Open Access

ARTICLE

Energy-Efficient Approaches for a Machine Tool Building in a University through Field Measurement and Energy Modelling

Kusnandar¹, Win-Jet Luo^1,2, Indra Permana¹, Fu-Jen Wang^2,*, Gantulga Bayarkhuu²

1 Graduate Institute of Precision Manufacturing, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
2 Department of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Energy Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taichung, Taiwan

* Corresponding Author: Fu-Jen Wang. Email:

Energy Engineering 2023, 120(6), 1387-1399. https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2023.027459

Received 31 October 2022; Accepted 26 December 2022; Issue published 03 April 2023

Abstract

The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system consumes nearly 50% of the building’s energy, especially in Taiwan with a hot and humid climate. Due to the challenges in obtaining energy sources and the negative impacts of excessive energy use on the environment, it is essential to employ an energy-efficient HVAC system. This study conducted the machine tools building in a university. The field measurement was carried out, and the data were used to conduct energy modelling with EnergyPlus (EP) in order to discover some improvements in energy-efficient design. The validation between field measurement and energy modelling was performed, and the error rate was less than 10%. The following strategies were proposed in this study based on several energy-efficient approaches, including room temperature settings, chilled water supply temperature settings, chiller coefficient of performance (COP), shading, and building location. Energy-efficient approaches have been evaluated and could reduce energy consumption annually. The results reveal that the proposed energy-efficient approaches of room temperature settings (3.8%), chilled water supply temperature settings (2.1%), chiller COP (5.9%), using shading (9.1%), and building location (3.0%), respectively, could reduce energy consumption. The analysis discovered that using a well-performing HVAC system and building shading were effective in lowering the amount of energy used, and the energy modelling method could be an effective and satisfactory tool in determining potential energy savings.

---

Keywords

---