2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference

This paper refers to a study on the application of the thermodynamic analysis method proposed by
POPPE to model the thermodynamic behavior of countercurrent water cooling towers, to improve
performance. This method replaces the traditional method used today, more simple and less accurate, proposed by
MERKEL. The objective is to produce a mathematical routine using this method, to be used in supervisory systems in order to optimize the operation of these towers, looking at energy savings.

Early stage design has fundamental impact on building performance as they place significant limits on later design options. The objective of this study was to develop a simplified and scalable approach for optimizing the form, massing and orientation in early design stage. In this approach, a reference building was first defined with pre-selected building materials and assemblies and HVAC system for the intended climate and site conditions. The energy performance of this reference building was estimated by whole building energy simulation such as EnergyPlus at the same time. Heat fluxes and irradiation fluxes received by these interior surfaces of enclosure were also extracted from the reference building simulation.

This paper is about the application of Mixed Methods for design professionals and social science researchers.   The purpose is to describe an intellectual commons which integrates qualitative and quantitative data related to sustainable design and operation of the built environment. Once described, the proposed intellectual commons would include a form of communication based on data described by symbolism and logic to be shared by the broad range of worldviews in our global society. This form of communication models that which is common in the process of problem solving for many academic and professional disciplines.

Designing energy efficient buildings has been traditionally viewed as an optimization problem with a few stipulated constraints which could be tackled by mathematical methods relying on detailed computer simulations. Recently it has been argued that the conceptual building design process should inherently and explicitly contain an interactive process which captures the synergy between automated performance prediction with the human capabilities to perceive, evaluate and ultimately select one (or a few) suitable solution(s). The need to address multi-criteria requirements makes it even more valuable for a designer to know the “latitude” or “degrees of freedom” he/she has in changing certain design variables while achieving preset criteria such as energy performance, life cycle cost, environmental impacts, etc.