Measurement of thermal regain in duct systems located in partially conditioned buffer spaces. Informal report
Thermal losses from duct systems have been shown to be a significant fraction of the heat or cooling energy delivered by the space-conditioning equipment. However, when the ducts are located in a partially conditioned buffer space such as a basement, a portion of these losses are effectively regained through system interactions with the building. This paper presents two methods of measuring this regain effect. One is based on the relative thermal resistances between the conditioned space and the buffer space, on the one hand, and between the buffer space and the outside, on the other. The second method is based on a measured drop in the buffer-space temperature when steps are taken to reduce the duct losses. The second method is compared with results of an extensive research project that are published in a major professional society handbook. The thermal regain fraction using the drop in basement temperature was found to be 0.68, while that obtained from an analysis of the system performance data, without using the basement temperature, was 0.59.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76CH00016
- OSTI ID:
- 10108333
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-60978; ON: DE95004839; TRN: 95:001232
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jul 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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