Kennesaw State University Environmental Science and Sustainability Lab Report

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Energy: Home Energy Audit Introduction Energy Transfers and the First Law of Thermodynamics In the 1800's, scientists found, empirically, that rules exist that determine how energy can be transferred. The first of these rules is called the First Law of Thermodynamics. This law is usually stated as, "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only be transferred from one form to another." This often leads to the re-titling of this law as the Conservation of Energy Principle since it says that energy must be conserved. This statement of the First Law does not say anything about how energy can be transferred, though. It turns out that there are only two ways. This was discovered in 1850 by the English scientist James Joule, who found that heat and work are equivalent methods for changing the energy of an object. In his experimental work, Joule was able to show that he could increase the thermal energy of a pot of water by either placing it over a flame (adding heat), or by stirring it with a paddle (doing work). For this and other important work in this area, the SI unit of energy is called a joule (1 J = 1 kg m 2 /sec2). Using this, we can re-write the First Law mathematically as ∆E = W + Q where ∆E is the change in the energy of an object, W is the work done on the object, and Q is the heat added to an object. In laymen's terms, this means that the only way to change the energy of an object is to exchange either work or heat with it. Energy History The discovery of the laws of thermodynamics was extremely important, as our need to understand energy is fueled by the overwhelming use of energy in human society. From the earliest days, humankind has recognized the need to use energy to condition the environment around it. Wood was needed to heat homes and to cook food. Beasts of burden were needed to plow fields and to provide transportation. When either of these commodities became scarce, hardship prevailed, and solutions were sought. In ancient Rome, for example, the lack of available firewood led to the passing of laws that made it illegal to build a house or structure that would block another person's home from getting sunlight, as this was the primary method of heating homes without fire. In the 20th century, fossil fuels (oil in particular) reigned supreme as the energy of choice. Their ubiquitous nature created historically low prices for energy. This led to a substantial increase in the number of mechanized tools used by the average citizen. By the year 2000, the U.S. had a population of about 283 million people that were driving over 200 million passenger vehicles. Almost every home in America has a television, some type of range or stove, and a refrigerator. About 3/4 of all households have their own washer, dryer, and air conditioner. Of course, this cheap price does not come without some political and economic consequences. Energy, and oil in particular, have Fig. 1: U.S. Oil Consumption (Source: DOE) played a very important role in the economy and politics throughout the last 150 years, affecting everything from the entry of U.S. into World War II to the rampant inflation of the 1970's to the current destabilized situation in the Middle East. Energy Use in the U.S. This modern dependence on many appliances of convenience requires a lot of energy. Our current energy per capita use is over 330 million BTU's of energy. Put another way, this means that the average U.S. citizen would be responsible for using almost 60 barrels of crude oil each year, if all of the energy used in America came from oil. The only other country in the Western World that was even close to this is Canada, which has almost the same amount of usage. Most of the Western world uses 200 million BTU's of energy or less. Although we make up only about 5% of the world's population, we account for almost 25% of all of its energy consumption. In comparison, many Third World countries such as Ethiopia use less than 1 million BTU's per person. The majority of this energy (82%) is supplied by fossil fuels. Crude oil accounts for the largest share of this (38%), followed quickly by coal (22%) and natural gas (22%). The remaining energy comes mostly from nuclear (8%) and renewable sources like hydroelectric, solar, and wind (7%). Contrary to common belief, most of this energy is produced domestically. The only energy source that we are forced to import is crude oil, of which we can currently supply only about 45% of our need. Of the energy used in the U.S., about 38% of it is used for industrial processes (mining, milling, etc.), 36% of it Fig. 2: U.S. Energy Consumption (DOE) is used to power homes and offices, and 28% of it is used for transportation. While most of us cannot directly affect the amount of energy used for industrial processes, we can do something about our residential and transportation energy use. The figures above mean that about 101 million Btu's are used each year just to run our households (this does not include the energy that was lost in producing and transporting this energy, which accounts for an additional 71 million Btu's). The majority of this energy use is to heat and cool our homes (55%). In this week's lab, we are going to begin to study ways to reduce our home energy usage, primarily through reducing our demand for heating and cooling. Measuring your home In this week's lab, we are going to prepare for the energy analysis that we are going to perform in two weeks by measuring the surface areas of our homes that are exposed to outside temperatures. We are also going to note what materials were used in the construction of our dwelling. This will allow us in week three of this module to estimate the amount of