 8.1-8.9 Other: MEEB (11th&12th) Chapter 6 MEEB (11th) Sections 14.7-14.13 MEEB (12th) Section 8.10-8.15 MESB: Sec 17.4 "Doing Daylight Right", Environmental Building News, April 2012. See link to EBN below under "Additional References" Daylight Metrics Daylighting Rules of Thumb Daylighting Pattern Guide	Final project short list due.
9	Wed  8-Feb	Life-cycle cost analysis	Primary: Stanford Life Cycle Cost Analysis Guidelines, Section IV Technical Guidelines (pp 12-23). (In Canvas “Readings” folder) Other: MESB: Sec. 1.8, 1.9 Equest LCC Tutorial (8 MB). (In Canvas “Readings” folder)	#4 DUE noon   Midterm report assignment issued.
10	Mon 13-Feb	Field trip to on-campus building(s): Y2E2, Huang, & Gates	Gates Building Energy Audit Report. (In Canvas “Readings” folder) Y2E2 Plans. (In Canvas “Readings” folder) Y2E2 Article (on Canvas)	Final project proposal due.
11	Wed 15-Feb	HVAC system types Review Assignment #4	Primary: MEEB (11th): Sec 10.2 MEEB (12th): Sec 12.18 MESB: Sec 3.4 Other: MEEB (11th): Sec 10.1 MEEB (11th): Sec 10.5 MEEB (12th): 12.15-12.16	Midterm report due noon.
	Mon  20-Feb	No class	President’s Day
12	Wed 22-Feb	Psychrometrics Review midterm report	Primary: MEEB (11th): Sec. 8.12 MEEB (12th): Sec. 4.2, Sec 12.4(d) MESB: Sec. 2.2
13	Mon 27-Feb	Moving air	Primary: MESB: 6.5 & 6.6 Other: Advanced VAV Design Guide (14 MB), Duct Design chapter, pp 93 - 109
14	Wed 1-Mar	Cooling & heating equipment  Hydronics	Primary: MEEB (12th): Sec 12.5-12.8 MESB: Sec 4.1-4.6 Other: Cooltools Design Guide, advanced info on chilled water plant design MEEB, Section 10.3 (pp 393 - 420) Pipe Sizing by LCC. (In Canvas “Readings” folder)	#5 issued.
15	Mon 6-Mar	Natural ventilation EXERCISE (may be next class)	None
16	Wed 8-Mar	Complete natural ventilation	None	#5 due noon.
17	Mon  13-Mar	Final project presentations, part 1		Final project presentation ppt file due 10pm – Mar 12
18	Wed 15-Mar	Final project presentations, Part 2
		(no class meeting)		Final project report. Due Monday, Mar 20, 5pm

 

Additional References

Here is a somewhat random list of useful references.

Books & Guidelines

• Energy Principals in Architectural Design, by Edward Dean. 1981. Great classic on building energy, with nice illustrations, discussion of fundamental heat transfer. (In Canvas “Readings” folder)
• Advanced Energy Design Guides. Guides for 30% and 50% savings for several building types. Good source of ideas for energy efficiency measures. Free download. See also the technical support documents that describe the analysis for each guide; a good source of performance and cost information. https://www.ashrae.org/standards-research--technology/advanced-energy-design-guides . 
• Hensen, JLM. Building Performance Simulation for Design and Operation. Spon Press. Ask to check out my copy.
• ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals 2013. Reference source for lots of HVAC related stuff: thermal performance data, thermal comfort science, psychrometrics… Access to via Knovel: http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10619922. 
• AIA Energy Modeling Practice Guide. Written for architects on the topic of integrating energy modeling into the design process. http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB097932
• Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings, Volume 1 (http://bit.ly/2a6J6v4) and Volume 2 (http://bit.ly/29VOVwx). Pacific Gas & Electric

Standards

• ASHRAE Standards. 62.1 (ventilation for air quality), 90.1 (energy efficiency), 189.1 (green building) can be viewed online at http://ashrae.org/standards-research--technology/standards--guidelines.

Periodicals

• Environmental Building News. Very good editorial quality. Energy efficiency and green building focus. Subscription required. buildinggreen.com. Stanford access at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/9580188.
• High Performing Buildings. Magazine with very good building case studies. Free access. hpbmagazine.org.
• Good green building case studies. Good editorial quality. See “digital edition” link. Free access. http://greensource.construction.com.
• ASHRAE Journal. Good HVAC content. Subscription required. ashrae.org. Ask me if you want to see back issues.

Websites

• Building Green. Excellent resource for green building information. Stanford access at http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/9579200
• Energy Design Resources. Guidelines, design briefs, and case studies at this website sponsored by California utilities. energydesignresources.com.
• Labs for the 21^stwww.labs21century.gov. Guides, case studies, etc. for energy efficiency laboratory buildings.
• Advanced Lighting Guidelines. algonline.org. Great lighting design resource. Unfortunately, requires a subscription. 
• Environmental Design in University Curricula and Architectural Training in Europe, Knowledge Base at http://www.educate-sustainability.eu/home. Lots of reference information and resources. 

Software

• Climate Consultant. Creates useful summaries and plots of annual weather data. Download at http://www.energy-design-tools.aud.ucla.edu/. Free.
• Web-based comfort tool. Developed by UC Berkeley Center for the Built Environment. Performs calcs per ASHRAE Standard 55-2010.http://cbe.berkeley.edu/comforttool/.
• Energy simulation tool. www.doe2.com.
• Energy simulation tool. www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus‎.
• New graphical interface to EnergyPlus. https://simergy.lbl.gov/.
• Lighting design and rendering tool. www.agi32.com.
• Open Studio. A set of tools to support whole-building energy modeling with EnergyPlus and daylight modeling with Radiance. http://openstudio.nrel.gov/

Energy Audits

• Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits. ASHRAE. Includes “how-to” info. Not free, but there are some forms and templates that can be downloaded for free at: https://xp20.ashrae.org/PCBEA/PCBEA_Supplemental_Files.html. See especially “Energy Efficiency Measures to Consider” and “Part 2 from IEA ECBCS Annex 46 EPAP”, for lists of potential EEMs.
• Retrofit Depot, Rocky Mountain Institute. retrofitdepot.org. Case studies. Process guidelines, including Identifying Design Opportunities for Deep Energy Retrofits.
• Energy Star Building Upgrade Manual. Guide to energy efficiency retrofits. http://www.energystar.gov/buildings/tools-and-resources/building-upgrade-manual .
• Energy Process Assessment Protocol. Energy efficiency retrofit guide developed by the International Energy Agency. Maybe be downloaded for free at http://www.annex46.de/index_e.html. (Navigate to “Reports”).
• A Guide to Energy Audits. By Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. An overview of the energy auditing process. About 10 pages. http://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/pnnl-20956.pdf.