A study of Arkansas K--12 school building energy requirements and an evaluation of improvements toward energy efficiency using building energy simulations.

摘要

This thesis is a combination of several published papers and projects. All are intended to contribute towards the goal of understanding and reducing the energy consumption and operating costs of Arkansas' K-12 school buildings. Utility data from 84 school buildings were collected, and a set of benchmark values for electricity, natural gas, and water usage has been defined. A survey regarding facilities and operations practices was administered to school superintendents, and a statistical analysis of the responses determined that the needs of small districts are significantly different than those of large districts. In addition, a simulation study of various replacement options for unitary HVAC systems has been completed, including an economic analysis. Finally, an energy simulation of a typical school building has been executed using eQUEST/DOE 2.2 software, and various retrofit options have been evaluated for energy savings potential, ranging from 1% to 22% total energy savings.