energy that is being lost in our homes due to conduction. This type of heat transfer depends upon the type of materials used for construction, the amount of surface area through which heat is transferred, and the temperature difference across the material. As we will see in next week's lab, the type of material can drastically change the amount of heat that is conducted from a hot to a cold region. Plywood, by itself, provides little resistance to the flow of heat; plywood, combined with fiberglass and polystyrene insulation, can provide a significant barrier to conduction and allow large temperature differences to be maintained between hot and cold regions. While we are making these measurements of the exterior surfaces of our home, we will also be gathering some basic information about some energy-using devices in our home, such as the refrigeration, cooking, and water heating systems. These systems are responsible for most of the energy used in the home outside of the heating and air-conditioning systems. These are also systems for there can be a wide range of energy efficiency between various makes and models. Instructions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Prepare a drawing of your dwelling. This does not need to be an intricate blueprint of your dwelling (although it helps if you already have one), but a simple illustration of it that will allow for all external surface measurements to be shown. Indicate north on the illustration. On your drawing, please signify the measurements of all exterior, heatdissipating surfaces. These will be surfaces that lead from an airconditioned and heated room to either the exterior of the house or to rooms (ex garage) that are not heated or air-conditioned. NOTE: These measurements do not need to be made from the outside of the home; measurements made from the inside of the house will be sufficient) While you are measuring the exterior components of your home, note the materials from which they are constructed. For instance, is your exterior door constructed of 1 1/2 inch solid wood, or is it 1 3/4 steel with foam insulation? Enter this information on your Data Sheet (Exterior Surface Type section) as to type of material of each exterior surface (Interior surfaces are irrelevant for calculating heat transfer since internal heat transfers do not affect the amount of energy lost or gained to your home). Some homes will have more than one surface type for each exterior surface. For instance, a house might have single and double paned windows. If so, make sure that both types of surfaces are entered onto the sheet. Using the measurements from your drawing, calculate the area of each exterior surface in your home and enter the data on the Data Sheet provided. Round off all dimensions to the square foot and enter the data into the appropriate slot for each surface type. If you have more than one surface type for each component, remember to the different areas for each type (ex. if you have 10 square feet of single paned windows and 20 square feet of double paned windows, be sure to put the appropriate amount in each slot). If you are unsure of how to calculate areas of external surfaces, look at the example audit. For each surface type, check the list of surface types and fill in the value for the appropriate R factor (Ex. single pane window, R: .9). From your drawing, calculate the square footage of the livable space and write this value in the appropriate slot on your Data Sheet. If you have not done so already, measure/estimate the average height of the ceilings in that living space, and place the value in the slot below this. Check the accuracy of thermostats on your heating and air conditioning unit. While you might think that you have it set at 70 degrees, it might actually be maintaining a temperature of 72. This can be checking by placing an accurate thermometer near the thermostat and noting any differences between the readings. Noting any differences, record the temperature settings for both the air conditioner and heater during the year. The final audit will require certain information about the appliances in your home. You will need to know what type of heating and cooling system your home has, as well as the types of major appliances. For heaters and air conditioners, describe the energy source (electrical, natural gas, wood, etc.) and tell whether the system is centralized (ductwork takes the air to all parts of the home) or not. For the other appliances, check the line next to the type if you have it. For electrical stoves and dryers, we are also going to need to know the wattage of the appliances. If you cannot find this information on the inside door of the appliance, please note this on your data sheet. From your utility company(ies), find out the cost per unit energy for your energy source(s). For some companies, this information will be printed on their bill (Ex. $.75/therm on a natural gas bill or $.08/kWhr on an electric bill). For other companies, this information can be Fig. 3: Sample house drawing extracted from the bill by dividing the total cost of the energy by the amount of energy that was used. If this information is not on your bill, or if you do not have a bill to check, call the companies that supply you with energy and ask the rate that they are billing you. Example The floor plan at the left is of a wood-sided house built upon a cement slab. It is two stories tall with insulated walls and twelve inches of blown fiberglass insulation in the attic. The house is 5 years old, and has been well maintained. The garage, while sealed with doors, is not heated or cooled. The main living space occupies a 25'x35' space both upstairs and downstairs (yellow and green areas), with an additional 15'x25' room (blue area) on the second floor that is over the garage. Windows are as