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Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Technical Support Document: 

Development of the Advanced 

Energy Design Guide for 

Medium to Big Box Retail 

Buildings – 50% Energy Savings 

Eric Bonnema, Matt Leach, and Shanti Pless

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Technical Report

NREL/TP-5500-52589

June 2013
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

15013 Denver West Parkway

Golden, CO 80401

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov

Technical Support Document: 

Development of the Advanced 

Energy Design Guide for 

Medium to Big Box Retail 

Buildings – 50% Energy 

Savings 

Eric Bonnema, Matt Leach, and Shanti Pless

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Prepared under Task No. BEC8.1112

Technical Report

NREL/TP-5500-52589

June 2013
NOTICE

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Arah Schuur and Jeremiah Williams of the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office. This report was prepared by the Commercial 

Buildings Group of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Electricity, Resources, 

and Building Systems Integration Center.

We would also like to thank ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the 

Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), the U.S. Green Building Council 

(USGBC), and DOE, as well as all the members of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for 

Medium to Big Box Retail Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy 

Building (AEDG-MBBR) project committee (PC) for their valuable input and willingness to 

share their expertise. Much work went into producing the recommendations in the AEDGMBBR, covering the following topic areas: lighting and daylighting; heating, ventilation, and 

air-conditioning (HVAC); building envelope; plug loads; and operations and maintenance. 

Without the committee’s expertise and differing views, as well as the support of the members’ 

organizations, this report would not have been possible. 

The authors extend their thanks to their NREL colleague Daniel Studer, to Paul Holliday of 

Holliday Electrical Mechanical Engineering for peer reviews, and to Stefanie Woodward of 

NREL for editorial assistance.

Finally, other NREL colleagues provided valuable guidance and information during the 

modeling process, either directly or through their past work. Brent Griffith contributed extensive 

support in creating and debugging the complex energy models. 
ii

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Executive Summary

Background

This Technical Support Document (TSD) describes the process and methodology for the 

development of the AEDG-MBBR (ASHRAE et al. (2011b). The AEDG-MBBR provides 

recommendations for achieving 50% whole-building energy savings in retail stores over levels 

achieved by following ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for 

Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (Standard 90.1-2004) (ASHRAE 2004b). The 

guide was developed in collaboration with ASHRAE, AIA, IES, USGBC, and DOE. 

The AEDG-MBBR is the second AEDG for retail buildings; the first was targeted toward small 

retail buildings and is part of a series of six AEDGs targeting 30% energy savings over levels 

achieved by following ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for 

Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (ASHRAE 1999). The guides in the 30% 

energy savings series are: 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2004) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Retail Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2006) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 School Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2008a) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Warehouses and Self-Storage Buildings: 

Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 

2008b) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Highway Lodging: Achieving 30% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2009a) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: 

Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 

2009b) 

The AEDG-MBBR is part of a series of AEDGs targeting 50% energy savings over levels 

achieved by following Standard 90.1-2004. The other guides in the 50% energy savings series 

include: 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Office Buildings: Achieving 

50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2011c) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 School Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2011a) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Large Hospitals: Achieving 50% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2012) 

Each guide provides user-friendly design assistance and recommendations to design, 

architectural, and engineering firms to achieve energy savings. The AEDG-MBBR includes 

prescriptive recommendations by climate zone for the building envelope; fenestration; lighting 

systems (including interior and exterior electrical lights and daylighting); plug, process, and 

phantom loads; commercial kitchen equipment; service water heating (SWH); HVAC systems; 

building automation and controls; outdoor air treatment; and measurement and verification. 
iii

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Additional savings recommendations are also included, but are not necessary to achieve the 50% 

savings goal. These are provided for renewable energy systems and alternative HVAC systems. 

The objectives in developing this TSD included: 

• Develop baseline and low-energy retail store energy models. 

• Document the modeling assumptions needed to verify 50% energy savings.

• Present the recommendations for achieving at least 50% savings over Standard 

90.1-2004. 

• Demonstrate through annual whole-building energy modeling that the recommendations 

result in 50% or greater energy savings by climate zone. 

• Document the process used to develop the AEDG-MBBR. 

AEDG-MBBR Development Process

The AEDG-MBBR was developed by a PC representing a diverse group of professionals. 

Guidance and support were provided through a collaboration of ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, 

USGBC, and DOE. Publication of the AEDG-MBBR was accomplished by two separate 

committees: a steering committee that provided high-level guidance and a PC that developed the 

guide. 

AEDG-MBBR Scope

This guide applies primarily to retail buildings with 20,000 ft2 to 100,000 ft2 of floor area; 

however, many of the recommendations also apply to smaller and larger retail buildings. These 

facilities typically include some or all of the following space types: administrative and office 

areas, sales areas, hallways and restrooms, meeting and dining areas, storage spaces, and 

mechanical/electrical rooms. It does not consider commercial refrigeration, kitchens, or other 

atypical specialty spaces that generate extraordinary heat or pollution. Its primary focus is new 

construction, but recommendations may be applicable to facilities undergoing major renovation, 

and in part to many other retail store renovation, addition, remodeling, and modernization 

projects (including changes to one or more systems in existing buildings). 

The guide does not include all the components listed in Standard 90.1-2004. It focuses only on a 

building’s primary energy systems (lighting, HVAC, etc.), so the underlying energy analysis 

presumes that all the other components are built according to the criteria in Standard 90.1-2004. 

Certain aspects of retail store design, including commercial refrigeration equipment, domestic 

water well piping, and sewage disposal, were excluded, as they were too complex to include 

given the scope of the project. Significant energy efficiency opportunities may be available with 

these aspects, and AEDG-MBBR users are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities. 

The AEDG-MBBR is not intended to substitute for rating systems or references that address the 

full range of sustainable issues in retail store design, such as acoustics, productivity, indoor air 

quality, water efficiency, landscaping, and transportation, except as they relate to energy use; nor 

is it a design text (ASHRAE et al. 2011b). The guide contains recommendations only and is not 

a code or standard. 

Evaluation Approach and Results

The purpose of the building energy simulation analysis presented in this TSD is to assess and 

quantify the energy savings potential of the set of climate-specific energy efficiency 
iv

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recommendations in the AEDG-MBBR. The following steps describe how the energy savings 

potential of the AEDG-MBBR’s recommendations were determined. 

1. Develop “typical” retail store facility prototype models 

For building characteristics that are not specified by Standard 90.1-2004, but that are needed to 

develop baseline models that represent typical operation, the retail store models from Hale et al. 

(2009) were used as a starting point. A “typical” prototype is an energy model that is a 

representative example of a retail store facility. Three prototype models were developed; two 

medium box and one big box. The two medium box stores were identical except for the plug 

loads; the low plug prototype is meant to represent a store that sells items such as clothing or 

books and has little plug-in merchandise; the high plug prototype is meant to represent an 

electronics retailer with a larger amount of plug-in merchandise. A larger big box prototype was 

developed to represent larger general merchandise stores. The high-level building characteristics 

for the three prototype models are shown in Table ES–1. 

Table ES–1 AEDG-MBBR Prototype Characteristics

Building 

Characteristic Medium Box Low Plug Medium Box High Plug Big Box 

Size 40,500 ft2 40,500 ft2 99,225 ft2

Aspect ratio 1.25 1.25 1.00

Sales floor area 32,400 ft2 32,400 ft2 79,380 ft2

Back-of-house area 8,100 ft2 8,100 ft2 19,845 ft2

Floor-to-ceiling height 20 ft 20 ft 20 ft

Space types Sales floor, vestibule, stock room, office, meeting room, break room, restroom, 

corridor, mechanical room

Wall constructions Steel framed Steel framed Mass

Roof construction Insulation entirely above 

deck

Insulation entirely above 

deck

Insulation entirely above 

deck 

Window area 22% (south façade only) 22% (south façade only) 22% (south façade only)

Window sill height 3.6 ft 3.6 ft 3.6 ft

Window height 4.4 ft 4.4 ft 4.4 ft

Peak plug loads 0.35 W/ft2 0.54 W/ft2 0.36 W/ft2

Percent conditioned Fully heated and cooled Fully heated and cooled Fully heated and cooled

2. Create baseline models that are minimally code compliant with 

Standard 90.1-2004

The baseline models for the medium and big box retail stores were developed by applying the 

criteria in Standard 90.1-2004 to the prototype models. The baseline energy modeling 

assumptions and methods were documented, including the building envelope characteristics, 

building internal loads and operating schedules, ventilation rates and schedules, HVAC 

equipment efficiency, operation, control and sizing, fan power assumptions, and SWH. The 

criteria in Standard 90.1-2004 were used as the baselines to calculate energy savings for the 

AEDG-MBBR recommendations.
v 

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3. Create the low-energy models based on the recommended energy efficiency 

technologies in the AEDG-MBBR

To quantify the potential energy savings from the proposed recommended energy efficiency 

measures in the AEDG-MBBR, the low-energy building models were developed by 

implementing the energy efficiency technologies listed here. 

• Enhanced building opaque envelope insulation and window glazing; and the addition of 

overhangs 

• Reduced lighting power density and installation of occupancy controls 

• Exterior lighting power density reductions

• Plug load reductions and improved controls 

• Demand-controlled ventilation and energy recovery ventilators 

• Dedicated outdoor air systems (DOASs)

• High-efficiency HVAC equipment 

• High-efficiency SWH equipment. 

4. Verify the recommendations meet or exceed the 50% energy savings goal of 

the AEDG-MBBR

The final recommendations included in the AEDG-MBBR were determined based on an iterative 

process using the PC’s expertise and results from modeling proposed recommendations. Energy 

savings associated with the final recommendations in the AEDG-MBBR are documented in this 

TSD. To verify savings over a range of design options, low-energy versions of the two medium

and one big box retail store were modeled with four types of low-energy HVAC systems. The 

low-energy HVAC system types include: 

• Packaged variable air volume (VAV) direct expansion (DX) air conditioner with a gas 

furnace (VAV) 

• Packaged constant air volume (CAV) DX air conditioner with a gas furnace and a DOAS

(CAV DOAS) 

• Air source heat pump (ASHP) with electric resistance supplemental heat and a DOAS 

(ASHP DOAS)

• Water source heat pump (WSHP) with a DOAS (WSHP DOAS). 

