Case Study of Quantifying Energy Loss through Ceiling-Attic Recessed Lighting Fixtures through 3D Numerical Simulation

摘要

Air leakage through improperly installed recessed lighting fixtures has been identified as a common issue causing extra energy consumption of residential buildings. However, little quantitative study was found in this area. In this paper, a preliminary evaluation of the magnitude of such energy loss was conducted by numerical simulations using 3 dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A typical layout of recessed lighting fixtures was used in this case study with boundary conditions in four different seasons, which were obtained from past measured roof/attic temperature data sets. The results of the numerical simulations indicate that leakage of recessed lighting fixtures could be a very significant channel of energy loss in attic related residential buildings, especially in summer and winter time.