marked on the floor plan and are all 1/4" double pane. The three exterior doors are standard 3'x7' insulated-core steel doors. The Data Sheet for this house looks like the following: Type of structure: _X_ House ______ Apartment/Duplex ______Mobile Home Number of stories _2__ Exterior Surface Types First Type Second Type (if needed) Windows 1/4" double paned Walls Wood with 3 1/2" fiberglass and 1" foam Doors 1 3/4" Pella Sheetrock with 3 1/2" fiberglass Roof/Ceiling 12" fiberglass (blown) Ground Floor Concrete slab 6" fiberglass over closed unheated space Exterior Surface Types Area R-factor Area R-Factor Windows 210 1.7 Walls 1588 20 Doors 63 Roof/Ceiling 1250 43 Ground Floor 875 459 12 375 43 13 11 For instructions on how to calculate the areas in the above table, click here. Total area of heated and air conditioned space: _2125__ sq. ft. Average height of ceilings: _8__ ft. o Average indoor winter temperature ( F): _69____ Average indoor summer temperature (oF): __74____ Number of air exchanges per hour: __1___ Appliances Heater Type: Central Natural Gas with insulated ducts___ Air Conditioning Type: __ Central Electric with insulated ducts __ Refrigerator/Freezer Combo: _1__ Gas Hot Water Heaters: _1_ Gas Stove/Oven: _1_ Electric Clothes Dryer: _1_ If yes: _2000__ Watts Confusion About Heat and Temperature Even though it has been over 150 years since the First Law of Thermodynamics was discovered, we still find that heat is misunderstood. For example, the many environmental science textbooks define heat as "the total kinetic energy of atoms or molecules in a substance not associated with bulk motion of the substance." THIS IS WRONG! What these books are describing is the thermal energy of a system. This is a common misconception. While heat is energy, it is not a containable form of energy since, by its very definition, heat is energy that is transferred. In particular, heat is the energy transferred between objects of different temperature. The misunderstanding comes from the fact that we often talk about heat leaving or entering an object, which gives people the idea that the object must contain heat. But this is not the case. Once heat enters an object, it increases the internal energy of an object, which is the same result that doing work on the object would produce. The object does not contain the heat or the work; it merely changes its energy because of them. This increase in internal energy can cause numerous things to occur to the object. One of the more common things that it causes is for the temperature of the object to increase. However, it can cause other things to occur that do not involve any change in temperature, such as a change of state (ex. water changing into steam). The fact that one of the most common experiences is that the temperature changes leads to another erroneous definition. Many books also define temperature as "a measure of the speed of motion of a typical atom or molecule in a substance." Again, this is wrong. While it may be true for an ideal gas, it does not apply to all objects. The best definition for temperature is the property that two objects have in common when no heat is transferred between them when placed in thermal contact. The observant reader is going to note a certain circuitousness about these definitions for heat and temperature. But, these are the only definitions that truly make sense. The best way to illustrate this is to examine what happens when you measure the temperature of a glass of water with a mercury or alcohol thermometer. Upon entering the water, the thermometer does not instantly register the correct temperature. Instead, it takes several seconds for the liquid in the thermometer to settle to the correct reading. During this time, heat is being exchanged between the water and the liquid in the thermometer. As it does so, the temperature of the liquid in the thermometer changes, becoming closer to that of the water. This change in temperature of the alcohol or mercury results in its volume changing, which is what changes the level of the fluid in the thermometer. Once the temperature of the fluid has reached that of the water in the glass, heat stops being transferred between them, and the volume of the fluid stops changing. Thus, the thermometer is not measuring the average speed of the molecules in the water. The only thing that is being measured is the volume of the liquid in the thermometer. Somebody (or some machine) calibrated the volume of the fluid in the thermometer to a temperature scale that is painted onto its side. Because of this, we are able to read a value for the temperature by merely measuring the height of the liquid in the thermometer. The temperature that we read, though, only tells us which way that heat will flow if the object is put into thermal contact with another object. Conduction As we have previously stated, homeowners, on average, spend almost 50% of their energy budget for heating and cooling. The reason for this is because heat is constantly transferring through all of the exterior surfaces of the home. The most predominant type of heat transfer for the majority of homes is known as conduction, which occurs when two regions of different temperature are put into direct contact, but are not allowed to mix. As an example, the inside temperature of a home in the winter is hotter than the exterior temperature if the home is being heated. The walls, doors, and windows are all conducting heat to the outside since they are in direct contact with both reservoirs of air. The rate at which heat gets transferred depends upon (1) the thickness of the material L, (2) the thermal conductivity k (this depends on the composition of the material), (3) surface area of the material A, and 4) the temperature difference between the reservoirs. In particular (see Fig. 