Energy Audit Data Review Analysis And Modeling Final Report

Author : Tabitha Sprau
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (894 download)

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Download or read book Improving Energy Audit Process and Report Outcomes Through Planning Initiatives written by Tabitha Sprau and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy audits and energy models are an important aspect of the retrofit design process, as they provide project teams with an opportunity to evaluate a facilities current building systems' and energy performance. The information collected during an energy audit is typically used to develop an energy model and an energy audit report that are both used to assist in making decisions about the design and implementation of energy conservation measures in a facility. The current lack of energy auditing standards results in a high degree of variability in energy audit outcomes depending on the individual performing the audit. The research presented is based on the conviction that performing an energy audit and producing a value adding energy model for retrofit buildings can benefit from a revised approach.The research was divided into four phases, with the initial three phases consisting of:1.) process mapping activity - aimed at reducing variability in the energy auditing andenergy modeling process.2.) survey analysis -- To examine the misalignment between how industry members usethe top energy modeling tools compared to their intended use as defined by softwarerepresentatives.3.) sensitivity analysis -- analysis of the affect key energy modeling inputs are having onenergy modeling analysis results.The initial three phases helped define the need for an improved energy audit approach that better aligns data collection with facility owners' needs and priorities. The initial three phases also assisted in the development of a multi-criteria decision support tool that incorporates a House of Quality approach to guide a pre-audit planning activity.For the fourth and final research phase explored the impacts and evaluation methods of a pre-audit planning activity using two comparative energy audits as case studies. In each case, an energy audit professionals was asked to complete an audit using their traditional methods along with an audit which involved them first participating in a pre-audit planning activity that aligned the owner's priorities with the data collection. A comparative analysis was then used to evaluate the effects of the pre-audit planning activity in developing a more strategic method for collecting data and representing findings in an energy audit report to a facility owner.The case studies demonstrated that pre-audit planning has the potential to improve the efficiency of an energy audit process through reductions in transition time waste. The cases also demonstrated the value of audit report designs that are perceived by owners to be project specific vs. generic. The research demonstrated the ability to influence and alter an auditors' behavior through participating in a pre-audit planning activity. It also shows the potential benefits of using the House of Quality as a method of aligning data collection with owner's goals and priorities to develop reports that have increased value.