VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Agee, Philip"

Browsing by Author "Agee, Philip"

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A Cost-Effective, Scalable, and Portable IoT Data Infrastructure for Indoor Environment Sensing
Anik, Sheik; Gao, Xinghua; Meng, Na; Agee, Philip; McCoy, Andrew P. (2022-05-15)
The vast number of facility management systems, home automation systems, and the ever-increasing number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices are in constant need of environmental monitoring. Indoor environment data can be utilized to improve indoor facilities and better occupants’ working and living experience, however, such data are scarce because many existing facility monitoring technologies are expensive and proprietary for certain building systems. With the aim of addressing the indoor environment data availability issue, the authors designed and prototyped a cost-effective, distributed, scalable, and portable indoor environmental data collection system, Building Data Lite (BDL). BDL is based on Raspberry Pi computers and multiple changeable arrays of sensors, such as sensors of temperature, humidity, light, motion, sound, vibration, and multiple types of gases. The system includes a distributed sensing network and a centralized server. The server provides a web-based graphical user interface that enables users to access the collected data over the Internet. To evaluate the BDL system’s functionality, cost effectiveness, scalability, and portability, the research team conducted a case study in an affordable housing community where the system prototype is deployed to 12 households. The results indicate that the system is functioning as designed, costs $73 per zone and provides 12 types of indoor environment data, is easy to scale up, and is fully portable. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by proposing an innovative way for establishing a distributed wireless IoT data infrastructure for indoor environment sensing in new or existing buildings.
Energy Series: Estimating appliance and home electronic energy use
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Formulas for estimating your energy consumption for all the electric appliances in your house small and large.
Energy Series: What about appliances?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
When shopping for appliances one should remember purchase price, repairs and maintenance, and operating costs. Look at Energy Star logo and the EnergyGuide label. Average annual energy costs of a home is $2,200 annually. Using appliances with energy saving features can save $80.00 a year. Some utilities have buy back programs for old appliances.
ENERGY SERIES: What about Caulking and Weather-Stripping?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Discussion on places in the home that commonly have air leaks, how to check for them, how to caulk and weather strip them for efficiency
Energy Series: What about house design and room location?
Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
House design suggestions as far as room placement. A house design with a long axis east-west is most energy efficient.
Energy Series: What about moisture?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Relative humidity, how moisture gets into buildings, what damage it can do, and how to prevent or fix it.
ENERGY SERIES: What about Mold?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Discussion of mold, fungi, mildews, and yeasts in the home. It's often caused by moisture and has to be remediated. Leaks of any kind in the home will promote molds and the more efficient a home is, there is a lesser chance of having mold.
Energy Series: What about radiant barriers?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Radiant heat transfer occurs when electromagnetic waves travel in a straight line through a vacuum or air between surfaces that are at different temperatures, heating any object in its path.
Energy Series: What about the air conditioning system?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Air conditioning size, energy efficiency, SEER, SHR, Removing moisture, component locations,questions the HVAC contractor should ask, request a calculation of savings, request load circulation, inspect ducts, consider houwe pressurization test, replace indoor and outdoor coils, obtain written contract, weigh costs, install for easy maintenance.
ENERGY SERIES: What about the Bathroom?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Energy use in bathrooms. How to buy efficient fixtures for your bathroom such as sink faucets, showerheads, toilets and exhaust fans
ENERGY SERIES: What About the Ductwork?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Types of ductwork include flex ducts, rigid ductboard metal ducts. Location of ductwork should be in the conditioned space. How leaks occur in ductwork, where to look for leaks, what happens if there is a leak in the duct system and how often the duct system should be checked for leaks, and how to seal the leaks found.
ENERGY SERIES: What about the Heating System?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Ignosh, John; Agee, Philip (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) describes heat produced from energy used. STAR qualified oil and gas furnaces have AFUE ratings of 85% and higher, making them up to 15% more efficient than standard models. Heating system performance factors.
ENERGY SERIES: What about the Laundry Area?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Discussion of energy efficiency in washers and dryers and what to look for when buying them.
ENERGY SERIES: What about the Water Heater?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Discussion of water heater operation, energy savings, conservation, appropriate size for the household, placement, and types
ENERGY SERIES: What About Using Ceiling Fans?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Discussion of ceiling fans and their use. How to choose them by size of room, motor, Energy Star options.
ENERGY SERIES: What about Windows?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Windows and their thermal properties.
ENERGY SERIES: What Are the Differences Between Mobile and Modular Homes?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
Mobile homes are built entirely at the factory and requires hook-ups to utilities and certain appliances upon delivery. Modular homes are built in modules in a factory then constructed on site.
Energy Series: What is the whole house systems approach to energy efficiency?
Grisso, Robert D.; Walker, Martha A.; Agee, Philip; Ignosh, John (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2020)
The whole house systems approach looks at the entire house as an energy system with interdependent parts. Like a human body, when one part fails it affects the performance of the entire system
flEECe, an energy use and occupant behavior dataset for net-zero energy affordable senior residential buildings
Paige, Frederick; Agee, Philip; Jazizadeh, Farrokh (Nature, 2019-11-26)
The behaviors of building occupants have continued to perplex scholars for years in our attempts to develop models for energy efficient housing. Building simulations, project delivery approaches, policies, and more have fell short of their optimistic goals due to the complexity of human behavior. As a part of a multiphase longitudinal affordable housing study, this dataset represents energy and occupant behavior attributes for 6 affordable housing units over nine months in Virginia, USA which are not performing to the net-zero energy standard they were designed for. This dataset provides researchers the ability to analyze the following variables: energy performance, occupant behaviors, energy literacy, and ecological perceptions. Energy data is provided at a 1 Hz sampling rate for four circuits: main, hot water heater, dryer, and HVAC. Building specifications, occupancy, weather data, and neighboring building energy use data are provided to add depth to the dataset. This dataset can be used to update building energy use models, predictive maintenance, policy frameworks, construction risk models, economic models, and more.
The Impact of Energy Efficient Design and Construction on LIHTC Housing in Virginia
McCoy, Andrew P. (Housing Virginia, 2015)
The purpose of this report is to identify and verify possible benefits of the shift in housing policy by the Virginia Housing development Authority (VHDA) to encourage energy efficiency (EE) in the affordable rental stock in Virginia through the LIHTC program. The research addresses key issues related to Energy Efficiency and affordable housing through a rigorous measurement of economic impacts for low-income residents, distinguishing the effects of design, construction, technologies and behavior per unit. In addition, the research addresses how the policy to use EE might impact developers and owners in terms of property capital and operating costs. Data, analysis and findings focus specifically on facilities constructed to the EarthCraft MultiFamily standard in Virginia, one of the only datasets currently available that allows for this type of inquiry.