2), the rate of heat transfer = A k (TH-TC)/L. This equation shows that the thicker the material separating the two reservoirs (L larger), the smaller the surface area that is contact (A larger), or the smaller the temperature difference, the slower the rate of heat transfer through the substance. When it comes to heating and cooling our homes, this is exactly what we will need to strive for in order to reduce our energy bills. In our homes, the exterior surfaces are usually comprised of more than one type of material. For instance, a wall can be composed of 3 1/2 inches of fiberglass insulation which is covered by 1/2 inches of sheetrock on the inside and plywood and brick on the exterior. When two or more different materials are between the hot and cold reservoirs, the equation on the previous page can become quite messy since there will be various thermal conductivities and thicknesses with which to deal. The equation is greatly simplified if we consider the R-value of objects instead of their thermal conductivity. This is a measure of how well the material resists the flow of heat through it, and it combines the thermal conductivity and thickness into one term (R-value = thickness/thermal conductivity = L/k). While the common units for the R-value are ft2 hr oF/Btu, these are often not quoted. If you visit any hardware store, you are likely to just see the R-value of a substance to just be quoted as a number, as in "Fiberglass R-value = 13." From the previous page, we can see that the equation for conductive heat transfer through a single substance is given by rate of heat transfer = A (TH-TC ) k/L = A (TH-TC)/R If there are multiple materials that comprise the surface (see Fig. 3), then the equation becomes rate of heat transfer = A (TH-TC )/RT where RT = sum of all of the individual R-values. As an example, in the wall that we proposed above, the R-value for the fiberglass is 13, for the plywood and brick is 4, and for the sheetrock is 0.5. Therefore the total R-value for the wall is 17.5, which is what would be placed in the denominator of the heat transfer equation. R-Factors for Common Materials After you have finished making the drawing of your dwelling with the measurements of the exterior surfaces, it is time to determine what is the R-factor of all of the exterior surfaces. The R-factor of a surface determines how quickly heat is conducted across it. The values below are some of the more common R-factors for surfaces found on homes in the U.S. NOTE: If your exterior surface leads into an enclosed area that is sealed, but is not heated or air-conditioned (ex. a door that leads to a closed garage), then multiply the R-factors below by 1.5 in order to get a better estimate of the factor. If the enclosed area happens to be earth-sheltered (ex. a basement that is not heat or cooled), then multiply the R-factors by 2.0. Exterior Doors (Excluding sliding glass doors) Calculate glass area of door as window Roof/Ceiling Wood Door Material Factor Factor 1 1/4" no storm door 2.4 No insulation 3.3 1 1/4" with 1" storm door 3.8 3 1/2" fiberglass 13 1 1/2" no storm door 2.7 6" fiberglass 20 1 1/2" with 1" storm door 4.3 6" cellulose 23 1 2/3" solid core door 3.1 12" fiberglass 43 12" cellulose 46 14" cellulose 54 Steel with Foam Core Door 1 3/4" Pella 13 1 3/4" Therma-Tru 16 Exterior Walls with Siding Concrete block (8") Floor Factor Over unheated basement or crawl space vented to outside Factor (a.) Concrete block (8") 2.0 Un-insulated floor 4.3 with Vermiculite insulated cores 13 6" fiberglass floor insulation 25 with foam insulated cores 20 with 4" on un-insulated stud wall 4.3 Over sealed, unheated, completely underground basement with 4" insulated stud wall 14 with 1" air space and 1/2" drywall 2.7 Brick (4") with 4" un-insulated stud wall with 4" insulated stud wall 4 14 Wooden Logs Logs (6") 8.3 Logs (8") 11 Wooden Frame Un-insulated with 2" x 4" construction with 1 1/2" fiberglass 4.6 9 with 3 1/2" fiberglass; studs 16" o.c. 12 with 3 1/2" fiberglass and 1" foam 20 with 6" fiberglass; studs 24" o.c. 19 with 6" fiberglass and 1" foam 26 with 6" cellulose 22 with 6" cellulose and 1" foam 28 Un-insulated floor 8 with 1" foam on basement walls 19 with 3 1/2 fiberglass on basement walls 20 Insulated floor, 6" fiberglass 43 Concrete Slab No insulation 11 1" foam perimeter insulation 46 2" foam perimeter insulation 65 Windows and Sliding Glass Doors: Factor Low Emissivity Drapes Quilts Single pane 0.9 1.1 1.4 3.2 Single w/storm window 2.0 2.5 4.2 Double pane, 1/4" air space 1.7 2.2 4.0 1/2" air space 2.0 2.5 4.3 Triple pane, 1/4" air space 2.6 3.0 4.8 Triple pane, 1/2" air space 3.2 3.7 5.5 Glass 2.99 3.7 Home Audit Tips 1. Unless you live in a very unusual structure, the walls of your dwelling should be 3 1/2 inch studded walls. The biggest question you should have is whether your walls are insulated. If you do not know, there are a few ways to find out. If you dwelling was built since 1980, the odds are that it is insulated with fiberglass insulation. If your home was built before this, then the answer is not so easy. You could determine if there is insulation in the walls by cutting or smashing a hole in the wall to see. However, this is not recommended. There are probably holes in your exterior wall already. Remove the faceplate from either an outlet or a light switch that are on an exterior wall. Be very careful NOT to stick anything into the socket or switch. Once the plate is off (make sure that it does not rip the paint or paper off of the wall), you should be able to see around the side of the outlet box to see if there is any insulation in the wall. 2. If the ceilings in your home are horizontal, then the area of the ceiling is the same as the area of the floor. Therefore, there is no need to get on a ladder to measure the area of your ceiling. If you have vaulted ceilings, the task of measuring the area of your ceiling is slightly more difficult. You can try to measure the distance along the vault if your tape measurer is rigid enough to allow this. If you cannot measure the distance this way, you will need to use a little geometry to aid you. Measure the height (vertical distance) of the ceiling at its highest and lowest points. Then measure the horizontal distance from the highest to the lowest points. You can now use the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate the distance. Square the difference in the vertical distance between the highest and lowest points. Square the horizontal distance between the two points. Now, add the squares together and take the square root of the sum. This will give you the distance along the vault. 