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Estimate savings from air destratification 1

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illhp

Industrial
Jun 18, 2003
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Are there any studies that have proven heating savings due to air destratification? When is destratification a good option and what kind of savings can be anticipated?
 
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illhp: it's a good question. I've always thought of it as a method to keep the heat you put into a space from "sticking" to the ceiling... I'd be interested in any thoughts on this also.
 
It is a good question.

I would suspect that the savings are highly dependant on the space, so that any studies that might exist would be relavant only to a particular location, and not able to be generalized.

Seems like this topic would be a very good subject for a CFD study. However, if you want to take a stab at some rough manual calculations, I would suggest the following approach (I am assuming that you have an actual space that you are interested in):

Measure the temperature at various heights.

Determine the "U" for your walls and roof.

Using the U and the temperature at each height, calculate the heat loss from that "layer".

Repeat the calculation using a uniform temperature.

For extra credit, repeat each calculation with improved roof insulation.

Let us know what you find out. You might even come up with something worthy of publishing yourself.

 
Hi illhip,
A simple solution is to install paddle or ducted ceiling fans to bring the warm air down to floor level.
As a rule of thumb, air temp. increases by 0.5 F for each foot of height above the thermostat level.
Savings from destratification vary according to the type of facility and the location, but for a normal building with normal exhaust rates, savings can be in the order of 0.5%-0.7% for every foot of building height above thermostat level based on the thermostat set temp.(68F-50F)
Regards
 
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