Recommendations in the AEDG-MBBR are provided based on the type of low-energy HVAC 

system used. This TSD also presents energy savings results by prototype model and HVAC 

system type. The recommendations in the AEDG-MBBR result in more than 50% savings in all 

climate zones, for both medium and the one big box retail store low-energy models, for all 

HVAC system types. Table ES–2 and Table ES–3 summarize the percent energy savings for 

each low-energy model in each climate zone. Figure ES–1 shows the process applied to 

determine energy savings. 
vi 

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Table ES–2 Medium Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004

Climate 

Zone 

Representative 

City

Low Plug High Plug

VAV CAV

DOAS

ASHP

DOAS

WSHP

DOAS VAV CAVDOAS

ASHP

DOAS

WSHP

DOAS

1A Miami, FL 58.2% 59.7% 59.3% 58.2% 57.0% 58.5% 58.1% 56.9%

2A Houston, TX 58.7% 59.5% 59.7% 58.9% 57.8% 58.5% 58.5% 57.7%

2B Phoenix, AZ 56.8% 58.7% 59.3% 58.6% 56.2% 57.9% 58.4% 57.7%

3A Atlanta, GA 56.6% 56.6% 57.5% 56.5% 56.0% 56.0% 56.6% 55.7%

3B:CA Los Angeles, CA 54.4% 54.4% 55.2% 54.6% 53.2% 53.9% 54.3% 53.8%

3B Las Vegas, NV 57.5% 57.5% 58.9% 57.6% 57.0% 57.0% 58.0% 57.0%

3C San Francisco, CA 54.0% 50.5% 52.9% 51.4% 53.5% 50.7% 52.3% 51.4%

4A Baltimore, MD 56.8% 55.8% 57.2% 56.3% 56.1% 55.4% 56.3% 55.6%

4B Albuquerque, NM 58.0% 58.1% 58.9% 58.7% 57.2% 57.6% 58.1% 57.9%

4C Seattle, WA 54.3% 51.7% 54.4% 52.8% 53.2% 51.9% 53.8% 52.6%

5A Chicago, IL 57.2% 55.5% 56.6% 56.1% 56.0% 55.1% 55.9% 55.5%

5B Denver, CO 57.4% 57.8% 58.6% 58.6% 56.8% 57.4% 57.9% 57.9%

6A Minneapolis, MN 58.1% 56.4% 56.9% 57.2% 56.8% 55.8% 56.1% 56.4%

6B Helena, MT 56.5% 55.2% 56.3% 56.3% 55.6% 55.0% 55.7% 55.9%

7 Duluth, MN 58.5% 56.3% 56.7% 57.6% 57.5% 55.9% 56.0% 56.9%

8 Fairbanks, AK 54.2% 52.9% 53.5% 55.1% 54.1% 52.9% 53.2% 54.8%

Table ES–3 Big Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004

Climate 

Zone Representative City

Big Box

VAV CAV

DOAS

ASHP

DOAS

WSHP

DOAS

1A Miami, Florida 56.5% 58.8% 58.4% 56.9%

2A Houston, Texas 59.3% 59.7% 59.9% 59.0%

2B Phoenix, Arizona 57.9% 59.6% 60.2% 59.3%

3A Atlanta, Georgia 56.5% 55.9% 56.8% 55.5%

3B:CA Los Angeles, CA 54.0% 53.9% 54.5% 53.9%

3B Las Vegas, Nevada 57.1% 57.0% 58.2% 56.9%

3C San Francisco, California 53.9% 50.0% 52.1% 50.7%

4A Baltimore, Maryland 56.2% 55.0% 56.5% 55.3%

4B Albuquerque, New Mexico 57.7% 57.6% 58.6% 57.9%

4C Seattle, Washington 54.0% 51.0% 53.9% 51.9%

5A Chicago, Illinois 57.1% 55.3% 56.6% 55.7%

5B Denver, Colorado 57.4% 57.6% 58.7% 58.2%

6A Minneapolis, Minnesota 58.0% 56.1% 56.9% 56.8%

6B Helena, Montanta 56.4% 55.0% 56.4% 55.9%

7 Duluth, Minnesota 58.6% 56.3% 57.0% 57.4%

8 Fairbanks, Alaska 54.4% 53.0% 54.0% 55.2%
vii 

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Figure ES–1 Flow diagram of modeling process

(Credit: Marjorie Schott/NREL)
viii

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Nomenclature

AEDG Advanced Energy Design Guide 

AEDG-MBBR Advanced Energy Design Guide for Medium to Big Box Retail 

Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero 

Energy Building 

AIA American Institute of Architects

ANSI American National Standards Institute

ASHP air source heat pump 

ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers 

Btu British thermal unit

°C degree Celsius, centigrade

CAV constant air volume

cfm cubic foot per minute

c.i. continuous insulation

COP coefficient of performance

d diameter

DCV demand-controlled ventilation 

DOAS dedicated outdoor air system 

DOE U.S. Department of Energy 

DX direct expansion 

EER energy efficiency ratio

EF energy factor

EMS energy management system 

ERV energy recovery ventilator 

Et thermal efficiency

EUI energy use intensity

°F degree Fahrenheit

ft foot 

ft2 square foot 

ft3 cubic foot 

gal gallon 

h hour 

hp horsepower 

HVAC heating, ventilation, and air conditioning

IEER integrated energy efficiency ratio

IES, IESNA Illuminating Engineering Society of North America

in. inch 

kW kilowatt 

lb pound 

LPD lighting power density 

Ls Linear System

LZ lighting zone 

M&V measurement and verification

min minute 
ix

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NEMA National Electrical Manufacturers Association

NREL National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

OA outdoor air

O&M operations and maintenance 

Pa Pascal

PC project committee

QA quality assurance

SC steering committee

SEER seasonal energy efficiency ratio

SHGC solar heat gain coefficient

SWH service water heating

TSD Technical Support Document 

USGBC U.S. Green Building Council 

V volt 

VAV variable air volume

VFD variable frequency drive

VLT visible light transmittance

VOC volatile organic compound 

W watt

w.c. water column

WSHP water source heat pump 
x 

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Contents

Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................ i

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ ii

Background ................................................................................................................................. ii

AEDG-MBBR Development Process ........................................................................................ iii

AEDG-MBBR Scope ................................................................................................................. iii

Evaluation Approach and Results .............................................................................................. iii

Nomenclature ............................................................................................................................... viii

Contents .......................................................................................................................................... x

Figures and Tables ....................................................................................................................... xiii

Figures ..................................................................................................................................... xiii

Tables ....................................................................................................................................... xiv

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Scope of the AEDG and TSD .......................................................................................... 2

1.3 AEDG-MBBR Layout and Content ................................................................................. 3

1.3.1 Chapter 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 3

1.3.2 Chapter 2 Integrated Design Process ........................................................................ 3

1.3.3 Chapter 3 Applying Energy Modeling and Benchmarking Strategies ...................... 3

1.3.4 Chapter 4 Design Strategies and Recommendations by Climate Zone .................... 3

1.3.5 Chapter 5 How to Implement Recommendations ..................................................... 4

1.4 Technical Support Document Organization ..................................................................... 5

2. AEDG-MBBR Development Process ..................................................................................... 6

2.1 Steering Committee .......................................................................................................... 6

2.1.1 Inclusion of Economics and Cost ............................................................................. 7

2.2 Approval Authority .......................................................................................................... 7

2.3 Project Committee Organization and Membership .......................................................... 7

2.4 Development Schedule and Process ................................................................................. 8

3. Evaluation Approach ............................................................................................................ 10

3.1 Determining Energy Savings ......................................................................................... 10

3.1.1 Site Energy Use....................................................................................................... 10

3.1.2 Whole-Building Energy Savings ............................................................................ 10
xi 

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3.1.3 Modeling Methods .................................................................................................. 12

3.2 Prototype Model Overview ............................................................................................ 14

3.2.1 Geometry................................................................................................................. 14

3.2.2 Ventilation and Occupancy ..................................................................................... 18

3.2.3 Infiltration ............................................................................................................... 20

3.2.4 Thermostat Set Points ............................................................................................. 21

3.3 Baseline Model Development and Assumptions ........................................................... 21

3.3.1 Envelope ................................................................................................................. 22

3.3.2 Electric Lighting ..................................................................................................... 26

3.3.3 Plug and Process Loads .......................................................................................... 27

3.3.4 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning ........................................................... 28

3.3.5 Service Water Heating ............................................................................................ 29

3.3.6 Baseline Simulation Results ................................................................................... 29

3.3.7 All-Electric Baseline ............................................................................................... 36

3.4 Low-Energy Model Development and Assumptions ..................................................... 42

3.4.1 Envelope ................................................................................................................. 42

3.4.2 Electric Lighting ..................................................................................................... 43

3.4.3 Plug and Process Loads .......................................................................................... 45

3.4.4 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning ........................................................... 46

3.4.5 Service Water Heating ............................................................................................ 50

4. Energy Targets ...................................................................................................................... 51

5. Evaluation Results ................................................................................................................ 54

5.1 Recommendation Tables for 50% Energy Savings ........................................................ 54

5.2 Energy Savings Results .................................................................................................. 64

5.2.1 Packaged Variable Air Volume Direct Expansion ................................................. 65

5.2.2 Constant Air Volume Direct Expansion With Dedicated Outdoor Air System ...... 71

5.2.3 Air Source Heat Pump With Dedicated Outdoor Air System ................................. 77

5.2.4 Water Source Heat Pump With Dedicated Outdoor Air System ............................ 83

6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 89

7. References ............................................................................................................................. 90

Appendix A. Scoping Document .............................................................................................. 92

Appendix B. Project Committee Meeting Agendas ................................................................. 95

B.1 Meeting 1 ........................................................................................................................ 95
xii 

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B.2 Meeting 2 ........................................................................................................................ 97

B.3 Meeting 3 ........................................................................................................................ 99

B.4 Meeting 4 ...................................................................................................................... 101

Appendix C. Schedule Tabular Data ...................................................................................... 103

Appendix D. Energy Management System Code ................................................................... 105

D.1 VAV Supply Air Temperature Reset ........................................................................... 105

D.2 Energy Recovery Ventilator/Evaporative Cooler Selector .......................................... 108
xiii

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Figures and Tables 

Figures

Figure ES–1 Flow diagram of modeling process .......................................................................... vii

Figure 3–1 Flow diagram of modeling process .......................................................................... 11

Figure 3–2 U.S. climate zones .................................................................................................... 13

Figure 3–3 Medium box zone layout ......................................................................................... 16

Figure 3–4 Big box zone layout ................................................................................................. 17

Figure 3–5 Building occupancy schedule, January–November ................................................. 19

Figure 3–6 Building occupancy schedule, December ................................................................ 19

Figure 3–7 Infiltration schedule ................................................................................................. 20

