Browsing by Author "Muller, Regardt"
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- ItemDesign and assessment of an energy efficient office building utilising a building management system. A study of a use case in Cape Town.(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Muller, Regardt; Booysen, M. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. Electrical and Electronic Engineering.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: According to the WWF, food, water and energy security form the basis of any selfsufficient economy. A crisis in any of the three systems will directly affect the other two. The WWF believes that effectively averting such a crisis requires enhanced information, coordinated planning and adapting to a resource-scarce future. As a result of a global movement toward “green” or sustainable living and possibly boosted by the recently experienced crises in two of these systems, businesses in South Africa have adapted by investing in “green” or resource efficient facilities. The Green Building Council of South Africa, through their rating system, provides a certification process to acknowledge market leaders in this movement. With the development of modern buildings, electronic building systems and controls become increasingly complex, necessitating the use of a building management system. The V&A Waterfront’s No. 5 Silo building in Cape Town is no different. It is one of a number of buildings in the Silo district that makes use of a seawater district cooling system as an alternative source, primarily for air conditioning purposes. It also utilises a central air conditioning system that incorporates a number of energy saving features. All of its air conditioning systems are also monitored and controlled by a building management system. This research focusses on the design and assessment of an energy efficient office building, concentrating specifically on the role that a building management system plays in achieving energy efficiency. Various methods of reducing resource consumption or improving system efficiencies are investigated and discussed based on implementation, achievable savings, costs and other complexities. Focus areas include the use of alternative, more sustainable sources, various optimisation methods as well as closely monitoring and reporting of consumption data. The impact of a building management system and the green building rating system on a building project and specifically on its resource efficiency is also evaluated. This information gathered from existing literature is used to assess savings methods that are applied to the No. 5 Silo building. The design, construction and operation of its air conditioning systems are described in depth, focussing on energy saving practices and ways of quantifying the potential savings. The No. 5 Silo building management system is practically tested for its functionality and is used to gather operational data from the building to investigate potential energy savings. The data is processed, presented graphically and interpreted in terms of its usefulness, visible savings and other trends or events that are identified. The results confirm that substantial savings are achieved through the use of the district cooling system. It also quantifies and proves the previously unknown amount of energy saved through the economy cycle feature of central air handling units. The combined effect of the results and preceding tests also proves the building management system to be an invaluable tool for the monitoring and controlling of building systems from a central point. Transferability to other scenarios (buildings, regions) will be evaluated, and key lessons learned will be captured for the benefit of future ventures.