3. If your ceiling is neither horizontal nor vaulted (ex. bi-level or tri-level), then you will need to measure or estimate all horizontal and vertical surface areas and sum them together. 4. The wattage information for your electric stove, oven, or dryer should be found on tags somewhere on the device. On these devices, this is usually on a metal tag either on the side of the door or in the door opening. If it is not, then it is probably on the backside of the device. If it possible to easily get to the backside of the device, please do so. If it is not easy, then write "Could not find" on your sheet. When we get to the calculator section of the audit in two weeks, you should just use the average values that the calculator gives you as a default. Name: Professor: Structure Data Type of structure: _____ House ______ Apartment/Duplex ______Mobile Home Number of stories _____ Exterior Surface Types First Type Windows: _____________ Walls: _____________ Doors: _____________ Roof/Ceiling: _____________ Ground Floor: _____________ Second Type (if needed) _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Third Type (if needed) _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Ext. Surface Type Area R-Factor Area R-Factor Area R-Factor Windows Doors Walls Roof/Ceiling Ground Floor Total area of heated and air conditioned space: __________ sq. ft. Average height of ceilings: ___________ ft. Average indoor winter temperature (oF): ________ Average indoor summer temperature (oF): ________ Number of air exchanges per hour: ________ Appliances Heater Type: _________________________ Air Conditioning Type: ___________________ Refrigerators:____ Freezers:____ Refrigerator/Freezer Combo:_____ Electric Hot Water Heaters:____ Gas Hot Water Heaters:____ Electric Stove/Oven:____ If yes:______ Watts Gas Stove/Oven:____ Electric Clothes Dryer:____ If yes:______ Watts Gas Clothes Dryer:____ Energy Cost Energy Source Electricity Natural Gas LP gas Wood (cord = 128 ft3) Cost $___/kwh $___/therm $___/gal $___/cord Energy: Synthesis and Analysis Energy Use in the Home Convection The average household spends over $1,300 a year for energy to run the many devices found in the 1 home . In this week's lab, we are going to investigate ways to save both energy and money that will not seriously impact your current lifestyle, i.e. you can keep watching as much television as you like, but you might want to put on a sweater to do it. In order to do this, we are going to have to use the measurements of our homes that we made two weeks ago. Last week, we studied how different materials affect the amount of heat flow by conduction. This was important, since heat conduction is one of the primary ways that energy is lost in a home. Another method by which heat is flowing into or out of our homes is convection. Convection is heat transport by movement and mixing. When we open the doors to our homes, hot and cold air are allowed to mix, and heat is convected. Even when doors or windows are not open, there is convection occurring through any cracks or breaks in our windows, walls, doors, ceilings, and floors. We often notice this convection occurring on very cold, windy days. You will often find a blast of cold air hitting you when you walk by electrical outlets or windows on such days, a sign that your house is not airtight. Of course, as air from the outside is coming into your home, the air inside of your home is going outside. Over time, the total volume of air in your home will be completely replaced with air from the outside. While this is good from the standpoint that stale, possibly toxic air is leaving your home, it is bad from an energy standpoint since your heating/cooling system will have to come on to bring this air temperature back to the prescribed setting. In a new, well-built home, the number of openings in your home allows this air exchange to occur over a period of about 2 hours. In older homes that have developed more cracks, this amount of time can be much shorter. For instance, in very old, poorly maintained homes, it might take as little as 15 minutes for all of the air in your home to be replaced by air from the outside. The number of air exchanges per hour, therefore, is a measure how much energy you will need to use in order to counter the effects of heat transfer via convection. The proper way to measure the number of air exchanges per hour in your home is somewhat involved. It requires using air flow meter readings from various locations in your home. Since very few people have the necessary equipment to measure it exactly, we have developed a set of guidelines for estimating this factor. The table below gives you some idea as to the value for your home. You may need to interpolate between the values below to get the correct estimate for your home. For instance, if you have an average, insulated home that has been caulked and weather stripped in the last 4-5 years, you should probably select 1.0 as your value. However, if it has been about 8-10 years