Lead Performer: Iowa State University—Ames, IA
DOE Total Funding: $500,000
Cost Share: $104,232
Project Term: 2016-2018
Funding Type: Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovations Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2016 (DE-FOA-0001383)
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
Iowa State University will develop an infiltration diagnostics system that uses a laser to locally heat a portion of the building envelope, and then uses an infrared camera to pinpoint air leaks. For a building to have a tight, air sealed envelope, it needs to identify and address infiltration and leaks. This technology is able to determine the existence of cracks and infiltration points by introducing localized laser heating and using an infrared camera to uncover the temperature field disturbance induced by the infiltration points. There are five criteria for ideal infiltration diagnostics that this technology has the potential to meet, including: location and extent diagnostics, building-level application, least surface preparation, weather-proof, and non-disruption to building occupants.
PROJECT IMPACT
Heating and cooling needs represent approximately 30% of the primary energy consumed in residential and commercial buildings1. A tight building envelope can help to lessen this energy consumption, as 4 quads of primary energy consumption are attributed to infiltration. This system is able to measure and locate leaks within a building envelope, producing an energy saving potential of about 566 TBtu by 2030. Both the building and occupants will not be disrupted, as it does not require contact or any destruction, thereby significantly reducing the energy and materials used for demolition and reconstruction.
CONTACTS
DOE Technology Manager: Sven Mumme
Lead Performer: Xinwei Wang, Iowa State University
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1 U.S. Energy Information Administration. Annual Energy Outlook 2014 with Projections to 2040. DOE/EIA- 0383(2014). Washington, DC: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2014.