Reducing the peaks of internal air-conditioning loads by use of temperature swings

The computer program developed as a part of the present project is a standard numerical technique for calculating transient heat transfer through a one-dimensional wall. The extension of the program is to account for the varying space temperature that is regulated by the throttling range of the controller, The resulting computer program gives results that agree with experimental measurements for the case of internal heat addition in a masonry test chamber. This computer program can then be used to verify algorithms in commercial energy-calculation programs. The concept of a building in a controlled swing to the space temperature offers the possibility of reducing peak cooling loads and thereby opens the possibility of reducing demand changes. The summary of the results of the tests of four different throttling ranges is shown. The measurements and calculations indicated a steady-state component of approximately 0.2 kw due to conduction through the wall; so this value was subtracted from all heat extraction values since it is the reduction of the cooling due to the triangular pulse that is of interest. With a throttling range of 6.7/degree/C that results in a temperature swing of 2.7/degree/C, the reduction in peak heat extraction rate was 34%. It ismore » important to observe that this very favorable percentage of reduction occurred with the triangular pulse of internal heat input. If instead of the sharp peak of the triangle the profile were more blunt, the percentage of peak shaving would be less. Nevertheless, the magnitudes are such that the application of temperature swings seems attractive. 6 refs.« less