since you caulked or weatherstripped, you might want to choose something between 1.0 and 2.0 as the value. Air exchanges per hour Type of home Old, un-insulated, weatherstripping not maintained 4.0 Old, un-insulated, weatherstripping maintained 2.0 Avg. insulated house, well maintained 1.0 New, well insulated house 0.5 New, super-insulated (12" walls) 0.2 1 The Second Law and Efficiency Energy is also lost in our homes because of all of the energy transformations that are taking place there. The First Law of Thermodynamics tells us that the energy involved in any transfer must be conserved. This would seem to mean that we should never run out of energy and should pay no heed to anybody talking about energy being lost. The problem is that this is not the only law that governs energy transfers. While the total amount of energy does not change, the Second Law of Thermodynamics (see sidebar) puts limits on the amount of usable energy that can be transferred. One of the consequences of this law is that the total amount of usable energy that comes out of any process will be less than the total amount of energy that went into the process. The difference between the total amount of energy input and the usable energy output is expended as waste heat. This brings us to the issue of efficiency, which is a measure of the amount of usable energy that is generated during any type of transfer. If a transfer is very efficient, then the amount of usable energy that is generated is almost equal to the total amount of energy that went into the transfer. This means that very little waste energy will be produced. An inefficient transfer, conversely, is one in which most of the energy going into the process is converted to waste heat. For example, a fluorescent light bulb converts about 20% of the electrical energy that runs through it into visible light energy. While this may not sound like a very efficient transfer, it is much better than the 5% efficiency of an incandescent light bulb, which most people use. When discussing the efficiency of a process, we have to make sure and not forget all of the transfers that might need to take place in order to get to the one under investigation. A great example of this occurs when comparing the efficiencies of electric and internal combustion engine powered cars. The efficiency of the electric motor in a car is about 90%, while the efficiency of the internal combustion engine is only about 25%. However, these efficiencies are not the only things that need to be considered when comparing the two devices. How is the electricity that charges the car created? Where does the gasoline come from that powers the internal combustion engine? What types of transmission systems does each car have? There are many steps and energy transfers that take place in getting each type of car to move, and each one of these has its own individual efficiency. For instance, the average electric plant is only about 30-35% efficient in generating electricity (some newer natural gas plants are closer to 50-60%). This fact greatly reduces the overall efficiency of an electric car. When we consider the total efficiency, from getting the energy from its natural source to the car moving down the highway, we find that the electric car is only about 20% efficient, while the internal combustion engine automobile is about half that at 10%. 2 Second Law of Thermodynamics There are many equivalent statements of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Most often, people write about the consequences of the Second Law (Ex. "Heat will flow spontaneously from hot to cold", "No energy transfer can ever be 100% efficient", "A heat engine and a heat pump both require a hot and a cold reservoir"). An increasingly more uncommon way to write it is in mathematical terms. For example, old textbooks usually write it something like In a closed system, the total entropy either increases or stays the same The reason why most authors today are loathe to write this is that it is not particularly useful in this form and it requires a lot of explanation. First, one has to define the term "entropy", which is a fairly non-standard word. Entropy is actually the logarithm of the number of states accessible to a system and is defined by the equation 1/T = (dS/dU)N where T is the temperature, S is the entropy, U is the total energy of the system and (dS/dU) N is the partial derivative of the entropy with respect to energy while holding particle number fixed. If your brain has not exploded by reading this definition, and you are still reading, then you realize why most scientist just say "Entropy is a measure of the chaos of a system", which, in a way, it is (a chaotic system usually has more states accessible to it than a non-chaotic one). Even if you are able to get past the entropy difficulty, you then have to explain what a closed system is (there are no real closed systems in the universe, just ones that are close) and why entropy would only increase or stay the same in such a system. After you have spent a great deal of time doing this, you realize that you might have just as well written one of the consequences of the Second Law (which are understandable by most people) and have called it a day. Which is exactly what we are going to do. Energy Use in the Home Appliances The efficiency of all of the appliances in our homes affects how much money we spend and energy we use. While heating/cooling does consume the largest single amount of the energy budget of the average household, it does not consume the majority. Other appliances in the home consume over 50% of all of the energy. Almost every American home has some type of stove or range, while about 75% of them have a washer and dryer, 50% have a dishwasher, and 33% have a separate freezer from their refrigerator. All of