The Metal Building Manufacturers Association (MBMA) has started the first phase of a long-term plan for major research in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The industry and DOE hope this joint work will ultimately provide designers with the knowledge to design higher quality and more energy efficient structures. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was awarded the MAXLAB project under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and this research is an element of that project.
ORNL’s light commercial building flexible research platforms will expose the test buildings to natural weather conditions for R&D purposes. The results are intended to advance energy efficiency solutions for new and retrofit applications. These test buildings will provide the opportunity to prove solutions in a low risk environment so they can be more readily accepted in the marketplace in actual commercial buildings.
The research will consist of two full-scale light commercial buildings. The first building to be completed will be a 2,400-sf, one-story metal building system with a gable roof. The second building will be a 3,200 square-foot, multi-story light framed building with a flat roof. MBMA will conduct research on the low-rise metal building.
Both buildings will have hundreds of very sophisticated sensors that will send data back to a central data center within the main MAXLAB research building to closely monitor heat flow through the various surfaces. The buildings will be constructed on insulated concrete foundations that include in-slab heating/cooling loops, which enable researchers to control the temperature of the fluid circulating in the loops. The slab system, which was specially designed for the experiments, will eliminate heat transfer between the ground and the test buildings. This separation of the buildings from the effects of the ground is necessary to accurately model the energy performance of the building shells and makes the research more useful for various geographic locations.
The structural frame for the metal building has been constructed on the site, and the roof and walls are currently under construction. Once construction is completed, ORNL researchers will begin setting up sensors and other scientific equipment to measure the energy performance of the building and to establish a performance baseline. The benchmark building will be insulated to a low level to establish a starting point. Future experiments will include higher insulation levels for the roof and walls and introduce other energy saving strategies that will be measured against the original benchmark performance.
Since metal buildings are used in approximately 40% of all low-rise non-residential construction, this is an important construction type to study in order to analyze, document, and show improvements in energy performance.
Energy research on buildings has previously focused on the component level, such as hot box testing, cool roof tests, air barrier tests, etc. However, whole building testing in a complete building system will allow for combined and individual impacts to be evaluated together due to the complicated interactions among the building components under controlled conditions. +
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Sep 10, 2015
MILITARY SECTOR GIANTS: Clark Group, HDR, Fluor top rankings of nation's largest military sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest military sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
Museums | Sep 9, 2015
Bauhaus Museum Dessau names two design winners
The German museum chose one sleek, no-nonsense concept and one colorful, complex entry.
Giants 400 | Sep 8, 2015
RETAIL SECTOR GIANTS: Callison RTKL, PCL Construction, Jacobs among top retail sector AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest retail sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
BIM and Information Technology | Sep 7, 2015
The power of data: How AEC firms and owners are using analytics to transform design and construction
Case’s bldgs = data conference highlighted how collecting data about personal activities can inform design and extend the power of BIM/VDC.
Sponsored | Architects | Sep 4, 2015
Sydney-based Architectural Firm Dramatically Increases Productivity
ArchiOffice enables the firm to spend less time on managing projects by providing relevant information in one place.
Industrial Facilities | Sep 3, 2015
DATA CENTER SECTOR GIANTS: Fluor, Gensler, Holder Construction among top data center AEC firms
BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest data center sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2015 Giants 300 Report
High-rise Construction | Sep 3, 2015
Rafael Viñoly's 'Walkie-Talkie' tower named U.K.'s worst new building
The curved, glass tower at 20 Fenchurch Street in London has been known to reflect intense heat onto the streets below (in one instance damaging a car) and cause severe wind gusts.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Surveys gauge users’ satisfaction with airports
Several surveys gauge passenger satisfaction with airports, as flyers and airlines weigh in on technology, security, and renovations.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Small and regional airports in a dogfight for survival
Small and regional airports are in a dogfight for survival. Airlines have either cut routes to non-hub markets, or don’t provide enough seating capacity to meet demand.
Airports | Aug 31, 2015
Airports expand rental car facilities to ease vehicular traffic at their terminals
AEC teams have found fertile ground in building or expanding consolidated rental car facilities, which are the No. 1 profit centers for most airports.