Figure 3–8 Heating and cooling set point schedule ................................................................... 21

Figure 3–9 Medium box baseline models rendering .................................................................. 22

Figure 3–10 Big box baseline model rendering ........................................................................... 22

Figure 3–11 Baseline lighting schedule ....................................................................................... 27

Figure 3–12 Baseline plug and process load schedule ................................................................. 28

Figure 3–13 Medium box low plug baseline simulation results .................................................. 31

Figure 3–14 Medium box high plug baseline simulation results ................................................. 33

Figure 3–15 Big box baseline simulation results ......................................................................... 35

Figure 3–16 Medium box low plug all-electric baseline simulation results ................................ 37

Figure 3–17 Medium box high plug all-electric baseline simulation results ............................... 39

Figure 3–18 Big box all-electric baseline simulation results ....................................................... 41

Figure 3–19 Low-energy lighting schedule .................................................................................. 44

Figure 3–20 Low-energy plug and process load schedule ........................................................... 46

Figure 5–1 Medium box low plug VAV simulation results ....................................................... 66

Figure 5–2 Medium box high plug VAV simulation results ...................................................... 68

Figure 5–3 Big box VAV simulation results .............................................................................. 70

Figure 5–4 Medium box low plug CAV DOAS simulation results ........................................... 72

Figure 5–5 Medium box high plug CAV DOAS simulation results .......................................... 74

Figure 5–6 Big box CAV DOAS simulation results .................................................................. 76

Figure 5–7 Medium box low plug ASHP DOAS results ........................................................... 78

Figure 5–8 Medium box high plug ASHP DOAS results .......................................................... 80

Figure 5–9 Big box ASHP DOAS simulation results ................................................................ 82

Figure 5–10 Medium box low plug WSHP DOAS results .......................................................... 84

Figure 5–11 Medium box high plug WSHP DOAS results ......................................................... 86

Figure 5–12 Big box WSHP DOAS simulation results ............................................................... 88

All figures credit Eric Bonnema/NREL unless otherwise noted.
xiv 

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Tables

Table ES–1 AEDG-MBBR Prototype Characteristics ................................................................. iv

Table ES–2 Medium Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004 ............................. vi

Table ES–3 Big Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004 .................................... vi

Table 2–1 AEDG-MBBR PC Organization Chart ...................................................................... 8

Table 3–1 Prototype Model Summary ...................................................................................... 14

Table 3–2 Medium Box Zone Area Breakdown ....................................................................... 15

Table 3–3 Big Box Zone Area Breakdown ............................................................................... 15

Table 3–4 Prototype Space Type Breakdown ........................................................................... 18

Table 3–5 Ventilation Rates by Space Type ............................................................................. 18

Table 3–6 Baseline Exterior Wall Constructions ...................................................................... 23

Table 3–7 Standard Air Film Coefficients ................................................................................ 24

Table 3–8 Baseline Roof Constructions .................................................................................... 24

Table 3–9 Simulated Monthly Ground Temperatures (°F), 1A–4A ......................................... 25

Table 3–10 Simulated Monthly Ground Temperatures (°F), 4B–8 ............................................ 25

Table 3–11 Baseline Window Constructions .............................................................................. 26

Table 3–12 LPD by Space Type ................................................................................................. 26

Table 3–13 Baseline Model Plug and Process Loads ................................................................. 28

Table 3–14 Medium Box Low Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A ................................ 29

Table 3–15 Medium Box Low Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 ................................... 30

Table 3–16 Medium Box High Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A ............................... 32

Table 3–17 Medium Box High Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 .................................. 32

Table 3–18 Big Box Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A ........................................................ 34

Table 3–19 Big Box Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 ........................................................... 34

Table 3–20 Medium Box Low Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A ............ 36

Table 3–21 Medium Box Low Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 ............... 36

Table 3–22 Medium Box High Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A ........... 38

Table 3–23 Medium Box High Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 .............. 38

Table 3–24 Big Box All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A .................................... 40

Table 3–25 Big Box All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 ....................................... 40

Table 3–26 Low-Energy Steel-Framed Exterior Wall Constructions ......................................... 42

Table 3–27 Low-Energy Mass Exterior Wall Constructions ...................................................... 42

Table 3–28 Low-Energy Roof Constructions ............................................................................. 43

Table 3–29 Low-Energy View Window Constructions .............................................................. 43

Table 3–30 Low-Energy LPD by Space Type ............................................................................ 44

Table 3–31 Low-Energy Model Plug and Process Loads ........................................................... 45

Table 4–1 Medium Box Retail Energy Targets ........................................................................ 52

Table 4–2 Big Box Retail Energy Targets ................................................................................ 53

Table 5–1 AEDG-MBBR Recommendations: Climate Zones 1–4 .......................................... 55

Table 5–2 AEDG-MBBR Recommendations: Climate Zones 5–8 .......................................... 60

Table 5–3 Medium Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004 ............................ 64

Table 5–4 Big Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004 ................................... 64

Table 5–5 Medium Box Low Plug VAV Simulation Results, 1A–4A ..................................... 65

Table 5–6 Medium Box Low Plug VAV Simulation Results, 4B–8 ........................................ 65

Table 5–7 Medium Box High Plug VAV Simulation Results, 1A–4A .................................... 67

Table 5–8 Medium Box High Plug VAV Simulation Results, 4B–8 ....................................... 67
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Table 5–9 Big Box VAV Simulation Results, 1A–4A ............................................................. 69

Table 5–10 Big Box VAV Simulation Results, 4B–8 ................................................................ 69

Table 5–11 Medium Box Low Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ......................... 71

Table 5–12 Medium Box Low Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 ............................ 71

Table 5–13 Medium Box High Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A......................... 73

Table 5–14 Medium Box High Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 ............................ 73

Table 5–15 Big Box CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A .................................................. 75

Table 5–16 Big Box CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 ..................................................... 75

Table 5–17 Medium Box Low Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ....................... 77

Table 5–18 Medium Box Low Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8........................... 77

Table 5–19 Medium Box High Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ....................... 79

Table 5–20 Medium Box High Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 .......................... 79

Table 5–21 Big Box ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ................................................ 81

Table 5–22 Big Box ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 ................................................... 81

Table 5–23 Medium Box Low Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ....................... 83

Table 5–24 Medium Box Low Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 .......................... 83

Table 5–25 Medium Box High Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ...................... 85

Table 5–26 Medium Box High Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 ......................... 85

Table 5–27 Big Box WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A ............................................... 87

Table 5–28 Big Box WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 .................................................. 87

Table C–1 Building Occupancy Schedule, January-November, Fraction of Peak .................. 103

Table C–2 Building Occupancy Schedule, December, Fraction of Peak ................................ 103

Table C–3 Infiltration Schedule, Fraction of Peak .................................................................. 103

Table C–4 Heating and Cooling Set Point Schedule, Degrees Fahrenheit .............................. 103

Table C–5 Baseline Lighting Schedule, Fraction of Peak ....................................................... 104

Table C–6 Baseline Electric Equipment Schedule, Fraction of Peak ...................................... 104

Table C–7 Low-Energy Lighting Schedule, Fraction of Peak ................................................ 104

Table C–8 Low-Energy Electric Equipment Schedule, Fraction of Peak ............................... 104
1 

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1. Introduction

The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Medium to Big Box Retail Buildings: Achieving 50% 

Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (AEDG-MBBR) (ASHRAE et al. 2011b) 

was written to help owners and designers of retail stores achieve 50% whole-building energy 

savings compared to the minimum requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, 

Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (Standard 90.1-2004) 

(ASHRAE 2004b). Included in the AEDG-MBBR are prescriptive recommendations by climate 

zone for the design of the building envelope; fenestration; lighting systems (including electrical 

lights and daylighting); heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; building 

automation and controls; outdoor air (OA) treatments; and service water heating (SWH). 

Additional savings recommendations are also included, but are not necessary to achieve the 50% 

energy savings goal. These recommendations are provided for additional HVAC strategies and 

renewable energy systems. 

The AEDG-MBBR shows that the 50% target is not only possible, but easily achievable. Case 

studies show stores around the country that have achieved and surpassed this target. Best 

practices and cautions are also provided to demonstrate how to implement the recommendations. 

The recommendation tables in the AEDG-MBBR do not include all the components listed in 

Standard 90.1-2004, and instead focus only on the primary energy systems (lighting, HVAC, 

etc.). The underlying energy analysis presumes that all other components comply with the 

criteria in Standard 90.1-2004. 

By specifying a goal and identifying paths to achieve it in each climate zone, the AEDG-MBBR

provides design direction to build energy-efficient retail stores that use 50% less energy than 

those built to the minimum requirements of Standard 90.1-2004. There may be other means of 

achieving the target goal, and this guide strives to help generate ideas for continued innovation. 

The AEDG-MBBR was developed by a project committee (PC) representing a diverse group of 

experienced professionals. Guidance and support were provided through a collaboration of 

ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of 

North America (IES), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

The AEDG-MBBR is part of a series of AEDGs targeting 50% energy savings over levels 

achieved by following ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. The other guides in the 50% 

energy savings series include:

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Office Buildings: Achieving 

50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2011c) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 School Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2011a) 

• The Advanced Energy Design Guide for Large Hospitals: Achieving 50% Energy 

Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building (ASHRAE et al. 2012) 

1.1 Objectives

One of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) tasks in developing the AEDGMBBR was to provide the analysis and modeling support to: 
2 

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• Verify energy savings: the specific prescriptive recommendations that, in aggregate, 

yield at least 50% savings beyond a baseline building built to Standard 90.1-2004 for 

each climate region. The 50% savings value is measured based on the total energy 

consumption, not just regulated loads. It is not an average of the national energy savings; 

50% savings were verified for each U.S. climate zones and corresponding subzone. 

• Develop recommendations that meet a numeric goal value: the energy savings goal is a 

hard value as opposed to an approximate target. As in past AEDGs, the AEDG-MBBR is

intended for use as an option in obtaining Energy and Atmosphere credits under the 

USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. 

Separate from the AEDG-MBBR, this Technical Support Document (TSD) was written to 

document the process used to develop the AEDG-MBBR and the analysis and modeling 

performed to support that development. Its specific objectives include:

• Document the process and schedule used to develop the AEDG-MBBR. 

• Document prototypical medium and big box retail store characteristics.

• Document the EnergyPlus (DOE 2011) modeling assumptions used to establish 50% 

energy savings.

• Document the baseline and low-energy EnergyPlus retail store models. 

• Present the recommendations for achieving at least 50% savings over Standard 90.1-

2004. 

