Zone conditioning in a California foothill house

摘要

The principal focus of the reported research is the performance of the installed zoned air distribution system in a house located in the foothills northeast of Sacramento California. The 297 m(sup 2) two story house contained a central air conditioner and an air distribution system with four dampered supply duct legs. The air conditioning system included a two speed fan and two speed compressor, with the air handler placed inside a closet and almost all the ducts located inside the building envelope. The uninsulated sheet metal ducts ran inside a space between stories and in interior walls. The performance parameters examined included: (1) duct leakage, (2) duct conduction, (3) zoning performance and (4) equipment efficiency impacts. In conclusion, two major points were made concerning the test house. The first was that substantial energy benefits were d by placing the ducts inside the conditioned space. The second was that the energy benefits from zoning the house were not realized, primarily due to thermal stratification and the open floor plan in the house. Secondary impacts lowering zoning performance were the k& of return duct dampers and leakage and conduction losses in the air distribution system. Utility programs or building standards promoting zoning as a means of conserving energy or reducing peak power demand should be aware of the many potential pitfalls that can arise with zone conditioning, particularly with dampered air distribution systems.