Case Study of Quantifying Energy Loss through Ceiling-Attic Recessed Lighting Fixtures through 3D Numerical Simulation
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 23, Issue 1
Abstract
Air leakage through recessed lighting fixtures has been identified as a common issue that causes extra energy consumption in residential buildings. However, few quantitative studies in this area were found. As such, a preliminary assessment of the magnitude of this type of energy loss was conducted by using three-dimensional (3D) transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. A hypothetical layout of recessed lighting fixtures was designed with boundary conditions of four different seasons, which were obtained from recorded roof/attic temperature data sets. The results of the study indicate that leakage of recessed lighting fixtures could be a significant channel of energy loss in such attic-related residential buildings, especially in the summer and winter.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express sincere appreciation to Dr. Jerrold Winandy for providing the multiyear temperature data collected by the USDA Forest Products Lab. Dr. Winandy retired as project leader in the Engineered Composites Science Research Work Unit at the lab in 2008.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 23 • Issue 1 • March 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 3, 2015
Accepted: Jun 28, 2016
Published online: Sep 29, 2016
Published in print: Mar 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Mar 1, 2017
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