Evaluation of in-situ cooling performance at renovation 2050: comparing zone vs. central based cooling systems for single family dwellings

The objective of this Major Research Project has been to compare the benefits of cooling performance of zoned and central air conditioning systems using summer 2013 as an evaluation period. Three adjacent houses in Toronto have been studied as part of the Renovation2050 research program. Total cooling energy usage was measured directly from all cooling equipment, along with temperature and cooling energy usage was measured directly from all cooling equipment, along with temperature and relative humidity readings via remote sensors. The goal of this 1-year study was to compare the cooling energy performance of each house, temperature, and relative humidity. The study has used energy simulation, to compare zoned and central systems while accounting for weather, human occupancy, and construction types. Results have shown that there is potential for energy benefits on a zoned system compared to a central system by approximately 95% in total cooling energy use for the study period,and these results are dependent on the building envelope and user types and these results are dependent on the building envelope and user types.