Accelerating Optimal Integration of Energy Efficiency Strategies with Industrialized Modular Construction: Preprint
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Industrialized Construction Innovation team first introduced the Industrialized Construction Assessment Framework to achieve affordable, net-zero energy (NZE) modular multifamily buildings in the 2020 ACEEE paper "Integrating Energy Efficiency Strategies with Industrialized Construction for our Clean Energy Future." Since then, NREL has continued to drive the ambitious plan to accelerate optimal integration of energy efficiency strategies during industrialized construction with little or no additional cost, labor, and production time. This follow-on paper introduces the Energy in Modular (EMOD) buildings method and presents NREL's research efforts over the last two years in collaboration with industry, including affordable housing partners. NREL has developed an idealized NZE modular multifamily building design that incorporates five energy efficiency strategies well suited for industrialized construction in factories: (1) envelope thermal control, (2) envelope infiltration control, (3) mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, (4) smart controls, and (5) solar plus storage. This paper highlights results from leveraging design for manufacturing and assembly principles, testing, and validation pilots with factory partners; demonstrating pod prototypes in test stand at NREL; and performing simulations. Overall, these research efforts address barriers to whole-building system integration, such as poor installation quality of thermal and air barriers; lack of unitized systems for space conditioning, energy recovery and ventilation, and water heating; problematic on-site installation, commissioning, and configuration of controls; and lack of cost-effective integration for grid-friendly design and emerging technologies. Conclusively, the paper delineates next steps for future work with NREL's partners toward developing a transformational pathway for our clean energy future.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1885588
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5500-83264; MainId:84037; UUID:a52a5675-fd13-47c1-bd1c-8c0c24af52f3; MainAdminID:65193
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the 2022 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, 21-26 August 2022, Pacific Grove, California
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
affordable housing
building energy modeling
controls
design
design for energy efficiency
design for manufacturing and assembly
EMOD
energy efficiency
energy in modular buildings method
envelope
grid-interactive efficient buildings
industrialized construction
Industry collaboration
infiltration
MEP systems
modular construction
net-zero energy
prototyping
simulation modeling
solar plus storage
thermal performance