• Demonstrate that the recommendations result in 50% or greater energy savings by 

climate zone.

1.2 Scope of the AEDG and TSD

Each guide in the AEDG series provides recommendations and user-friendly design assistance to 

designers, developers, and owners of commercial buildings to encourage setting and achieving 

energy-savings goals. The AEDGs provide prescriptive packages that enable energy savings 

targets for each climate zone to be reached.

The AEDG-MBBR applies primarily to box retail buildings with 20,000 ft2 to 100,000 ft2 of 

floor area with administrative and office areas; sales areas; hallways and restrooms; meeting and 

dining areas; storage spaces; and mechanical/electrical rooms. For this TSD, a box retail 

building is a large, free-standing, rectangular, single-floor structure built on a concrete slab. This 

guide does not consider commercial refrigeration, kitchens, or other atypical specialty spaces that 

generate extraordinary heat or pollution. Certain aspects of retail building design, including 

commercial refrigeration, domestic water well piping, and sewage disposal, are excluded, as they 

were too complex to include given the scope of the project. Significant energy efficiency 

opportunities may be available with these aspects, and AEDG-MBBR users are encouraged to 

take advantage of these opportunities. 

The AEDG-MBBR is also not intended to substitute for rating systems or references that address 

the full range of sustainability issues in retail stores, such as acoustics, productivity, indoor air 

quality, water efficiency, landscaping, and transportation, except as they relate to operational 

energy consumption (ASHRAE et al. 2011b). The AEDG-MBBR contains recommendations 

only and is not a code or standard. 

The guides in the AEDG series also do not provide detailed documentation for developing the 

recommendations or the energy savings details. This TSD describes the methodology for 
3 

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developing the AEDG-MBBR and provides the technical details that were used to determine 

energy savings, including model inputs and assumptions. 

1.3 AEDG-MBBR Layout and Content

1.3.1 Chapter 1 Introduction

This chapter contains information about the project goal and scope, as well as instructions for 

use.

1.3.2 Chapter 2 Integrated Design Process

This chapter provides resources for those who want to understand and adopt an overall, 

integrated process for designing, constructing, and operating energy-efficient retail stores. The 

guide presents an integrated process for achieving energy savings in these facilities and is 

valuable for designers who want to augment and improve their practices to ensure energy 

efficiency is deliberately considered at each stage of the development process, from project 

conception through building operation. Figures and checklists are included to aid in addressing 

energy goals in each phase of the design process. This chapter addresses the details and best 

practices of an integrated design process, and discusses the benefits and features of integrated 

design, specifics about the process, and step-by-step details about its phases. It also discusses 

store prototype development as it relates to continuous improvement for retailers who build 

across the country, as well as key design strategies for controlling capital costs to help the users 

overcome the notion that more efficient buildings must cost more than conventional ones. 

1.3.3 Chapter 3 Applying Energy Modeling and Benchmarking Strategies

This chapter discusses the application of energy modeling to retail store design and presents 

performance targets to better define the 50% energy savings goal. These targets are presented as 

annual absolute whole-building energy use intensity (EUI) values, and owners are encouraged to 

set their own EUI targets to provide focused and measurable 50% savings goals. 

Throughout the first three chapters, five detailed case studies illustrate techniques discussed in 

the guide. EUIs are provided to benchmark future buildings against these buildings. All the case 

studies use some of the recommendations in the tables, but predate the publication of the AEDGMBBR and were not developed explicitly using those tables. They provide motivation and 

examples for others to follow and validate the guide’s recommendations.

1.3.4 Chapter 4 Design Strategies and Recommendations by Climate Zone

This chapter contains the climate-specific recommendation tables, a unique set of energy 

efficiency recommendations for each of the U.S. climate zones and corresponding subzones in 

the United States. Recommendations are organized by several categories: envelope, electric 

lighting, daylighting, plug loads, SWH, HVAC, and quality assurance (QA). The 

recommendations are simply one path to reach the 50% energy savings target over Standard 

90.1-2004. Other approaches may also save energy; however, identifying all possible solutions 

is not in the scope of this guide; assurance of the savings from other approaches is left to the 

user. To achieve 50% energy savings, this guide assumes compliance with the more stringent of 

either the applicable edition of Standard 90.1 or the local code requirements in all areas not 

addressed in the climate-specific recommendation tables. Future editions of energy codes may 

have more stringent values.
4 

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1.3.5 Chapter 5 How to Implement Recommendations

The final chapter provides guidance about good practices for implementing the 

recommendations, as well as tips to avoid known problems in energy-efficient construction. It

includes sections that discuss the building envelope, daylighting, electric lighting, plug loads, 

SWH, HVAC, QA and commissioning, and additional bonus savings opportunities. The bonus 

savings section includes areas for additional good practice items that, if implemented properly, 

should achieve savings beyond the 50% level. Throughout the section, technology case studies 

giving in-depth review of various building component specific items are presented. This chapter 

includes the following how-to sections:

• The envelope how-to section contains climate zone-specific information about explicit 

types of walls, roofs, floors, doors (including vehicular dock doors), vestibules, 

insulation, infiltration, and vertical fenestration. 

• The daylighting how-to section provides tips on general principles; analysis tool 

information; daylighting space types and layouts, including space type strategies; skylight 

information; controls; photosensor specification and placement; and system 

commissioning. 

• The lighting how-to section details proper space planning, lighting by space type, best 

practices for interior finishes, specific lamp and ballast types, advanced controls, space 

type specific lighting layouts, control strategies, and exterior lighting (including parking 

lot lighting) power and control. 

• The plug load how-to section provides methods to reduce the connected load, best 

practices for sales floors, offices, and security systems, ways to reduce the energy used 

by illuminated signs and graphics, methods to reduce parasitic loads, and plug load 

control strategies.

• The SWH how-to section discusses the types of systems that are well suited for the retail 

environment, proper sizing of the systems, choosing energy-efficient systems, and the 

best locations for the system components.

• The HVAC section includes best practices for four HVAC systems types: 

o Packaged variable air volume (VAV) direct expansion (DX) air conditioner with a 

gas furnace (VAV)

o Packaged constant air volume (CAV) DX air conditioner with a gas furnace and a 

dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) (CAV DOAS)

o Air source heat pump (ASHP) with electric resistance supplemental heat and a 

DOAS (ASHP DOAS)

o Water source heat pump (WSHP) with a DOAS (WSHP DOAS). 

The HVAC section also contains recommendations for DOASs; evaporative condensers; 

exhaust air energy recovery; indirect evaporative cooling; hydronic heating systems; 

ventilation air and demand-controlled ventilation (DCV); economizers; system-level 

control strategies; thermal zoning; ductwork design and duct insulation/sealing; exhaust 

air systems; testing, adjusting, and balancing; air cleaning; relief versus return fans; zone 

controls; heating sources; noise control; and proper maintenance. 

• The QA and commissioning section contains specific details about commissioning and its 

importance in every step of the design process, as well as information on measurement 

and verification (M&V). 
5 

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• The bonus savings section includes best practices for ground-source heat pump systems, 

photovoltaic systems, wind turbine power, transpired solar collectors, and power 

purchase agreements.

1.4 Technical Support Document Organization

This report is presented in five sections: Section 1 introduces the AEDG-MBBR and the 

supporting background information; Section 2 outlines the development process of the AEDGMBBR; Section 3 provides the evaluation approach, including baseline and low-energy modeling 

methods and assumptions; Section 4 discusses the energy target section of the AEDG-MBBR; 

and Section 5 documents the final recommendations and energy savings. 

The AEDG-MBBR scoping document can be found in Appendix A. Additional information on 

the PC development process is included in Appendix B. Appendix C contains tabular data about 

the schedules used in the energy models. Appendix D contains code used to control the HVAC 

systems in EnergyPlus. 
6 

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2. AEDG-MBBR Development Process

The AEDG-MBBR was developed by a PC representing a diverse group of professionals. 

Guidance and support were provided through collaboration between ASHRAE, AIA, IES, 

USGBC, and DOE. PC members were provided by these partner organizations, and the 

ASHRAE Project Committee 90.1 (SSPC 90.1). A steering committee (SC) was assembled to 

oversee the development process, composed of representatives of ASHRAE, AIA, IES, USGBC, 

and DOE. The SC issued a scoping document to the PC, including the timeline for the task, 

energy savings goal, intended target audience, space types to include, and desired design 

assistance characteristics.

The PC followed SC guidance to develop a plan for completing the AEDG-MBBR. Key 

milestones were determined based on a final publication date and used a schedule similar to 

those developed for previous guides, including two peer review periods corresponding with a 

60% completion draft (technical refinement) and a 90% completion draft (final review). Four 

PC meetings were held at ASHRAE headquarters, Target Corporation headquarters, and NREL. 

Many conference calls with the full PC were also held to provide updates on the AEDGMBBR’s progress toward the peer review and publication milestones. 

2.1 Steering Committee

The SC comprised representatives of the partner organizations and guided the PC in developing 

the AEDG-MBBR. The SC had a chair, one representative from each partner organization (AIA, 

IES, USGBC, ASHRAE, and DOE), a liaison from ASHRAE SSPC 90.1, and one ASHRAE 

staff member; for a total of eight people. The guidance included a timeline for the task, an 

energy savings goal, an intended target audience, and desired design assistance characteristics. 

The SC guidance points were to: 

• Develop and document a process to achieve 50% savings over Standard 90.1-2004 in 

medium to big box retail buildings. 

• Produce recommendations in a technically sound AEDG for medium to big box retail 

buildings. 

• Constrain the scope and duration of the analysis to maintain the project schedule. 

• Rely on current knowledge of energy-efficient building design, supplemented with 

energy design analysis. 

Additional priorities identified by the SC were provided in a scoping document, which included: 

• The baseline for energy use evaluation is annual site energy consumption. 

• Address the practical how-to, user-friendly information needs of the AEDG-MBBR’s 

intended users, who are designers in medium to large firms, design/build contractors, and 

construction firms.

• The interaction of building components and systems will need to be considered rather 

than having all the savings come from individual parts (savings from systems integration 

is encouraged). Accommodate, to the extent practical, design flexibility through use of 

efficiency measure packages that users may choose from. 

• Adopt a prescriptive recommendation approach with measure packages. This will 

include envelope, mechanical, lighting, and water heating measures. The document will 

be formatted for easy use, provide specific procedures, convey best practices, and avoid 
7 

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the mandatory language that is typical of codes and standards to increase usability for the 

target audience. 

