Recent undulations in fuel costs and widespread natural disasters have prompted nationwide concern over energy availability. The US government, in response to these recent events, has offered a $2000 tax credit to individuals who reduce their energy consumption by 50%. The purpose of this project is to help identify ways in which Dr. Darryl Farber, the owner of a 1955 ranch-style home in State College, PA, can reduce energy use, increase efficiency, and become eligible for the tax credit.

According to the US Department of Energy, 44% of all energy used by homes is for heating and cooling, 33% is for lighting and appliances, 14% is for water heating and 9% is for refrigeration. Rather than focusing on one area of energy use, Team Clean Energy has taken a holistic approach to energy conservation by identifying methods in which Dr. Farber can economically reduce  energy consumption in each of these areas.

eQUEST building modeling software was used to create a model of Dr. Farber’s home and identify how a wide variety of residential modifications affect energy consumption and heat losses. To create the colorful, 3-D home models depicting heat loss and temperature gradients, as requested by our sponsor, Team Clean Energy created ANSYS models of the home and simulate the energy losses associated with each design modification suggested by eQUEST. 

It was determined that there is a linear relationship between heat space and home heating costs; Dr. Farber could save roughly $1,000 dollars a year by switching from heating oil to a natural gas furnace.  It was also determined that Dr. Farber could save $300.00 per year by adding R-2 insulation to his walls.  Installing R-16 insulation would save Dr. Farber $650.00 per year.  The eQUEST data obtained in our study allows for over 1.7 billion component combinations and possible household arrangements. Since tabulating or listing each combination in a list or matrix is unrealistic, Team Clean Energy scripted a platform-independent executable file which computes the heat loss savings for any combination of parametrically analyzed eQUEST components.  This program, called DarrylAudit 1.0, also generates a Microsoft Word report detailing the current configuration, user input modifications, and informative feedback.  To get access to this program please email Jason Bargender at jsb290@psu.edu and request a copy.