Life-Cycle Analysis of Roofing Insulation Levels for Cold Storage Buildings
Publication: Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 15, Issue 2
Abstract
To reduce operating costs, cold storage buildings are being designed with increasing levels of thermal roof insulation. This paper examines the current state of the art in order to estimate average roof insulation requirements in modern cold storage buildings. This research includes both economic and environmental considerations. The added environmental impact of manufacturing thermal insulation is compared to the reduced environmental impact of the building’s cooling load. The cost of purchasing and installing additional roof insulation is also compared to the annual energy savings associated with the increase to establish the most economic insulating level given today’s cost of energy. This paper shows that, from an economic, as well as from an environmental performance perspective, there is a need to design more efficient, sustainable cold storage buildings now.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). (2006). 2006 ASHRAE handbook—Refrigeration (SI), ASHRAE, Atlanta, 14.13.
Fabian, B. A., Herrenbruck, S., and Hoffee, A. (2004). “The environmental and societal value of extruded polystyrene foam insulation.” Extruded Polystyrene Foam Association, 1–16.
Faramarzi, R., Colburn, B. A., and Sarhadian, R. (2002). “Showcasing energy efficiency solutions in a cold storage facility.” ACEEE summer study on energy efficiency in buildings, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Washington, D.C., 3.107–3.118.
Florida Public Utilities (FPU). (2007). “Rates and tariffs for northeast and northwest Florida.” FPU, ⟨http://www.fpuc.com/electric/electric_nw_ne/rates.asp⟩ (June 5, 2007).
Mckler, M., ed. (1984). Retrofitting of commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings for energy conservation, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 35–37.
Okos, M., Rao, N., Drecher, S., Rode, M., and Kozak, J. (1998). “Energy usage in the food industry: A study.” ACEEE, Washington, D.C., 1–5.
Tobiasson, W. N., Greatorex, A. R., and Fabian, B. A. (1998). “Moisture in the roofs of cold storage buildings.” Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Buildings VII, Special Rep. No. 98-13, Clearwater Beach, Fla., 1–36.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA). (2006). “Capacity of refrigerated warehouses 2005 summary.” USDA.
Washington State Dept. of General Administration, Engineering, and Architectural Services. (2005). “Energy life-cycle cost analysis: Guidelines for public agencies in Washington State.” Washington State Department of General Administration, Engineering, and Architectural Services, Olympia, Wash., 1–72.
Westco Storage Ltd., Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, and Manitoba Dept. of Energy and Mines. (1984). “Refrigeration waste heat recovery, Westco Storage Ltd, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.” Energy, Mines, and Resources Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (2007). “24th rev. sheet No. E6.60 large commercial and industrial service—General electric.” Washington Public Service Corporation ⟨http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/news/electric/CP.pdf⟩ (June 7, 2007).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Architectural Engineering
Volume 15 • Issue 2 • June 2009
Pages: 55 - 61
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2008
Accepted: Sep 26, 2008
Published online: May 15, 2009
Published in print: Jun 2009
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.