• In addition to prescriptive energy efficiency measures, the AEDG-MBBR should contain 

“how to” guidance to help the designer/builder construct an energy-efficient retail 

building. The document should be presented in a very user-friendly manner to reduce 

design time. By focusing on user-friendly layouts and presentation, as well as 

prescriptive design recommendations, the AEDG-MBBR should ease the burden for the 

designers and give corporate decision-makers an overview of specific, easy-to-follow 

recommendations.

• The prescriptive recommendations presented should be sufficient to allow innovative 

firms to extend the information when designing facilities that might be evaluated using 

performance-based criteria. That is, some additional allowance or flexibility should be 

provided for people who are accustomed to performance-based documents. 

• Several case studies should be included to illustrate the energy efficiency components 

identified. These case studies can focus on the geographic regions or illustrate particular 

items or recommended techniques. 

The full scoping document can be found in Appendix A. 

2.1.1 Inclusion of Economics and Cost

The purpose of the AEDG-MBBR is to assist designers in the design of energy-efficient retail 

buildings. The guide focuses on the goal of 50% energy savings, rather than on installations that 

have a payback threshold. 

The AEDG-MBBR does include numerous cost control strategies and best practices, and the case 

studies help to reinforce the claim that high-performance stores can be built within typical 

budgets. 

2.2 Approval Authority

The final approval for the AEDG-MBBR was the responsibility of the SC. Committee members 

were responsible for reflecting the opinions of the partner organization they represented. This 

included consulting with their organizations and getting buy-in during the process, as well as

providing peer reviews. Efforts were made to agree on the content, as is done during the 

development of the ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook (ASHRAE 2009); however, the AEDGMBBR is not a consensus document. 

2.3 Project Committee Organization and Membership

The AEDG-MBBR was developed by a PC administered under ASHRAE’s Special Project 

procedures. The AEDG-MBBR PC was designated as ASHRAE Special Project 135 (SP-135), 

and included membership from each partner organization. Table 2–1 lists the PC members and 

the organizations they represented. Some members were not affiliated with a partner 

organization. In these cases, the function of that member was listed instead. 
8 

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Table 2–1 AEDG-MBBR PC Organization Chart

Member Organization/Function 

Shanti Pless Chair

Merle McBride Vice chair

Dan Nall AIA/USGBC representative

Scott Williams AIA/USGBC representative

Michael Lane IES representative

Bernie Bauer IES representative

Carol Marriott ASHRAE representative

Don Colliver Steering committee ex officio

Lilas Pratt ASHRAE staff liaison

Matt Leach Analysis support

Eric Bonnema Analysis support

The SC helped to select PC members with energy efficiency experience in retail. Each

represented SC organization was given the chance to provide peer review input on the various 

review drafts produced by the PC. In effect, these representatives were intended to be the 

interfaces to their respective organizations to ensure a large body of input into the AEDG-MBBR

development. 

Because the AEDG-MBBR was developed under the ASHRAE special project procedures, and 

not the standards development procedures, the peer reviews were not considered public reviews. 

However, review copies were made available to all partner organizations, and to the various 

ASHRAE bodies (SPCC 90.1) represented by the PC membership. Interested parties could also 

download review copies from the ASHRAE website during the advertised review period. 

2.4 Development Schedule and Process

Following SC guidance, the PC developed a one-year plan for completing the AEDG-MBBR. 

Key milestones in the development schedule were determined based on the final publication date 

and time needed for the publication process. The PC planned for two peer review periods that 

corresponded with a 60% completion draft (technical refinement) and a 90% completion draft 

(final review). Four PC meetings were held in addition to eight interim conference calls. 

Further information about each meeting is included in the agendas, which are provided in 

Appendix B. These agendas were updated after each meeting to reflect the actual discussions 

and length of time spent on each item. After each meeting, the meeting notes, agenda, action 

items, future schedules, and other related documents were compiled into a meeting report. These 

reports were very useful for reference and organizational purposes during the AEDG-MBBR

development. 

The iterative development of the prototype, baseline, and low-energy models included discussion 

of the model inputs and the current model results at every meeting and conference call. Results 

from the modeling, combined with input from the PC, led to the final AEDG-MBBR

recommendations. The following steps show the modeling process used, from the initial 

prototype development to the final recommendations: 

1. Use the expertise of the PC to help define inputs not governed by applicable standards. 

2. Present preliminary results for the prototype models to the PC. 

3. Develop a consensus from the PC on the prototype model inputs. 
9 

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4. Generate baseline models by applying the climate-specific criteria in Standard 90.1-2004. 

5. Investigate initial strategies by applying preliminary HVAC and envelope 

recommendations to the prototype models. 

6. Present the low-energy modeling results to the PC and identify recommendations that do 

not meaningfully contribute to the 50% energy savings goal. 

7. Fine-tune the recommendations to achieve at least 50% whole-building energy savings in 

all climate zones for each store type. 

8. Document final recommendations for the AEDG-MBBR that achieve at least 50% 

savings. 

The following sections of this TSD present the prototype development results from Step 3, the 

baseline model results from Step 4, and the final recommendations and energy savings results as 

documented in Step 8. 
10 

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3. Evaluation Approach

This chapter describes the analysis methods used to support development of the AEDG-MBBR. 

It explains how the prototype, baseline, and low-energy models were developed, and how the 

resultant energy savings were quantified. 

3.1 Determining Energy Savings

The purpose of the building energy simulation analysis is to assess and quantify the energy 

savings potential of the final AEDG-MBBR recommendations. All AEDGs contain a set of 

energy efficiency recommendations for all U.S. climate zones and their corresponding subzones. 

To provide the prescriptive recommendations necessary to achieve 50% energy savings, a 

specific, quantitative energy savings goal must be measured against Standard 90.1-2004. 

The following steps were used to determine whether the 50% savings goal was met or exceeded: 

1. Develop “typical” retail store prototype characteristics.

2. Create baseline models from the prototypes that are minimally compliant with Standard 

90.1-2004. 

3. Use energy modeling iteratively to help inform AEDG-MBBR recommendations and 

ultimately create complete low-energy models based on the final recommended energy 

efficiency technologies in the AEDG-MBBR. 

4. Verify 50% energy savings were achieved for each of the four investigated HVAC 

system types in the AEDG-MBBR across the U.S. climate zones and corresponding 

subzones. 

These steps are presented in a linear fashion, but there was some iteration among the steps. The 

flowchart in Figure 3–1 presents a visual representation of the evaluation approach.

3.1.1 Site Energy Use

The 50% energy savings goal of the AEDG series is based on site energy savings between a 

minimally code compliant building and a low-energy building that uses the AEDG 

recommendations. Other metrics, such as energy cost savings, source energy savings, and 

carbon savings could be used to determine energy savings. Each metric has advantages and 

disadvantages from an implementation and a calculation perspective, and each can favor 

different technologies and fuel types. The AEDG-MBBR uses site energy savings, as directed 

by the SC, to retain consistency with previous AEDGs. 

3.1.2 Whole-Building Energy Savings

Historically, energy savings have been expressed in two ways: those associated with regulated 

loads and those associated with the whole building. The “regulated loads” energy savings 

indicate the savings when only the code-regulated loads are included in the total energy use. 

Unregulated loads typically include plug and some process loads. The “whole-building” energy 

savings indicate the savings when all the loads (regulated and unregulated) are included in the 

energy savings calculations. In general, for the same level of percent savings, whole-building 

savings are more challenging to attain than regulated loads savings. The AEDG-MBBR uses the 

“whole-building” energy savings method for determining energy savings and contains 

recommendations for both regulated and unregulated loads. 
11 

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Figure 3–1 Flow diagram of modeling process

(Credit: Marjorie Schott/NREL)
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3.1.3 Modeling Methods

EnergyPlus version 6.0 (DOE 2011) was used to complete the energy simulations in the AEDGMBBR. This software was selected because it is the contemporary DOE tool, and accounts for 

the complicated interactions between climate, internal gains, building form and fabric, HVAC 

systems, and renewable energy systems. EnergyPlus is a heavily tested program with formal 

validation efforts repeated for every release (Judkoff et al. 1995). All simulations were 

completed with an NREL analysis platform called Opt-E-Plus (NREL 2010) that manages inputs 

and outputs of the EnergyPlus simulations. Opt-E-Plus’ core functionality is the user’s ability to 

pass high-level parameters (building area, internal gains per zone, HVAC system configuration, 

etc.) to generate a fully parameterized EnergyPlus input file. Such files are generated rapidly 

and can be easily changed to incorporate changes during the evolution of the model. The highlevel parameter file is a structured text file written in Extensible Markup Language. Modifying 

the high-level parameters is preferred over modifying the EnergyPlus input file, because it 

greatly simplifies the modeling input development process. Modifying EnergyPlus input files 

can be time intensive when the high-level parameters have a one-to-many relationship with the 

corresponding objects in the low-level input file.

The AEDG-MBBR simulations were used to evaluate and vet suggested guide recommendations 

and to verify that the final set met the savings goal. There were one baseline (baseline HVAC 

system) and four low-energy (four low-energy HVAC system types) models for each prototype 

(medium box low plug, medium box high plug, and big box) for a total of 15 separate seed 

(starting point) energy models. The Opt-E-Plus software then took these 15 seed models and 

“swept” them across the 16 cities representing the U.S. climate zones and corresponding 

subzones. The Opt-E-Plus “sweep” took each seed energy model file, created 16 separate energy 

models, and applied climate zone-specific details such as weather data, economizer 

requirements, and building envelope specifications from Standard 90.1-2004 (for the baseline 

model) or the AEDG-MBBR recommendations (for the low-energy models). This resulted in 

240 (48 baseline and 192 low-energy) energy models. 

3.1.3.1 Climate Zones

The AEDGs contain a unique set of energy efficiency recommendations for each of the climate 

zones and corresponding three subzones in the United States (see Figure 3–2). The zones are 

defined primarily by heating degree days and cooling degree days (Briggs et al. 2003), and range 

from very hot (Zone 1A) to very cold (Zone 8). Some climate zones are divided into subzones 

based on humidity levels. Humid subzones are “A” zones, dry subzones are “B” zones, and 

marine subzones are “C” zones. These climate zones may be mapped to other climate locations 

for international use.
13 

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Figure 3–2 U.S. climate zones

(Credit: DOE (2003)) 

The 16 specific locations for which analyses were performed are listed here and are designated 

as being representative of their climate zones. Large cities were chosen, as their weather data 

directly apply to a large fraction of the total U.S. building floor area. Energy savings were 

determined by running baseline and low-energy model simulations with the same typical 

meteorological weather file, TMY2 data (one set of simulations for each city).

