Graduation Year

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.S.M.E.

Degree Name

MS in Mechanical Engineering (M.S.M.E.)

Degree Granting Department

Mechanical Engineering

Major Professor

Elias K. Stefanakos, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Rasim Guldiken, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Arash Takshi, Ph.D.

Keywords

Electrochromism, Energy Savings, Simulations, Smart Materials, Thermochromism

Abstract

Air conditioning and heating have increased substantially during the past two decades. According to a survey, buildings consume about 73% of the total electricity in the United States, accounting for 41% of all other energy in the world. At the same time, building skin technologies are constantly improving. Electrochromic and thermochromic are two exciting new technologies that can help reduce the energy consumption of a building. The purpose of this work is to increase our understanding of how much the use of electrochromic (EC) and thermochromic (TC) technologies can reduce the energy consumption of residential and commercial buildings in two different climate zones. With the use of the software eQUEST and specific parameters for EC and TC materials and devices, the energy performance of these buildings is simulated. Furthermore, simulations are used to compare the difference in energy consumption between a building that uses low-E double pane windows and a cool roof and a building that uses EC windows and a TC roof. The results for two cities, Tampa and Chicago, are obtained to determine the performance of EC windows and TC roofs in two different climates. These results suggest that the utilization of both EC windows and TC roofs can save 27.8% - 35% and 6.2% - 23.8% of the energy consumed by commercial and residential buildings, respectively. Although these results are only an estimate, they do demonstrate the potential of EC and the TC technologies to reduce the energy consumption of buildings.

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