Welcome to Julia Thorpe's AE Senior Thesis e-Portfolio
Thesis Proposal
This proposal was updated 1.11.06.
The primary goal of this thesis project is to modify the existing HVAC system to reduce energy consumption and yearly utility costs. Secondary goals include optimizing the artificial lighting in the laboratory spaces and office pods located on the second and third floors as well as resizing affected electrical system components throughout the building. The proposal contains an overview of the building and mechanical systems, proposed redesign, breadth work, and schedule of work.
The mechanical redesign will compare the energy and cost reducing capability of a variety of system components and configurations. These components include heat exchangers, run around coils, ground-coupled heat pumps, and thermal storage. In addition, an analysis of the current duct system will be carried out to determine if reducing the duct sizes and/or fan sizes is possible. After each component/configuration has been analyzed individually, they will be compared to determine the most economic and cost effective system.
Aan analysis of the lighting in the laboratory spaces and office pods
will be performed. Lighting can be one of the largest loads in a commercial
building. Therefore, a well designed lighting system can provide adequate
lighting and also conserve energy for the owner. The integration of the
plate heat exchangers may have a noticeable impact on electricity demand.
Optimizing the lighting of the laboratory and office pods will have a
significant impact on the electrical load as those spaces occupy the majority
of the second and third floors of the building. Therefore the electrical
system to these spaces will need to be updated with new loads.