• Zone 1A: Miami, Florida (very hot, humid) 

• Zone 2A: Houston, Texas (hot, humid) 

• Zone 2B: Phoenix, Arizona (hot, dry) 

• Zone 3A: Atlanta, Georgia (hot, humid)

• Zone 3B: Las Vegas, Nevada (hot, dry) and Los Angeles, California (warm, dry)

• Zone 3C: San Francisco, California (marine)

• Zone 4A: Baltimore, Maryland (mild, humid)

• Zone 4B: Albuquerque, New Mexico (mild, dry) 

• Zone 4C: Seattle, Washington (marine) 

• Zone 5A: Chicago, Illinois (cold, humid) 

• Zone 5B: Denver, Colorado (cold, dry)

• Zone 6A: Minneapolis, Minnesota (cold, humid) 

• Zone 6B: Helena, Montana (cold, dry) 

• Zone 7: Duluth, Minnesota (very cold) 

• Zone 8: Fairbanks, Alaska (extremely cold)
14 

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There are two representative cities for climate zone 3B. Throughout this report, 3B will represent 

Las Vegas, Nevada and 3B:CA will be used to denote Los Angeles, California. See Deru et al. 

(2011) for more discussion on the location determination process. 

3.2 Prototype Model Overview

For the AEDG-MBBR, the models from Hale et al. (2009) were used as a starting point to help 

define certain building characteristics that were not code-regulated. Three prototype models 

were developed; two medium box and one big box. The two medium box stores were identical 

except for the plug loads; the low plug prototype was meant to represent a store that sells items 

such as clothing or books that have little plug-in merchandise; the high plug prototype was meant 

to represent an electronics retailer with a larger amount of plug-in merchandise. A larger big box 

prototype was developed to represent larger general merchandise stores. The prototype model 

characteristics remained consistent between the baseline and low-energy models. Table 3–1

presents a summary of the prototype models. 

Table 3–1 Prototype Model Summary

Building 

Characteristic Medium Box Low Plug Medium Box High Plug Big Box

Size 40,500 ft2 40,500 ft2 99,225 ft2

Aspect ratio 1.25 1.25 1.00

Sales floor area 32,400 ft2 32,400 ft2 79,380 ft2

Back-of-house area 8,100 ft2 8,100 ft2 19,845 ft2

Floor-to-ceiling height 20 ft 20 ft 20 ft

Space types Sales floor, vestibule, stock room, office, meeting room, break room, restroom, 

corridor, mechanical room

Wall constructions Steel framed Steel framed Mass

Roof construction Insulation entirely above 

deck

Insulation entirely above 

deck

Insulation entirely 

above deck 

Window area 22% (south façade only) 22% (south façade only) 22% (south façade 

only)

Window sill height 3.6 ft 3.6 ft 3.6 ft

Window height 4.4 ft 4.4 ft 4.4 ft

Peak plug loads 0.35 W/ft2 0.54 W/ft2 0.36 W/ft2

Percent conditioned Fully heated and cooled Fully heated and cooled Fully heated and cooled

3.2.1 Geometry

Table 3–2 shows a tabular breakdown of zone area for the medium box prototypes and 

Figure 3–3 shows the zone layout for the models. Table 3–3 and Figure 3–4 and show the same 

information for the big box prototype model. 

Table 3–2 and Table 3–3 also show a mapping of each zone to a space type. These space types 

are referenced throughout the rest of the TSD when describing other model inputs (lighting, plug 

loads, etc.). 
15 

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Table 3–2 Medium Box Zone Area Breakdown 

Zone Name Zone Type Quantity Dimensions 

(ft × ft) 

Zone 

Area 

(ft2)

Total 

Area 

(ft2)

Main sales Sales floor 1 225.0 × 129.0 29,025.0 29,025

Vestibule Vestibule 1 20.0 × 15.0 300.0 300

Corridor Corridor 1 100.0 × 6.0 600.0 600

Restrooms Restroom 1 25.0 × 30.0 750.0 750

Stock room Stock room 1 125.0 × 36.0 4,500.0 4,500

Office Office 1 15.0 × 30.0 450.0 450

Meeting room Meeting room 1 25.0 × 30.0 750.0 750

Break room Break room 1 25.0 × 30.0 750.0 750

Mechanical room Mechanical room 1 10.0 × 30.0 300.0 300

Perimeter sales Sales floor 2 102.5 × 15.0 1,537.5 3,075

Table 3–3 Big Box Zone Area Breakdown

Zone Name Zone Type Quantity Dimensions 

(ft × ft)

Zone 

Area (ft2)

Total 

Area (ft2)

Main sales Sales floor 1 315.0 × 237.0 74,655.0 74,655

Vestibule Vestibule 1 20.0 × 15.0 300.0 300

Corridor Corridor 1 140.0 × 8.0 1,120.0 1,120

Restrooms Restroom 1 35.0 × 55.0 1,925.0 1,925

Stock room Stock room 1 175.0 × 63.0 11,025.0 11,025

Office Office 1 21.0 × 55.0 1,155.0 1,155

Meeting room Meeting room 1 35.0 × 55.0 1,925.0 1,925

Break room Break room 1 35.0 × 55.0 1,925.0 1,925

Mechanical room Mechanical room 1 14.0 × 55.0 770.0 770

Perimeter sales Sales floor 2 147.5 × 15.0 2,212.5 4,425
16 

Figure 3–3 Medium box zone layout 

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17 

Figure 3–4 Big box zone layout 

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18 

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Table 3–4 provides a breakdown of the prototype models by space type. 

Table 3–4 Prototype Space Type Breakdown

Zone Type

Medium Box Big Box

Area 

(ft2)

Percent of 

Total 

Area 

(ft2)

Percent of 

Total 

Sales floor 32,100 79.3% 79,090 79.7%

Vestibule 300 0.7% 300 0.3%

Corridor 600 1.5% 1,120 1.1%

Restroom 750 1.9% 1,925 1.9%

Stock room 4,500 11.1% 11,025 11.1%

Office 450 1.1% 1,155 1.2%

Meeting room 750 1.9% 1,925 1.9%

Break room 750 1.9% 1,925 1.9%

Mechanical room 300 0.7% 770 0.8%

Total 40,500 100% 99,235 100%

3.2.2 Ventilation and Occupancy

Table 6-1 in Standard 62.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004a) was used to determine the models’ 

ventilation requirements. Table 3–5 shows space types, their mapping to the “Occupancy 

Category” column in Standard 62.1-2004 Table 6-1, and the ventilation rates used in all models. 

The OA rate values and the peak occupant densities are from Standard 62.1-2004 Table 6-1. The 

double colon in Table 3–5 is a means for indicating the row headings and occupancy categories 

in Table 6-1 in Standard 62.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004a). As a simplification, the restroom 

ventilation rate was set to the same as the sales floor.

Table 3–5 Ventilation Rates by Space Type

Zone Type Occupancy Category 

(From Table 6-1 in 62.1-2004)

People OA

Rate 

(cfm/person)

Area OA

Rate 

(cfm/ft2) 

Peak 

Occupant 

Density 

(#/1000 ft2) 

Sales floor Retail::Sales 7.5 0.12 15

Vestibule Retail::Sales 7.5 0.12 15

Corridor General::Corridors 0.0 0.06 0

Restroom Retail::Sales 7.5 0.12 15

Stock room General::Corridors 0.0 0.12 3.33*

Office Office Buildings::Office space 5.0 0.06 5

Meeting room General::Conference/meeting 5.0 0.06 50

Break room Food and Beverage 

Service::Cafeteria/fast food dining 7.5 0.18 70

Mechanical room General::Corridors 0.0 0.06 0

* Value from (Deru et al. 2011) for back-of-house space in stand-alone retail model 

The peak occupant densities in Table 3–5 are modified by schedules within EnergyPlus, which 

were adapted by the PC from those in Hale et al. (2009). The PC modified the schedules using 

their experience along with data collected from retail stores. The main modification was to add 

extended occupancy for the holiday season (the month of December). The occupancy schedules 

can be seen in Figure 3–5 and Figure 3–6. 
19 

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Figure 3–5 Building occupancy schedule, January–November

Figure 3–6 Building occupancy schedule, December

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday Saturday Sunday

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday Saturday Sunday
20 

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3.2.3 Infiltration

Infiltration is the flow of OA into a building through cracks and other unintentional openings and 

through the normal use of exterior doors for ingress and egress. Infiltration is also known as air 

leakage into a building (ASHRAE 2009). 

Infiltration rates were calculated using an infiltration rate factor and total exterior wall areas for 

each zone. The calculated infiltration rate factor was assumed to be constant throughout the 

year. This is a good assumption for annual energy performance, but caution should be used in 

evaluating hour-by-hour loads with this method.

To determine the infiltration rate factor, the building was assumed to be constructed in such a 

manner that at a pressure differential of 75 Pa, the infiltration rate was equivalent to 0.4 cfm/ft2 

of external wall area. Using a flow coefficient of 0.65 and an assumed pressure differential 

across the envelope of 4 Pa (a pressure likely to be encountered during normal building 

operation), the final infiltration rate factor was calculated to be 0.06 cfm/ft2. This methodology 

is consistent with that used by Deru et al. (2011). 

Because a large amount of OA was brought into the building by the HVAC system, the 

calculated zone infiltration rates were modified via an infiltration schedule that was set to 0.5 

during HVAC system operation. This schedule was a simple multiplier that in this case reduced 

the total infiltration by half. This schedule changed to 1.0 when the HVAC system was shut off 

for the night, to simulate the greater infiltration rate that would result from the building no longer 

being pressurized. The infiltration schedule can be seen in Figure 3–7. 

Figure 3–7 Infiltration schedule 

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday, Saturday Sunday
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3.2.4 Thermostat Set Points

The thermostat set points in the models were derived from those in Hale et al. (2009) and 

modified by the PC based on their experience. The occupied heating set point is 70°F and the 

unoccupied set point is 60°F. The occupied cooling set point is 75°F and the unoccupied set 

point is 86°F. The heating and cooling set point schedule is shown in Figure 3–8. This schedule 

remained consistent between the baseline and low-energy models. 

Figure 3–8 Heating and cooling set point schedule

3.3 Baseline Model Development and Assumptions

The baseline models were derived from the prototype models by applying the applicable criteria 

in Standard 90.1-2004. The PC used their expertise to help define items (such as lighting 

schedules) not specified by Standard 90.1-2004. Figure 3–9 shows a rendering of the medium 

box baseline models, and Figure 3–10 shows a rendering of the big box baseline model. 

