High-Performance Ducts in Hot-Dry Climates Marc Hoeschele, Rick Chitwood, Alea German, and Elizabeth Weitzel Alliance for Residential Building Innovation July 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/scitech 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 High-Performance Ducts in Hot-Dry Climates 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: Marc Hoeschele, Rick Chitwood, Alea German, and Elizabeth Weitzel Alliance for Residential Building Innovation Davis Energy Group, Team Lead 123 C Street Davis, CA 95616 NREL Technical Monitor: Stacey Rothgeb Prepared under Subcontract No. KNDJ-0-40340-04 July 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 ........................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................ viii Definitions ................................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................................... x Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... xi 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Background on High-Performance Distribution Systems ................................................................ 2 1.3.1 Ducts in Conditioned Space ................................................................................................ 6 1.3.2 Nonvented Attics ................................................................................................................ 6 1.3.3 High-Performance Attics .................................................................................................... 6 1.3.4 Deeply Buried Ducts ........................................................................................................... 6 1.3.4 Distribution System Design ................................................................................................ 7 1.4 Project Description .......................................................................................................................... 7 1.4.1 Team Members and Partners .............................................................................................. 7 1.4.2 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 8 1.4.3 General Technical Approach .............................................................................................. 8 2 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Builder Recruitment and House Selection ....................................................................................... 9 2.2 Field Data Collection ..................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Project Coordination ...................................................................................................................... 12 2.4 Evaluation Methods ....................................................................................................................... 12 2.4.1 General Approach ............................................................................................................. 12 2.4.2 Field Duct Delivery Effectiveness Evaluation .................................................................. 12 2.4.3 Uncertainty Analysis ......................................................................................................... 14 2.4.4 BEopt Modeling ................................................................................................................ 15 2.4.5 Costs for High-Performance Duct Strategies .................................................................... 17 3 High-Performance Duct Implementation .......................................................................................... 18 3.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 18 3.2 Nonvented Attic ............................................................................................................................. 18 3.3 Ducts in Conditioned Spaces with Attic Chases ............................................................................ 19 3.3.1 Wathen Castanos ............................................................................................................... 20 3.3.2 G.J. Gardner ...................................................................................................................... 22 3.3.3 Northwest Homes ............................................................................................................. 25 3.4 High-Performance Attics ............................................................................................................... 28 3.4.1 Pacific Housing ................................................................................................................. 28 4 Field Results ....................................................................................................................................... 29 4.1 Data Collection .............................................................................................................................. 29 4.2 Measured, Design, and Seasonal Delivery Effectiveness .............................................................. 30 4.3 Observed Delivery Effectiveness ................................................................................................... 32 5 Modeling Results ................................................................................................................................ 34 5.1 Base Case ....................................................................................................................................... 34 5.2 Projected Energy Savings and Distribution Effectiveness ............................................................. 34 5.3 Additional Parametric Analysis Results ........................................................................................ 39 5.3.1 Nonvented Attics .............................................................................................................. 40 5.3.2 Duct Leakage .................................................................................................................... 41 5.3.3 Compact Duct Design ......................................................................................................