Cooling season performance of an earth-sheltered office/dormitory building in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Technical Report · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6795979· OSTI ID:6795979

Christian, J. E.

Detailed hourly measurements taken in and around an underground office-dormitory building for two summers document energy savings; whole building-component interface problems; and specific cooling contributions from earth contact, interior thermal mass, and an economizer. The Joint Institute Dormitory (JID) saves about 30% compared with well-built above-grade buildings in a climate typical of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and has the potential to save as much as 50%. The detailed measurements, which include extensive thermal comfort data, indicate that at least 90% of the occupants are comfortable all of the time. The thermal performance measurements and analysis determine that the peak cooling requirement of this building is 50% less than that of well-built above-grade structures, permitting a cost savings on installed cooling capacity. The dominant building components contributing to the good thermal performance are the structural thermal mass, the earth-covered roof, and the earth contact provided by the bermed walls and slab floor. The 372-m/sup 2/ (4000 gross ft/sup 2/) building used about $300 (at 5.7 cents/kWh) to cool and ventilate from May through September. Eliminating a number of building design and construction anomalies could improve the whole-building performance and reduce the seasonal cooling cost another $85. Close examination of the thermal performance of this building revealed that a very efficient heat pump and thermally sound envelope do not necessarily produce otpimum performance without careful attention given to component interface details. 8 references, 24 figures, 12 tables.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6795979
• Report Number(s): ORNL/CON-151; ON: DE84016679
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320101* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Residential Buildings-- (-1987)
BUILDINGS
EARTH-COVERED BUILDINGS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
FEDERAL REGION IV
HEAT PUMPS
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
OAK RIDGE
OFFICE BUILDINGS
PERFORMANCE
TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT
TENNESSEE
USA