The Design and Analysis of Energy Efficient Building Envelopes for the Commercial Buildings by Mixed- level Factorial Design and Statistical Methods

One of the goals in the engineering education is how to apply the understanding of engineering and statistical methods to real world problems. Many students conducted experiments and simulations using the knowledge gained from the experimental design, design & analysis of energy systems courses. This paper shows the student apply the design the experiments methods and analyze the data using statistical methods. Energy performance of building envelopes is critical to determine how much energy is required for space heating and cooling. The energy efficient building envelope’s design is not only enable permanent ongoing reduction in energy consumption, but also improve the occupant comfort and air quality for the millions of populations. Students used the mixed factorial design method during the design phase to figure out the significant factors and their effects. Building envelopes including wall, window, roof and door were selected as the interesting factors regarding to the different layers, materials and insulations. Response factors were: (1) annual building energy consumption, (2) cooling energy consumption, and (3) heating energy consumption in the small-sized commercial building respectively. Hence, this study focuses on the design and analysis of the buildings envelopes by energy modelling tool (e.g. TRACE TM 700) and statistical tool (e.g. Minitab ® 17). The design of building envelopes continued on the previous integrated ventilation systems (e.g. desiccant wheel and energy recovery wheel systems with variable air volume). Data analysis and simulation results (e.g. contour plot, response surface plot) indicated energy reduction more than 16.6% along with the humidity reduction by the aforementioned energy efficient design. This design will offer valuable options for retrofitting and new construction for the next generation and societies.