these appliances, plus the heating/cooling systems, amounted to over 101 million Btu's of energy being consumed in the homes of America in the last year. Considering the inefficiencies of transporting energy to homes, the total amount of energy that had to be consumed in order to power our houses was over 170 million Btu's. The amount of money consumed by an appliance depends on the type of fuel used by the appliance, the power of the appliance, and the length of time that the appliance is allowed to run. For instance, the average electric oven uses an average of about 2,000 watts of power to heat itself to a temperature of o 350 F. If it is run for 1 hour, then it will use an amount of energy equal to Energy = Power x Time = 2,000 watts x 1 hour = 2,000 watt-hour = 2 kilowatt-hour At the current rate of about $.08 per kWhr, this corresponds to a cost of about 16 cents. The average natural gas stove uses about 11,000 Btu/hr to maintain the same temperature. If you ran it for the same amount of time as the electric stove, it would consume an amount of energy equal to Energy = Power x Time = 11,000 Btu/hr x 1 hour = 11,000 Btu The current cost of natural gas is about $.70 per therm. One therm is equivalent to 100,000 Btu. Thus, the natural gas costs about $.000007 per Btu. This means that the cost of running the natural gas stove for 1 hour is about 7 cents. In the calculator that we will be using to estimate energy usage in our homes, the power usage for gas appliances will be assumed to be the national average, while the power usage for electrical appliances will need to be entered. This is because some gas appliances do not list a power rating or have the information in a non-reachable place on the appliance. If you cannot find the information for your electrical appliances, use the average values that we have provided in the calculator. Instructions We are now ready to use the calculator to estimate the energy usage in your home. Before we begin, we must state a few simple facts about the calculator. The first of these is that the calculator will not include the cost of running all of the smaller appliances in the home. The reason for this is that the list of appliances that we would have to include would make the calculator very unwieldy to use, as you would either have to scroll down a very lengthy list of items or to click through many different web pages. If you wish to figure out how much these appliances will cost you to run them, simply multiply the power of the appliance (in kilowatts) times the number of hours that you use it during the year times the cost of electricity. The second thing that we must state is that this estimate is only as good as the information that is entered into the computer. If you enter incorrect data, e.g. if you enter 1 air exchange per hour when the actual number is closer to 0.5, you might find that the estimated cost of energy for your home is radically different than what you actually pay. Lastly, we need to point out that the calculator that we will be using 3 has several assumptions built into it. As we go through the instructions below, these assumptions will be pointed out. If these assumptions are not valid for your home, the estimates of your cost can be far from reality. In analyzing your data, you will need to keep these assumptions in mind in order to come to valid conclusions about the energy usage in your home With this in mind, let us proceed to the calculator AFTER YOU HAVE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS (http://esa21.kennesaw.edu/activities/homeanalysis/energycalculator.htm) 1. The calculator comes in two parts, both of which are on the same page. You will need to finish the first section before proceeding to the second section. The first section concerns the measurements of your home that you took several weeks ago. You will notice that this section is laid out similar to the form that you filled out for each room of your home. There are two ways for you to enter the data for this section. One way would be to enter the data for each room of your home as it is listed on your worksheet(s). After typing this in, press the Calculate button that is on the left side of the screen. After the program makes the calculation, click the Next Set of Surfaces button to clear the room data. Enter the data for the next room, and proceed as above until all rooms are finished. The second way to fill in the data can only be used if the surfaces in your home are all the same (ex. all windows are double pane, all walls are R-factor 19 wall, all ceilings are R-factor 30, etc.). If this is the case, then you can add up all of the area for each component and enter it as if there were only one room. 2. After you finish entering the Conduction data, scroll down the page to the section entitled "Other Household Data". 3. From your drawings, you should be able to calculate the total area of all south-facing windows in your home that are not shaded from the outside. The reason why you need to know this data is that your south-facing windows are a source of solar energy. During the summer, each square foot of south-facing window will allow about 37 Btu/hr of solar energy into the house, unless it is blocked from entering the house outside of the window (curtains or shades on the inside of the window do not count as shade since they allow the energy into the home before blocking it). In the winter, this value is about 27 Btu/hr. Enter the area in the topmost text area of the section. 4. In the second slot, enter the total area of all east- and west-facing windows. While these windows do not allow sunshine into the house the entire day, they do allow solar energy in for half of the day. During the summer, this can be significant since the Sun will be further north in the sky throughout the day. 5. The next slot asks you for the square footage of the cooled and heated floor space in your home. You should be able to calculate this from your drawing. 