Multifamily Buildings
Summary
Domestic water heating (DHW) accounts for a significant share of
multifamily building energy use, especially in California’s coastal
towns. While each new construction project will have a different ratio
of energy end uses, one can look at the existing building stock to get
an idea of how much is attributable to DHW systems. According to
the Department of Energy’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey
contents
(RECS), DHW accounted for around 32% of overall energy use for
existing multifamily units in the late 1990’s.1 Central DHW Heater Options 2
Instantaneous (Tankless)
DHW can be installed on a unit-by-unit level through individual water vs. Storage Tank 2
heaters or a building-wide basis using a single water heating device, Condensing vs. Non-Condensing 3
such as a boiler, to provide hot water for multiple dwelling units. This
Performance Specifications 4
second category is known as a central DHW system.
Central DHW Recirculation Loops 5
The following design guide, intended for building owners, developers, Recirculation Loop Controls 8
and designers, provides an overview and introduction to central DHW ommissioning, Performance Monitoring,
C
systems by: Fault Detection and Diagnosis 10
Code Provisions Set Baseline for
1. Highlighting the basics of the regulatory context in California Energy Performance 11
(Title 24) Mandatory Requirements 11
2. Discussing the major opportunities for energy savings and Prescriptive Requirements 12
Boiler Room
Semi-
conditioned
Storage
Hot Water Water Tank
Boiler
Unconditioned
RECIRC
Pump
Hot Water Return
Cold Water
Make-Up
RECIRC
Representative Setup for Pump
Boiler with Storage Tank
Demand Flow Sensor
Heat Exchanger
Burner
Valve
Fan
Flow
Sensor
Gas
Modern condensing heaters and boilers have a separate chamber where the flue
gases condense, along with other refinements, to reliably prevent acidic condensate
from corroding the metal wall of the flue or combustion chamber (see Figure 3).
Performance Specifications
Small capacity water heaters (75,000 Btu per hour or less for gas water heaters)
are described by an energy factor (EF) - the higher the energy factor, the more
efficient the water heater. The EF indicates a water heater’s overall energy
1
This increased efficiency occurs because the standard calorific value attributed to natural gas includes
a downward adjustment equal to the latent heat of the steam.
Large water heaters, on the other hand, are rated by their Thermal Efficiency (TE).
TE is based on steady state (i.e., full fire) operation. It is not possible to directly
compare EF values with TE values because they are calculated using different test
procedures. However, energy modeling software allows direct comparisons to be
made, in terms of annual Btu consumption, for the purposes of code and program
compliance modeling.
Table R3-44 of the 2008 Residential ACM Manual gives a target (prescriptive) TE
value of 0.8 for systems over 75,000 Btu/hr (almost all central systems), which is
the standard for most commercially-available boilers.
When the distance to the farthest apartment is more than fifty feet, however, the
wait for hot water becomes excessive and recirculation loop systems are used. In
recirculation loops, hot water is constantly circulated by a pump through a closed
pipe loop to showers and faucets that are connected to the loop by ’runout’ pipes
no more than twelve (12) feet long. This configuration ensures that hot water is
delivered quickly and at a consistent temperature.
When serving more than a handful of apartments, recirculation loops are more
efficient than trunk-and-branch systems because hot water that cools in the pipes
between uses can be recirculated rather than wasted and users receive hot water
almost instantaneously.
However, each recirculation loop requires a pump that uses energy and there are
heat losses from the pipes. Analysis performed in 2002 by the Heschong Mahone
Group, Inc. for the California Energy Commission found that heat loss from the
pipe can be 25-40% of that required for the whole system. Careful design of the
entire system, including controls, is important to reduce energy consumption.
Horizontal recirculation loops are usually the best choice because they
minimize pressure differentials and the potential for stratification. A single
horizontal loop can serve up to three stories via additional vertical legs.
n Bends: Using gradual bends instead of ‘hard ninety’ elbows allows water
to flow faster and more smoothly, with reduced heat losses and friction.
Consequently, the hot water supply temperature and pump size can be
reduced for increased savings. Gradual bends also reduce the chance of
pinhole leaks from pipe wall erosion.