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Degrees Fahrenheit

Hour

Heating Weekday, Saturday Heating Sunday

Cooling Weekday, Saturday Cooling Sunday
22 

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Figure 3–9 Medium box baseline models rendering 

Figure 3–10 Big box baseline model rendering 

3.3.1 Envelope

The PC assumed, based on the experience of those in the retail construction industry, that 

facilities were typically constructed with steel-framed (for the medium box store) or mass (for 

the big box store) exterior walls, built-up roofs, and slab-on-grade floors. These constructions 

represent common practices. There are some regional variations, but the PC felt that steelframed walls for the medium box store, mass walls for the big box store, built-up roofs, and slabon-grade floors were the most common techniques.

The baseline retail store envelope characteristics were developed to meet the prescriptive design 

option requirements in accordance with Standard 90.1-2004 Section 5.2. For the Standard 90.1-

2004 baselines, the prescriptive building envelope option in Section 5.5 was used. Layer-bylayer descriptions of the constructions were used to model the building thermal envelope in 

EnergyPlus. 

3.3.1.1 Exterior Walls

The baseline medium box stores were modeled with steel-framed wall constructions; the layers 

consisted of exterior sheathing, batt insulation between steel studs, and interior gypsum board. 

The baseline big box store was modeled with mass wall constructions; the layers consisted of 

stucco, concrete block, rigid insulation, and gypsum board. Insulation R-values were selected to 

meet the minimum wall insulation requirements in Tables 5.5-1 through 5.5-8 (Building 
23 

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Envelope Requirements) of Standard 90.1-2004, as defined by climate zone. The baseline 

exterior wall R- and U-values are listed in Table 3–6. 

Table 3–6 Baseline Exterior Wall Constructions

Climate 

Zone 

Steel-Framed Exterior Walls

(Medium Box Store)

Mass Exterior Walls

(Big Box Store)

Assembly 

U-Factor

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) 

Insulation R-Value,

Nominal 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

Assembly 

U-Factor

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) 

Insulation R-Value,

Nominal 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

1 (A) U-0.124 R-13.0 U-0.580 NR*

2 (A,B) U-0.124 R-13.0 U-0.580 NR*

3 (A,B,C) U-0.124 R-13.0 U-0.151 R-5.7 c.i.

4 (A,B,C) U-0.124 R-13.0 U-0.151 R-5.7 c.i.

5 (A,B) U-0.084 R-13.0 + R-3.8 c.i. U-0.123 R-7.6 c.i.

6 (A,B) U-0.084 R-13.0 + R-3.8 c.i. U-0.104 R-9.5 c.i.

7 U-0.064 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i. U-0.090 R-11.4 c.i.

8 U-0.064 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i. U-0.080 R-13.3 c.i.

* No insulation requirement 

The mass wall was assembled assuming 8-in. medium weight concrete blocks with a density of 

140 lb/ft3 and solid grouted cores. The mass wall includes the following layers: 

• Exterior air film (calculated by EnergyPlus)

• 1-in exterior stucco

• 8-in. concrete block, 140 lb/ft3 

• 1-in. metal clips with rigid insulation (R-value varies by climate)

• 0.5-in. thick gypsum board 

• Interior air film (calculated by EnergyPlus).

The steel-framed wall layer details are as follows:

• Exterior air film (calculated by EnergyPlus)

• Nominally R-2 exterior sheathing

• Batt wall insulation (R-value varies by climate)

• 0.5-in. thick gypsum board 

• Interior air film (calculated by EnergyPlus).

To calculate the thermal performance of the interior air films, the “TARP” algorithm in 

EnergyPlus for surface heat transfer film coefficients was used. To calculate the thermal 

performance of the exterior air films, the “DOE-2” algorithm in EnergyPlus for surface heat 

transfer film coefficients was used. These algorithms are based on linearized radiation 

coefficients that are separate from the convection coefficients, as determined by surface 

roughness, wind speed, and terrain. However, standardized combined film coefficients were 

used to target assembly U-factors; these coefficients can be seen in Table 3–7 (DOE 2011). 
24 

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Table 3–7 Standard Air Film Coefficients

Surface Class Interior Air Film Coefficient 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

Exterior Air Film Coefficient 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

Wall 0.68 0.17

Floor 0.92 0.46

Ceiling/roof 0.61 0.46

3.3.1.2 Roofs

Built-up, rigid insulation above a structural metal deck roof was used in the baseline models. 

The layers consisted of the roof membrane, roof insulation, and metal decking. The U-factors 

varied based on the applicable climate zone. Added insulation was continuous and uninterrupted 

by framing. Roof insulation R-values were set to match the minimum roof insulation 

requirements in Tables 5.5-1 through 5.5-8 of Standard 90.1-2004, by climate. The baseline roof 

U-factors are summarized in Table 3–8. 

Table 3–8 Baseline Roof Constructions

Climate Zone Assembly U-Factor 

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) 

Insulation R-Value, 

Nominal (h·ft2·°F/Btu)

1 (A) U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

2 (A,B) U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

3 (A,B,C) U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

4 (A,B,C) U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

5 (A,B) U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

6 (A,B) U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

7 U-0.063 R-15.0 c.i.

8 U-0.048 R-20.0 c.i.

Standard 90.1-2004 does not specify absorptance or other surface assumptions. The roof exterior 

finish was assumed to be a single-ply roof membrane with gray ethylene propylene polymer 

membrane in the baseline models. Therefore, a solar reflectance of 0.3, a thermal absorption of 

0.9, and a visible absorption of 0.7 were assumed. 

3.3.1.3 Slab-on-Grade Floors

The baseline buildings were modeled with slab-on-grade floors, which were composed of a 

carpet pad layer over an 8-in. thick heavyweight concrete layer.

A slab program that is packaged with EnergyPlus, which determines the temperature of the 

ground under the slab based on the area of the slab, the location of the building, and the type of 

insulation under or around the slab, was used to model the ground coupling. For the baseline 

models, the program was used to run a simple building in each location with the slab insulation 

requirements in Standard 90.1-2004. The program reports the perimeter ground monthly 

temperatures, the core ground monthly temperatures, and monthly averages of these 

temperatures. For this analysis, the average monthly temperatures were used as the input for the 

ground temperatures under the floor slab in the EnergyPlus input files, and can be found in 

Table 3–9 and Table 3–10. 
25 

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Table 3–9 Simulated Monthly Ground Temperatures (°F), 1A–4A 

Month 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Jan 72.5 69.0 66.7 67.9 68.2 66.0 67.8 67.5

Feb 72.8 68.6 66.6 67.8 68.2 66.0 67.9 67.4

Mar 73.0 69.4 68.7 67.9 68.2 66.0 67.8 67.5

Apr 73.3 71.8 70.5 68.8 68.4 68.6 67.9 67.5

May 73.5 73.0 70.7 71.7 69.0 69.6 67.9 68.9

Jun 73.5 73.2 70.1 72.6 69.7 69.7 68.1 71.8

Jul 73.6 73.3 69.9 72.8 72.3 69.4 68.6 72.4

Aug 73.6 73.3 70.3 73.0 72.9 69.5 68.1 72.6

Sep 73.6 73.4 70.6 73.1 73.0 69.8 68.8 71.9

Oct 73.7 73.1 70.9 70.1 71.5 69.6 68.2 69.1

Nov 73.5 70.9 68.6 68.5 69.1 66.6 68.0 68.1

Dec 73.2 69.2 66.9 68.1 68.4 66.1 67.9 67.6

Table 3–10 Simulated Monthly Ground Temperatures (°F), 4B–8 

Month 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Jan 66.6 67.5 67.1 66.6 66.8 66.4 66.5 65.2

Feb 66.6 67.5 67.1 66.5 66.8 66.5 66.5 65.1

Mar 66.5 67.5 67.2 66.6 66.9 66.5 66.6 65.4

Apr 66.6 67.6 67.3 66.7 67.1 66.6 66.8 65.7

May 68.8 67.7 68.0 66.9 68.3 66.7 66.9 66.0

Jun 70.5 68.1 71.0 68.8 70.8 68.1 67.6 66.4

Jul 70.8 69.3 72.0 70.7 71.8 70.4 69.7 67.3

Aug 71.1 70.0 72.3 71.2 72.1 69.8 68.8 66.6

Sep 71.3 68.8 70.6 68.8 69.2 67.7 67.6 66.4

Oct 67.7 68.0 68.2 67.2 67.8 66.9 67.2 66.1

Nov 66.9 67.7 67.6 66.8 67.4 66.7 67.0 65.7

Dec 66.7 67.6 67.3 66.6 67.1 66.5 66.7 65.4

3.3.1.4 Fenestration

Building fenestration includes all envelope penetrations used for ingress and egress or lighting, 

such as windows, doors, and skylights.

Standard 90.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004b) specifies window properties as window systems and not 

as window frame and glass separately; thus, window frames were not explicitly modeled and 

only one window was modeled per exterior surface. This reduced the complexity and increased 

the speed of the EnergyPlus simulations. Only the south façade of the building was glazed, and

had an overall fraction of fenestration to gross wall area of 22%, with individual fenestration 

objects distributed evenly on applicable exterior surfaces. Box retail stores usually do not have 

much glazing. For this model, only the front of the store (the south façade) was glazed.

The U-factors and solar heat gain coefficients (SHGCs) that were applied to the fenestration 

objects were whole-assembly values and included framing effects. The performance criteria 

listed in Table 3–11 were set to match the requirements of Table 5.5-1 through Table 5.5-8 in 

Standard 90.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004b). The multipliers from the visible light transmittance 

(VLT) table, Table C3.5 in Standard 90.1-2004 Appendix C (ASHRAE 2004b), were used to 

calculate VLT values for the baseline windows.
26 

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Table 3–11 Baseline Window Constructions

Climate Zone U-Factor 

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) SHGC VLT

1 (A) 1.22 0.25 0.250

2 (A,B) 1.22 0.25 0.250

3 (A,B) 0.57 0.25 0.318

3 (C) 1.22 0.34 0.340

4 (A,B,C) 0.57 0.39 0.495

5 (A,B) 0.57 0.39 0.495

6 (A,B) 0.57 0.39 0.495

7 0.57 0.49 0.490

8 0.46 NR, 0.49 used NR, 0.490 used

3.3.2 Electric Lighting

3.3.2.1 Interior Lighting

The lighting power densities (LPDs) used in the baseline models are listed in Table 3–12. These 

values were determined by using the space-by-space method in Standard 90.1-2004, Table 9.6.1 

(ASHRAE 2004b). The double colon in Table 3–12 is a means for indicating the common space 

types and subspace types in Table 9.6.1 in Standard 90.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004b). 

