Case Study of Quantifying Energy Loss through Ceiling-Attic Recessed Lighting Fixtures through 3D Numerical Simulation

Authors

Ri Na, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Shengmao Lin, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Zhigang Shen, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Linxia Gu, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

Winter 1-6-2016

Citation

Submitted to Journal of Architectural Engineering

Comments

Copyright (c) 2016 Ri Na, Shengmao Lin, Zhigang Shen, and Lingxia Gu

Abstract

Air leakage through improperly installed recessed lighting fixtures has been identified as a common issue causing extra energy consumption of residential buildings. However, little quantitative study was found in this area. In this paper, a preliminary evaluation of the magnitude of such energy loss was conducted by numerical simulations using 3 dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A typical layout of recessed lighting fixtures was used in this case study with boundary conditions in four different seasons, which were obtained from past measured roof/attic temperature data sets. The results of the numerical simulations indicate that leakage of recessed lighting fixtures could be a very significant channel of energy loss in attic related residential buildings, especially in summer and winter time.