CIRA: A Microcomputer-based energy analysis and auditing tool for residential applications

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6455538

Sonderegger, R C; Dixon, J D

Computerized, Instrumented, Residential Audit (CIRA) is a collection of programs for energy analysis and energy auditing of residential buildings. CIRA is written for microcomputers with a CP/M operating system and 64K RAM. Its principal features are: user-friendliness, dynamic defaults, file-oriented structure, design energy analysis capability, economic optimization of retrofits, graphic and tabular output to screen and printer. To calculate monthly energy consumptions both for design and retrofit analyses CIRA uses a modified degree-day and degree-night approach, taking into account solar gains, IR losses to the sky, internal gains and ground heat transfer; the concept of solar storage factor addresses the delayed effect of daytime solar gains while the concept of effective thermal mass ensures proper handling of changes in thermostat setting from day to night; aie infiltration is modeled using the LBL infiltration model based on effective leakage area; HVAC system performance is modeled using correlations developed for DOE-2.1. For any given budget, CIRA can also develop an optimally sequenced list of retrofits with the highest combined savings. Long run-times necessary for economic optimization of retrofits are greatly reduced by using a method based on partial derivatives of energy consumption with respect to principal building parameters. Energy calculations of CIRA compare well with those of DOE-2.1 and with measured energy consumptions from a sample of monitored houses.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 6455538
• Report Number(s): LBL-15270; CONF-830328-1; ON: DE83009143
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320101* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Residential Buildings-- (-1987)
AIR INFILTRATION
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
AUDITS
BUILDINGS
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
COMPUTERS
DEGREE DAYS
ECONOMICS
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
ENERGY AUDITS
ENERGY LOSSES
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
HEAT GAIN
HEAT LOSSES
HEATING SYSTEMS
LOSSES
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
MICROPROCESSORS
OPTIMIZATION
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
RETROFITTING
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING SYSTEMS