DE-05-04-2 - Development and Testing of an Integrated Residential Night Ventilation Cooling System PDF

A project completed in 2004 titled “Alternatives to Compressor Cooling” showed that carefully controlled mechanical ventilation cooling can significantly reduce summer peak load and can eliminate the need for vapor compression cooling in areas between the California coastline and the central valley. This technology is most applicable in dry climates where vapor compression cooling is needed only a few days of the year and hot, dry climates that have a drybulb temperature range approaching 30°F (17°C), which include much of the West, Southwest, and areas of the Northeast. This paper describes the technology and its development, reviews field tests completed under the California Energy Commission and Department of Energy Building America program sponsorship, and presents computer simulation and monitoring results. For the California houses and climates evaluated, cooling demand was reduced 40% to 79% and cooling energy savings ranged from 0% to 65%.