Experimental investigation on energy saving potential for thermally activated buildings integrated with the active cooling system

ABSTRACT

A thermally activated building system (TABS) is the most promising technology for reducing heat gain, cooling demand, and improved indoor comfort inside the built environment. This study investigates the energy consumption and thermal environment performance of the cooling tower-based thermally activated building system (passive system) integrated with a chiller unit (active cooling system). Energy consumption and indoor environment parameters, such as heat flux, indoor air, wall, floor, and the operative temperature, were measured in two computer laboratories of the same size and orientation operated with a chiller unit and chiller-integrated passive system. This strategy involved pre-cooling the building thermal mass during unoccupied hours via TABS and continuously using the system while maintaining zone temperatures at the comfort region during the occupied period. The results show that chiller-integrated TABS has a maximum heat gain of 10 W/m² and maintains a mean radiant temperature from 24°C to 26°C for 80% of the interval. Furthermore, due to the pre-cooling effects of TABS, chiller-integrated TABS has a peak monthly energy savings of 6% and a CO₂ emission reduction of 8% compared to an active cooling system.

KEYWORDS:

• Chiller system
• energy consumption
• peak demand shift
• thermally activated building system

Acknowledgement

The work was carried out as a part of Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore (VIT) green campus initiatives. We wish to record our deep sense of gratitude and profound thanks to our Honorable Vice Presidents for keen interest, inspiring guidance, constant encouragement to this work. Hereby, I acknowledge that the Estate Team, VIT, has provided required details and support to conduct all the tests. The authors thank VIT for providing VIT SEED GRANT for carrying out this research work. Also, the authors thank Dr Vijesh V Joshi for sharing weather data, which were received from the VIT SEED GRANT-2641. Finally, the first author acknowledges the fellowship received from the VIT management to carry out this research work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).