Practice Exercise - Module 3

The main goal for my building, not just in this exercise but in general, is to showcase and use nuclear energy to power electrified building systems.

Goal 1: Self-Contained (On-Site) Power Supply

• Measure:  Building Power Use
• Targets:
• Minimally Acceptable Value: On-site generation of 50% of Building Power Use
• Desired/Target Value: On-site generation of 100% of Building Power Use
• Strategies:
• Using a Nuclear SMR to power the building. DOE estimates about 22.5 kWh/sqft power consumption. Rough estimate of our building’s demand is (22.5 x 30,000)/1,000 = 675MWh. Current SMRs can provide about half that, so we would need two.
• Grid connection optional. Would provide redundancy, but could add unneeded project costs.

Goal 2: Electrified Building

• Measure:  Only electric energy used throughout the building (”Electrification”)
• Targets:
• Desired/Target Value: 100% of the Building’s power demand through electricity (”Electrification”)
• Strategies:
• Using heat pumps throughout the building for cooling and heating loads
• Using heat pump water heaters for hot/chilled water demand.

Goal 3: Maximum Daylighting

• Measure:  Maximum daylight use to light the spaces and reduce heating load
• Targets:
• Illuminance - ~ 20 Footcandles (Vertical), 50 Footcandles (Horizontal) (based off general retail targets)
• Luminance - 25-150 nits (based off typical wall targets)
• Strategies:
• Optimizing building orientation
• Optimizing fenestration to balance daylighting vs cooling demands
• Using reflective surfaces throughout the interior
• May depend on site selection