For demand systems, size the pump to provide hot water to the last tenant
on the loop within a reasonable time frame. To approximately calculate the
time delay, divide the volume of water in the loop by the flow rate through
the pump.
n Runouts: Usually, all hot water in a runout is wasted because it cools before
the next use of the outlet and must be drained before useable hot water is
received. A twelve (12) foot long, three-quarter (¾) inch wide runout contains
over two (2) pints of water that must be heated each time the outlet is used.
Typically, 3/8” pipe is adequate unless appliances are being served.
Designers should be careful not to specify a pump that’s more powerful than
required, since this will increase the electricity use of the system, increase the rate of
crossover flow, and create faster and more turbulent flows that erode the pipe more
quickly, leading to leaks
n Prevention of crossover flow: Crossover flow is the flow of water between the
hot and cold water pipes, which results in wasted energy and unpredictable
delivery temperatures. It is usually caused by leaking single-lever valves in
showers or faucets or devices such as portable dishwashers that allow free flow
between the hot and cold lines. The pressure differentials set up by the
recirculation pump make this problem especially acute in recirculation systems.
Basic Controls
These are the simplest controls permissible by Title 24.
n Timer controls: These devices shut off the recirculation pump during times
when the hot water draw is expected to be minimal. A challenge with these
controls, which is especially prevalent on larger loops, is that tenants may have
to wait for hot water when the pump is switched off. If they complain to the
building manager and he/she overrides the timeclock, all savings are lost.
n Temperature controls: This type of control shuts off the recirculation pump
when the hot water return temperature reaches an upper threshold value and
switches it back on when the temperature falls to a lower threshold.
n Demand Controls: These controls charge the loop with hot water in response
to either demand or a combination of demand and temperature. ‘Demand’
may be signaled by the user manually pressing a switch or activating a motion
sensor or detected by a flow sensor in the loop. The pump turns off when the
demand stops or a required return temperature is reached.
This control is a good choice for longer recirculation loops that serve many
apartments since demand controls may not provide a fast enough response.
They also allow for a smaller recirculation pump.
This process begins with commissioning, in which the heater or boiler setpoints
are determined, supply and return temperatures are verified, and other functional
checks are carried out. Usually, the control system manufacturer will set up the
control system and log data to verify its proper function.
Some control systems can monitor energy use and the levels of service, detect
and diagnose faults, and give feedback to the maintenance staff. These services allow
the system to improve efficiency over time while consistently delivering sufficient
hot water. Instant alerts of faults can be sent to maintenance staff for early detection
and diagnosis. Monitored data can provide the building owner with a record of the
performance and maintenance of the system over time (see Figure 5).
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Mandatory Requirements
The 2005 Title 24 standards incorporated a significant change to the requirements
in Section 113(c) 2 by mandating that recirculation systems have a control capable
of automatically turning off the system.1 Low-cost compliance options include:
n Timer Controls - Must initially be set to operate the pump for no more than
sixteen (16) hours per day
For recirculation loops, ‘the system’ means the pump; for heat trace it means the heating elements.
1
Prescriptive Requirements
Per Section 151(f ) 8 C-E of 2008 Title 24, central DHW systems are now a
prescriptive compliance option. To comply, water heating equipment must meet
minimum efficiency standards (Title 20), the system must use a recirculation loop,
and the pipes to the kitchen fixtures must be insulated. Additionally, buried pipes
are required to be encased in a waterproof, non-crushable, insulated sleeve.
Performance Requirements
Starting with the 2005 standards, DHW calculations are done hourly, similar
to those of other end uses like heating and cooling, and include the impacts of
Time Dependent Valuation (TDV). Heat losses through recirculation pipes are
specifically assessed through hourly calculations based on pipe location, length of
pipe, and pipe diameter. Based on these results, the code provides incentives for
locating pipes in conditioned or semi-conditioned spaces and disincentives for
large pipes run underground or exposed to outside air.
Perhaps the biggest change has been the evaluation of central DHW systems
in performance calculations. Per Section 151(b) 1, the code now compares a
central DHW system with recirculation loop and controls to an equivalent system
rather than to individual water heaters. This modification reduced the typical
margin of compliance for central DHW systems with recirculation loops in the
performance calculations.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits#s6
Acknowledgements
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