Web links Gadget not Working? Here are some more references

I'm not sure if anyone else has this issue but when I try to update the web links gadget it won't let me save it. The only way to update it is to delete it and then put all my links in on the new gadget. Any new links I get I will post here.


http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261911005058

Effect of Thermal Mass on performance of insulated building walls

Before Sketch

Quick Sketch

Here is the before sketch of the house. It is going to be my base to which I will draw another sketch of what it could look like after renovation. My big issue is what to do with the right side of the house. As stated in my previous posts skylights could play a big part in this renovation. Anyone have any ideas?

Skylight Roof Sketch

Section Sketch of Roof

Here my idea for the roof. You could put skylights in which allow energy to hit the thermal mass. This thermal mass would then radiate on both sides so you could use a fan to circulate the heat to the interior. This could also work for the garage roof and then blow into the house rather than down into the garage. The issue with that is the skylights on the garage would not be perpendicular to the sun or close to for very long.

Research Proposal Update

Here is my research proposal update. I've decided to leave out comparing a passive solar chalet with the house in Batchelor Heights as this isn't very practical. Instead I have decided to do a scale version of trombe walls to see what type and orientation is best. This can then be put towards the renovation to create the lowest cost and highest efficiency design.

Pass the Heat

By: Sean Bulman

Summary statement of proposed project: 

           

Solar energy is not a new technology but one which has taken a long path to how we use it today. According to U.S. Department of Energy solar energy was first used in 7th Century B.C. to create fire from what we would call a magnifying glass. The first use of solar energy to heat a building came 7 centuries later in Roman Bathhouses. They incorporated large south facing windows to allow the sun's warmth to enter. In the 1950's Architect Frank Bridgers designed the first commercial office building that utilized solar water heating and passive designs (US Department of Energy, 2013). This building is still in use today. Had all buildings incorporated these systems, the use of non-renewable sources to create energy could be at half of what it is today. Passive solar design uses the suns energy to heat thermal masses. During the day energy is conserved in the walls and floors and then released at night to regulate the temperature(Thorpe, D. 2011). Comparing homes built with this design to ones without in the same area one should be able to determine the benefits or downside of such design.

Purpose: 

The purpose of this research paper is to redefine a very old technology and put it towards a better use. Incorporating the sun's energy into the design of buildings through the use of hybrid passive/active systems. This may significantly decrease the costs of heating and cooling of homes and buildings, not just, in and around the Kamloops area, but in any province and our country.

Goals and objectives: 

The main goal of this project is to determine whether or not a hybrid system of solar and thermal mass can drastically decrease the overhead cost of building and operating a home in Kamloops, BC. Is the use of sunlight to heat thermal mass a reliable source compared to that of a furnace or air conditioner in an everyday home? Can the design be implicated in the Kamloops area? Would the building become too hot in the heat of Kamloops summer? Would the design only work in areas in direct sunlight or could houses along the south shore also benefit? Therefore the objective is to produce a renovation design that optimizes passive solar design on a house in Batchelor Heights.

Methodology and Analytical Approach: 

There have been multiple studies on passive solar design. Most of these studies are for creating a new house allowing all criteria to be met. This is why a renovation will be problematic to complete effectively. To create this renovation, different key elements will have to be researched. The types of thermal masses and size are the fundamentals. These will be compared with creating a scale version. Three types of orientation will be tested to represent the floor, wall and ceiling. After results are found the renovation design can start. Depending which orientation conserves the most energy that is what the main aspect of the renovation will entail. Design calculations will be done on the before and after to show if the renovation was beneficial. Overhead costs of the renovation will be compared to the energy saving calculations to prove that passive solar design renovations are practical.

Previous Studies and Related Information: 

There is one Green house in the Kamloops area which was recently built;this is the Equilibrium Green Home in Sun Rivers. This house incorporates many green initiatives into a design, one of which is passive solar. Unfortunately within Kamloops there are no big companies that specialize in passive solar for their designs. This means the project will show Kamloops that passive solar design is affordable and not just eco-friendly. The unique issue with Kamloops and passive solar design is how hot the summers can be thus forcing an exclusive design for the area.

Plans for Dissemination of Work:

The research will be shared through the use a blog. This will allow for everything to be fully customized the way I see fit. All research will be updated regularly, along with results. A comments section will be available to allow readers to share their ideas and opinions towards the project. This will also allow for any companies to see the work and contact me or the ARET program. A section in the local newspaper could also be acquired to share results with people in the area. Thank you letters will be sent to anyone involved in the research with the given results to not only show the appreciation but insight them on passive solar design.

Contribution of the project to my Academic goals and objectives:

Since elementary school I have aspired to become an Architect. This led me to discovering the ARET program at a university fair in Ontario. I enjoyed the thought of enrolling in a more hands on program within the engineering world rather than a solely knowledge based program. I am now enrolled in my second year and since then my interests have changed. I once looked at just building monster homes but now I see how much more a building can be within the environment. This is what brought me to proposing passive solar homes in and around the Kamloops area. My academic goals may vary from month to month depending on what new insights class brings to mind but my overall objective is still to become an architect. Therefore implementing this applied research project would suit my portfolio. Not only would it increase my knowledge about Green Designs but it would allow me to put it to use in coming years. Passive solar design could be my signature in the engineering world.

Budget: 

I would like to contact ACR systems INC. which is located in Surrey BC for possibly donating a temperature data logger. The sensors would be placed in the scaled versions of the trombe walls to measure which one is more beneficial. This would look good on the company as the logger is being put towards sustainable building designs.  A list of expenses is listed below;

Loggers: $600.00 - Sensors: $150.00 each, Logger: $300.00

Total: $600.00

Trombe Walls

There seems to be some confusion on what a Trombe wall is. This post is to briefly explain that. A trombe wall is a south facing wall which is made of a certain material that will absorbe a lot of heat energy. During the day this energy is collected then it is released at night, moderating the room/house temperature.

My previous post indicated two things. One making this wall out of water, and two creating the mass as the ceiling. Water has a very high volumetric heat capacity which means it can retain more heat for a longer period. In the image below you can see how the winter sun sits lower in the sky and allows for heat transfer to the wall while as in the summer the window has a sun shade blocking heat transfer to the wall to keep the house cool.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/de/passive_solar_design.html

My idea was to transfer this trombe wall to the roof and in doing so it would retain the view from the windows as well as having the same effect as the wall. The main issue would be the summer sun. How could you block out the heat? I suppose having fans to circulate the room but also having fans to blow air out of the ceiling space could work. If you look two posts ago, I posted pictures of the house and you can see that the front of the house has a pitched roof in the southern direction unlike the picture above. Therefore if you could utilize that space for passive solar you could create quite an efficient design.

Water in the roof? and not the leaky type.

While doing some sketching, I really started to debate options with the roof. Most solar passive design homes have the typical flat pitched roof to maximize the window area in the southern direction. To rebuild a roof one can easily being looking into 20000 dollars or more. Not including the cost of removing materials. This is quite an issue with renovating this house. This is what lead me to researching into water trombe walls. I found a report which was written for the university of Oregon. I had never heard of water as use for thermal mass in construction, but when you look at cities such as Toronto which is built beside a lake, it drastically moderates the temperature. Now what if I were to change the orientation of the walls to be a ceiling? Then with the use of fans, circulation could occur. Again the issue with that would be supporting water or concrete. Anyone have any ideas or opinions?

Pictures!

Here are a few pictures I took of the front of the house.

Right side of the house, as you can see the backyard is at the second level.

Front of the house, lots of room for extra windows!
You can see how much sun this house gets, just need to utilize it.