6. The next slot asks for the average height of the ceilings in your home. In conjunction with the square footage of the floors of your home, these two numbers give us an estimate of the volume of air space in the home. This is the amount of air that must be heated and cooled as air is being exchanged with the outside environment. 7. The next two slots ask for the thermostat settings for both winter and summer. These temperatures will determine the rate at which heat is exchanged with the outside, and thus, how much cooling and heating are necessary. Two assumptions go into this calculation. The first one is that the thermostat is not being switched from this temperature setting, i.e. the thermostat is not a programmable thermostat. If you have such a thermostat, you will need to enter an average setting of your thermostat that will take into account the variability of the temperature in your home. For instance, if you set your thermostat in summer at 78 during the day and 72 at night, then you will probably want to enter 74 as your average temperature (while 75 might be the actual average, this does not take into account that the variation in temperature during the day actually lowers the average temperature difference between inside and outside). The second assumption in this calculation is that we are experiencing a normal year in outside temperatures. 8. The next slot asks you to enter the number of air exchanges per hour in your home. Refer to the first page of this module for help in estimating this number. 9. The next slot asks you to enter the number of people in the home. This number is needed, since human bodies produce heat. In the winter, this decreases the amount of heating that you will need; in the summer, it will increase the amount of cooling that you need. 4 10. The next slot asks you what type of ductwork you have for your heating system. If you have central heat, then you will have some type of ductwork to bring the heated air to each room. If this ductwork is insulated, then you need to enter 1 in the slot; if it is not insulated, then you need to enter 2. If you use a wood stove or a portable kerosene heater in your home, you have no ductwork, and should enter 0 in the slot. 11. The next slot asks you what type of heater that you have. This is important, since it will determine what type of fuel that you use and how efficient each type of heater is. We are assuming that a natural gas and propane heaters are 80% efficient, a resistive electric heater is 100% efficient, a heat pump is 250% efficient (remember our discussion about heat pumps in week three of this module), and a wood stove is 60% efficient. If your true efficiencies differ from this, it will cause some error in the estimates. In order to select the appropriate stove, please enter the corresponding number in the slot 12. The next slot asks for the type of air conditioner that you have. We have assumed that all air conditioners have a seasonal performance factor of 2.5. If you have no air conditioner, enter a 0 in the slot; for window units, enter 1; for a central air conditioning system, enter 2. 13. The next several slots deal with some of the major appliances in your home. Enter the appropriate data in each slot, including the number of hours each appliance is used in a typical week. We have assumed that all refrigerators and hot water heaters are always operating. 14. The last bit of data that you need to enter is the price of each fuel that you use. This data should be available from the energy supplier that you use. If it is not, we have provided an estimated average of current costs. 15. After completing all of this data, press the Calculate Summary button at the bottom of the page. The program should return the cost of energy in your home for the year. If you find that you wish to change any of the Other Household data (the second section), you may do so without having to go back and enter the Conduction data again. Merely change the data that you want, and then press the Calculate Summary button again. It will recalculate your costs with the new changes. If you wish to change something about the Conduction data, you will need to press the New Energy Analysis button, which will clear the entire calculator and allow you to begin over again. Assignment Your assignment for this exercise is to run the energy calculator for your residence, complete the questions listed on the activity sheet, and attach printouts of your runs of the energy calculator. References 1 "A Look At Residential Energy Consumption in 1997", U.S. Department of Energy, November 1999. 5 ESA 21: Environmental Science Activities Activity Sheet Energy: Synthesis & Analysis Name: Lecture Professor: Attach copies of your runs of the energy calculator to this sheet. Analysis: Are the yearly electricity and natural gas costs reasonable for your home based on your experience? If not, can you think of any reasons to explain this discrepancy? Calculating the effects of lifestyle changes: Make the changes below in the calculator and see how they affect annual energy costs. (a.) Lower the thermostat setting in the winter a few degrees below your current setting and elevate the summer setting by the same amount. Initial setting New setting Winter Summer Annual Energy Savings ($): Would you make this change? Why or why not? (b.) Reduce the number of hours you use your oven or dryer by a reasonable amount. Initial no. of hours New no. of hours Oven Dryer Annual Energy Savings ($): Would you make this change? Why or why not? 6
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Awesome! Perfect study aid.

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