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Measured Performance of a Varied Airflow Small-Diameter Duct System

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In this study, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America team IBACOS built on research previously done in two new-construction unoccupied test houses-one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Poerschke and Stecher 2014) and one in Fresno, California (Stecher and Poerschke 2013). Specific traditional central air distribution systems were installed in each of these low-load homes. For this study, the cold-climate new-construction unoccupied test house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was modified to test the performance of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system with varied airflow and small-diameter ducts.

The main goal of the small-diameter duct system is to simplify the task of bringing ductwork inside conditioned space, particularly on the single-story slab-on-grade type of home that is prevalent in the South and Southeast. Guidance is provided here to homebuilders and HVAC contractors on cost and performance tradeoffs between the conventional duct system and the small-diameter duct system.

Comparisons were made between variable-capacity heat pump operation modes with three constant airflow rates to determine the ideal tradeoff between maximizing thermal comfort and minimizing fan energy consumption.

ASHRAE Standard 55 (ASHRAE 2010a) was used to set limit metrics for temporal temperature variation; Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manual RS (Rutkowski 1997) was used to set a limit on spatial temperature uniformity (room-to-thermostat uniformity). The small diameter duct system was able to meet the temporal temperature variation limits much better than the spatial temperature uniformity limits.

TO4 2.1.2: High Velocity Space Cond. Systems

Citation Formats

TY - DATA AB - In this study, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America team IBACOS built on research previously done in two new-construction unoccupied test houses-one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Poerschke and Stecher 2014) and one in Fresno, California (Stecher and Poerschke 2013). Specific traditional central air distribution systems were installed in each of these low-load homes. For this study, the cold-climate new-construction unoccupied test house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was modified to test the performance of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system with varied airflow and small-diameter ducts. The main goal of the small-diameter duct system is to simplify the task of bringing ductwork inside conditioned space, particularly on the single-story slab-on-grade type of home that is prevalent in the South and Southeast. Guidance is provided here to homebuilders and HVAC contractors on cost and performance tradeoffs between the conventional duct system and the small-diameter duct system. Comparisons were made between variable-capacity heat pump operation modes with three constant airflow rates to determine the ideal tradeoff between maximizing thermal comfort and minimizing fan energy consumption. ASHRAE Standard 55 (ASHRAE 2010a) was used to set limit metrics for temporal temperature variation; Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manual RS (Rutkowski 1997) was used to set a limit on spatial temperature uniformity (room-to-thermostat uniformity). The small diameter duct system was able to meet the temporal temperature variation limits much better than the spatial temperature uniformity limits. TO4 2.1.2: High Velocity Space Cond. Systems AU - Poerschke, Andrew DB - Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI) DP - Open EI | National Renewable Energy Laboratory DO - 10.25984/2204230 KW - building america KW - HVAC KW - bulkhead KW - residential KW - small diameter duct KW - static pressure KW - cold KW - new construction KW - hot dry KW - varied airflow KW - variable capacity heat pump KW - ACCA Manual RS KW - temperature KW - BuildingAmerica KW - low load KW - unoccupied house KW - comfort KW - airflow LA - English DA - 2016/04/27 PY - 2016 PB - Ibacos Innovation T1 - Measured Performance of a Varied Airflow Small-Diameter Duct System UR - https://doi.org/10.25984/2204230 ER -
Export Citation to RIS
Poerschke, Andrew. Measured Performance of a Varied Airflow Small-Diameter Duct System . Ibacos Innovation, 27 April, 2016, Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). https://doi.org/10.25984/2204230.
Poerschke, A. (2016). Measured Performance of a Varied Airflow Small-Diameter Duct System . [Data set]. Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). Ibacos Innovation. https://doi.org/10.25984/2204230
Poerschke, Andrew. Measured Performance of a Varied Airflow Small-Diameter Duct System . Ibacos Innovation, April, 27, 2016. Distributed by Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI). https://doi.org/10.25984/2204230
@misc{OEDI_Dataset_5492, title = {Measured Performance of a Varied Airflow Small-Diameter Duct System }, author = {Poerschke, Andrew}, abstractNote = {In this study, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America team IBACOS built on research previously done in two new-construction unoccupied test houses-one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Poerschke and Stecher 2014) and one in Fresno, California (Stecher and Poerschke 2013). Specific traditional central air distribution systems were installed in each of these low-load homes. For this study, the cold-climate new-construction unoccupied test house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was modified to test the performance of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system with varied airflow and small-diameter ducts.

The main goal of the small-diameter duct system is to simplify the task of bringing ductwork inside conditioned space, particularly on the single-story slab-on-grade type of home that is prevalent in the South and Southeast. Guidance is provided here to homebuilders and HVAC contractors on cost and performance tradeoffs between the conventional duct system and the small-diameter duct system.

Comparisons were made between variable-capacity heat pump operation modes with three constant airflow rates to determine the ideal tradeoff between maximizing thermal comfort and minimizing fan energy consumption.

ASHRAE Standard 55 (ASHRAE 2010a) was used to set limit metrics for temporal temperature variation; Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manual RS (Rutkowski 1997) was used to set a limit on spatial temperature uniformity (room-to-thermostat uniformity). The small diameter duct system was able to meet the temporal temperature variation limits much better than the spatial temperature uniformity limits.

TO4 2.1.2: High Velocity Space Cond. Systems}, url = {https://data.openei.org/submissions/5492}, year = {2016}, howpublished = {Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI), Ibacos Innovation, https://doi.org/10.25984/2204230}, note = {Accessed: 2025-04-23}, doi = {10.25984/2204230} }
https://dx.doi.org/10.25984/2204230

Details

Data from Apr 27, 2016

Last updated Nov 1, 2023

Submitted Apr 27, 2016

Organization

Ibacos Innovation

Contact

Andrew Poerschke

Authors

Andrew Poerschke

Ibacos Innovation

Research Areas

DOE Project Details

Project Name Building America

Project Number FY14 AOP 1.9.1.19

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