Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation Jordan Dentz and Eric Ansanelli Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative

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Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation Jordan Dentz and Eric Ansanelli Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation Jordan Dentz and Eric Ansanelli Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative January 2015 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, subcontractors, or affiliated partners makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone: 865.576.8401 fax: 865.576.5728 email: mailto:[email protected] Available for sale to the public, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 phone: 800.553.6847 fax: 703.605.6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation Prepared for: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory On behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America Program Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 15013 Denver West Parkway Golden, CO 80401 NREL Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 Prepared by: Jordan Dentz and Eric Ansanelli Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative The Levy Partnership, Inc. 1776 Broadway, Suite 2205 New York, NY 10019 NREL Technical Monitor: Stacey Rothgeb Prepared under Subcontract No. KNDJ-0-40347-05 January 2015 iii The work presented in this report does not represent performance of any product relative to regulated minimum efficiency requirements. The laboratory and/or field sites used for this work are not certified rating test facilities. The conditions and methods under which products were characterized for this work differ from standard rating conditions, as described. Because the methods and conditions differ, the reported results are not comparable to rated product performance and should only be used to estimate performance under the measured conditions. iv Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................ vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vi Definitions .................................................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... viii Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... ix 1 Introduction and Background ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Thermostatic Radiator Valve Literature ....................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Gaps .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Relevance to Building America’s Goals ....................................................................................... 8 1.6 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 8 2 Methods and Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Field Experiment .......................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 Field Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 10 2.2.1 Field Data Quality and Processing ................................................................................ 10 2.2.2 Graphical Analysis ........................................................................................................ 11 2.2.3 Pre- and Post-Thermostatic Radiator Valve Installation Space Temperature Comparison .................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.4 Mild and Severe Heating Weather Space Temperature Comparison ............................ 15 2.3 Utility Bill Analysis for Entire Test Property ............................................................................. 15 2.4 Building Energy Optimization Program Conceptual Payback Model ........................................ 15 3 Results ................................................................................................................................................. 16 3.1 Effect of Thermostatic Radiator Valves on Indoor Space Temperature ..................................... 16 3.2 Thermostatic Radiator Valve Performance in Mild and Severe Heating Weather ..................... 16 3.3 Effect of the Building-Wide Thermostatic Radiator Valve Installation on Space Heating Energy Use ................................................................................................................................. 17 3.4 Cost-Benefit Conceptual Model Results .................................................................................... 18 3.5 Resident and Superintendent Interviews .................................................................................... 19 4 Discussion ........................................................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Influence of Steam System Configuration on Thermostatic Radiator Valve Performance ........ 20 4.1.1 Air Venting Imbalance .................................................................................................. 20 4.1.2 One-Pipe Convector Radiator Considerations ............................................................... 20 4.1.3 Boiler Control Setpoints ................................................................................................ 21 4.2 Existing Level and Character of Overheating ............................................................................. 22 4.3 Resident Behavior and Perception .............................................................................................. 22 4.4 Ventilation System ..................................................................................................................... 23 4.5 Thermostatic Radiator Valve Considerations ............................................................................. 23 4.6 Cost-Benefit Analysis ................................................................................................................. 23 4.7 Impacts and Tradeoffs ................................................................................................................ 24 5 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 25 5.1 Research Questions ..................................................................................................................... 25 5.2 Key Lesson: Monitor Space Temperatures and Balance Steam Distribution ............................. 26 5.3 Resident Interaction .................................................................................................................... 26 5.4 Future Research .......................................................................................................................... 27 References ................................................................................................................................................. 28 Appendix .................................................................................................................................................... 29 v List of Figures Figure 1. TRV schematic (Figure courtesy of Danfoss, Inc.) .................................................................. 3 Figure 2. TRV operation (Figure courtesy of Danfoss, Inc.) ................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Typical convector with datalogger, thermocouples, and TRV installed ............................. 10 Figure 4. Typical
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