BUILDING ENERGY SUPPLY SYSTEMS

(16CVP306)
January 2017 Three hours

Answer FOUR Questions

All Questions carry equal marks
Candidates may use any Loughborough University approved calculator

1. a) A load has a resistance of 7Ω, connected to a 230V 50Hz supply.

Calculate:
i) The power rating in KW of the load. [1 mark]
ii) The cost of running the heater for 6 hours at £0.15/kWh. [1 mark]

b) A substation has a 750 kVA Dyn11 distribution transformer having primary

voltage of 6,600V and secondary voltage of 400V at full load.
Calculate:
i) The current flowing in the transformer secondary circuit at full load.
[2 marks]
ii) The current in the primary circuit at 60% of full load. [2 marks]

c) Explain why it is important to have fuses and circuit breakers (generically

called “protective devices”) within electrical distribution systems. Discuss
their differences in operation. [4 marks]

d) The total earth fault loop impedance ‘ZS’ (EFLI) is calculated from;
ZS = Ze + (R1 + R2).
A consumer has a single phase 230V supply to a property, where the
earthing arrangement provided by the Regional Electricity Company (REC) is
TN-S at the origin of the installation. With the aid of a clearly labelled
diagram, show the earth fault current loop, starting at the REC’s distribution
transformer to an earth fault on an item of equipment within the consumer’s
installation. [5 marks]

e) A Consumer has a load current of 300amps per phase and the service cable
from the supply transformer is a four core 240mm2 copper conductor
armoured cable having a voltage drop of 0.18mV/A/Mtr. If the service cable
is 30metres long calculate: The voltage drop (in volts) along the length of the
cable. [2 marks]

f) The Electricity at Work Regulations (EAWR) defines some regulations for

“Absolute” compliance and others as “Reasonably Practical” compliance
including relevant standards. Explain the terms Absolute and Reasonably
Practical as applied to the EAWR. [3 marks]
Continues/…
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2. A water chilling plant uses lithium bromide absorption system in which the
generator is maintained at 80 °C using a hot-water coil. The evaporator and
condenser saturation temperatures are 9 °C and 40 °C respectively, and the
refrigeration capacity is 60 kW. It may be assumed that there is no
undercooling in the condenser and that the water vapour leaving the
evaporator is dry saturated. Assuming that there is a heat exchanger
between the absorber and generator, sketch the plant, and calculate:

i) the heat supplied to the generator [8 marks]

ii) the heat rejected in the condenser [6 marks]
iii) the heat rejected in the absorber [6 marks]

You may use: hf at 40°C =167.5 kJ/kg, hg at 80°C = 2643.2 kJ/kg and hg at
9°C =2517.4 kJ/kg. For lithium bromide/water solutions, you may use the
data given in Table 2.

Table 2 Data for lithium bromide/water solutions

Mass concentration Enthalpy

LiBr/mixture kJ/kg
Weak solution leaving generator 0.60 -90.7
Strong solution leaving absorber 0.51 -172.1
Strong solution entering generator 0.51 -140.7

3. a) State the ways in which we can reduce the energy demand for space
heating, and comment on issues associated with those reduction measures.
[8 marks]

b) With the aid of a diagram describe the principle features of a domestic/small

commercial condensing boiler and state a typical heating water return
temperature. [4 marks]

c) State which building regulations impact on boiler design and installation.

[5 marks]

d) State three typical fuels used for heating boilers and state a typical calorific
value. [3 marks]

Continues/…
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4. a) With the aid of a suitable diagram illustrate the main energy flows in a double
glazed flat plate solar collector. [8 marks]

b) Describe at least 6 key features of a flat plate solar collector design that are
required to enable good efficiency to be achieved. [3 marks]

c) Determine the value of the solar collector top loss coefficient Ut given that
the linearised radiative heat transfer between the solar collector cover and
the sky for this installation at a particular time is 2.5Wm-2K-1 referenced to the
sky temperature. Calculate the heat loss from the collector cover if the
effective sky temperature is 0˚C and the ambient air temperature is 20˚C.
The wind speed is 2ms-1, the incident radiation is 600Wm-2, the solar
collector cover temperature is 20˚C above ambient and the plate
temperature is 100˚C. [6 marks]

d) Given that the optical efficiency of this solar collector is 80% and that the
heat loss from the back of the collector is 10% of that from the top calculate
the useful solar energy collected for these operating conditions.

The following equation is provided:

                h = 5.7 + 3.8V                                                                          [3 marks] 

5. a) Draw the vapour compression cycle used in heat pumps. Be sure to state the
energy flows in the cycle and fully define all the variables used. [4 marks]

b) State three refrigerants currently used in heat pumps and give a description
of the advantages and disadvantages of each. [6 marks]

c) Give a full discussion of ten practical selection issues for heat sources and
sinks used in heat pumps. [10 marks]

6. Note: Where no year for Part L documents is specified, it is understood to

refer to the current Part L for non-domestic buildings in England.

a) List three of the main changes and targets introduced by each Part L
regulation in England from 2006 to the present day for new buildings.
[9 marks]

b) List the five criteria in Part L2A 2013. [2 marks]

c) Describe briefly the simplest way of complying with above Criterion in (b).
[1 mark]

d) Which is the last parameter to be known in a Part L2A as-built calculation?

[1 mark]

Question 6 continues/…
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e) Explain why the use of the limiting U-values in criterion 2 are not
recommended for overall Part L2A 2013 compliance. [1 mark]

f) List and describe briefly two of the main factors that influence compliance with
the ‘Limiting the effects of heat gains in summer’ criterion. [1 mark]

g) Explain when an extension is evaluated using Part L2A or Part L2B . [1 mark]

h) Explain briefly when Consequential Improvements apply to works in existing

buildings and what compliance with them requires. [2 marks]

i) Please indicate the two main differences that the new Part L2A in Wales has
introduced compared to that in England. [1 mark]

j) Indicate if the following statement is correct or not: “Part L2A 2013 requires
that in the Part L compliance calculations a specific building emits at least 9%
less CO2 emissions than what was required by Part L2A 2010”. If not, explain
why. [1 mark]

J Brittle
M Eftekhari
R Buswell
P Eames
S Firth
J Hernandez