Table 3–12 LPD by Space Type

Model Space Type 90.1-2004 Table 9.6.1 Space Type LPD

(W/ft2) 

Sales floor Retail::sales area 3.35*

Vestibule Corridor/transition 0.50

Corridor Corridor/transition 0.50

Restroom Restrooms 0.90

Stock room Active storage 0.80

Office Office – enclosed 1.10

Meeting room Conference/meeting/multipurpose 1.17** (1.30)

Break room Dining area 0.81** (0.90)

Mechanical room Electrical/mechanical 1.50

* Includes 1.65 W/ft2 of accent lighting 

** 10% reduction applied in the models to account for occupancy sensors, the 90.1 value is in parenthesis 

The peak values in Table 3–12 were modified with hour-by-hour multiplier schedules in 

EnergyPlus. Both the medium box and big box models used the schedules in Figure 3–11. The 

lighting schedules were adapted by the PC from those in Hale et al. (2009) based on their 

experience with retail stores. 
27 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Figure 3–11 Baseline lighting schedule

3.3.2.2 Exterior Lighting

The exterior lighting in the models was meant to represent parking lot lighting. The parking lot 

area was assumed to be 2.5 times the building area (101,250 ft2 for the medium box store, 

248,088 ft2 for the big box store). The LPD was 0.15 W/ft2 of parking lot area (Standard 90.1-

2004 Table 9.4.5), resulting in 15,188 W for the medium box store and 37,213 W for the big box 

store. In both models, the lights were controlled by an astronomical clock that turned the lights 

on when the sun set and off when the sun rose. 

3.3.3 Plug and Process Loads

The plug and process loads were adapted from Hale et al. (2009) based on PC input. Table 3–13

shows a summary of the plug and process loads used in the models.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday, Saturday Sunday
28 

This report is available at no cost from the 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–13 Baseline Model Plug and Process Loads

Space Type

Medium Box

Big Box Low Plug (W/ft2) (W/ft2) 

High Plug 

(W/ft2) 

Sales floor 0.40 0.70 0.40

Vestibule 0.00 0.00 0.00

Corridor 0.00 0.00 0.00

Restroom 0.10 0.10 0.10

Stock room 0.75 0.75 0.75

Office 0.75 1.10 0.75

Meeting room 0.75 1.10 0.75

Break room 2.60 2.60 2.60

Mechanical room 0.00 0.00 0.00

The peak values in Table 3–13 were modified with hour-by-hour multiplier schedules in 

EnergyPlus. The electrical schedules in the model were adapted by the PC from those in Hale et 

al. (2009) based on their experience with retail stores. 

Figure 3–12 Baseline plug and process load schedule 

3.3.4 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning

The three baseline models were similarly zoned; that is, each EnergyPlus thermal zone (the 

disjoint rectangles in Figure 3–3 [medium box] and Figure 3–4 [big box]) contained packaged 

unitary heating and cooling equipment. These systems were modeled by assigning an autosized 

packaged single-zone system with a 36% efficient constant volume fan with a 2.7 in. w.c. 

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday, Saturday Sunday
29 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.

pressure drop, a 3.69 coefficient of performance (COP) DX cooling coil, and an 80% efficient 

natural gas-fired furnace to each thermal zone. The units contained desuperheat coils to help 

control humidity. Not all retailers can control humidity in their stores, but a conservative 

approach from an energy consumption standpoint was taken to model humidity control. Hot gas 

reheat coils are passive and proper humidity levels may be achieved at the expense of 

overcooling of the space. To overcome this problem, active electric heating coils were modeled 

in EnergyPlus to maintain comfort by adding electric baseboard heat to each zone. We assumed 

that the larger zones would be served by multiple such units, even though EnergyPlus assigned 

only one HVAC system, which was meant to represent multiple, identical smaller packaged units 

that operated in tandem to condition the space. This is acceptable because normalized 

performance curves for the smaller unit were used. For purposes of specifying efficiency, we 

assumed 10-ton units in all cases, with multiple 10 -on units serving larger spaces.

3.3.5 Service Water Heating

The baseline SWH system remained unchanged from Hale et al. (2009). The system included an 

electric storage water heater with a thermal efficiency (Et) of 86.4%. The consumption rates of 

hot water were determined using ASHRAE (2003), specifically Chapter 49, Table 8. That table 

does not have an entry for retail, so we assumed that the retail hot water use was similar to that in 

an office building. The peak hot water consumption rate for all baseline models was 18 gal/h, 

based on 40 gal/h for sinks and 20 gal/h for public lavatories, multiplied by a demand factor of 

0.3. The water heater storage tank had a volume of 50 gal based on a storage capacity factor of 

2.0 and 71.4% usable volume percentage. The consumption schedule as a fraction of peak load 

was the same as the occupancy schedule (see Figure 3–5 and Figure 3–6). The delivered hot 

water outlet temperature at the fixture was assumed to be 104oF and the water heater set point 

was 140oF. 

3.3.6 Baseline Simulation Results

Table 3–14 and Table 3–15 present the simulation results for the medium box low plug load 

baseline model. These results are presented graphically in Figure 3–13. Table 3–16, Table 3–

17, and Figure 3–14 present the same for the medium box high plug load baseline model, while 

Table 3–18, Table 3–19, and Figure 3–15 present the same for the big box baseline model. 

Table 3–14 Medium Box Low Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6

Heating (gas) 0.0 1.2 0.8 2.6 0.3 1.5 1.4 6.0

Heating (electric) 0.1 0.4 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2

Cooling (electric) 32.5 25.2 18.9 14.1 7.9 14.0 2.5 11.2

Fans (electric) 19.0 19.9 20.7 19.9 18.1 20.5 16.2 19.3

SWH (electric) 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 115.7 111.0 104.6 101.3 90.7 100.3 84.6 101.2
30 

This report is available at no cost from the 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–15 Medium Box Low Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5

Heating (gas) 3.5 3.7 8.9 5.7 15.3 10.6 19.2 40.8

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2

Cooling (electric) 8.9 2.7 7.9 6.4 6.7 3.9 2.7 1.2

Fans (electric) 22.3 17.5 18.5 20.9 18.5 19.9 17.4 15.8

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Total 99.1 88.6 100.0 97.5 105.1 99.1 104.2 122.8
31 

Figure 3–13 Medium box low plug baseline simulation results

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Heating (gas)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
32 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–16 Medium Box High Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6

Heating (gas) 0.0 1.1 0.7 2.3 0.3 1.3 1.3 5.3

Heating (electric) 0.1 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2

Cooling (electric) 33.4 25.8 20.0 14.7 8.4 14.9 2.8 11.6

Fans (electric) 19.9 20.8 21.6 20.8 19.0 21.5 17.0 20.2

SWH (electric) 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 122.5 117.3 111.5 107.4 97.1 107.0 90.6 106.8

Table 3–17 Medium Box High Plug Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5

Heating (gas) 3.0 3.2 7.9 5.0 13.7 9.5 17.3 37.9

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2

Cooling (electric) 9.6 3.0 8.3 6.9 7.1 4.3 2.9 1.3

Fans (electric) 23.3 18.4 19.4 22.0 19.4 20.9 18.3 16.7

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Total 105.4 94.2 105.3 103.4 109.8 104.3 108.3 125.9
33 

Figure 3–14 Medium box high plug baseline simulation results

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Heating (gas)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
34 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–18 Big Box Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6

Interior lighting (electric) 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6

Heating (gas) 0.0 1.2 0.6 1.8 0.1 0.9 0.8 4.5

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1

Cooling (electric) 32.2 24.6 20.0 13.2 7.4 13.4 2.4 10.4

Fans (electric) 19.5 20.2 21.5 18.4 16.8 18.6 14.5 17.7

SWH (electric) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

Total 116.0 110.6 106.3 97.8 88.7 97.2 82.0 97.0

Table 3–19 Big Box Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6

Interior lighting (electric) 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5

Heating (gas) 2.2 2.8 7.6 4.5 13.0 8.7 17.2 37.0

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1

Cooling (electric) 8.6 2.5 7.5 6.1 6.3 3.8 2.6 1.1

Fans (electric) 20.3 15.7 17.3 19.5 17.2 18.3 16.3 14.3

SWH (electric) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Total 95.5 85.5 96.9 94.6 101.0 95.3 100.6 117.1
35 

Figure 3–15 Big box baseline simulation results

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Heating (gas)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
36 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

3.3.7 All-Electric Baseline

The ASHP low-energy HVAC system (see Section 3.4.4.4) is all electric; that is, there is no onsite combustion for heating. To eliminate fuel switching and enable a fair comparison of energy 

use, an all-electric baseline was created for each prototype model. This model was used for 

comparison to the ASHP HVAC system. The only difference in the all-electric baseline models 

was that the natural gas-fired furnace in the HVAC units was replaced with an electric resistance 

coil. The results from these baselines formed the basis for comparison for the ASHP low-energy 

model variation. 

Table 3–20 and Table 3–21 present the simulation results for the medium box low plug load 

electric baseline model. These results are presented graphically in Figure 3–16. Table 3–22, 

Table 3–23, and Figure 3–17 present the same for the medium box high plug load all-electric 

baseline model, while Table 3–24, Table 3–25, and Figure 3–18 present the same for the big box 

all-electric baseline model. 

Table 3–20 Medium Box Low Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6

Heating (electric) 0.1 1.4 0.7 2.4 0.4 1.2 1.3 5.0

Cooling (electric) 32.5 25.2 18.9 14.1 7.9 14.0 2.5 11.2

Fans (electric) 19.0 19.9 20.7 19.9 18.1 20.5 16.2 19.3

SWH (electric) 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 115.7 110.7 104.5 100.8 90.7 100.0 84.4 100.0

Table 3–21 Medium Box Low Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5

Heating (electric) 2.8 3.1 7.3 4.6 12.4 8.6 15.6 32.9

Cooling (electric) 8.9 2.7 7.9 6.4 6.7 3.9 2.7 1.2

Fans (electric) 22.3 17.5 18.5 20.9 18.5 19.9 17.4 15.8

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Total 98.4 87.8 98.2 96.4 102.1 97.0 100.3 114.6
37 

Figure 3–16 Medium box low plug all-electric baseline simulation results

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
38 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–22 Medium Box High Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6

Heating (electric) 0.1 1.2 0.6 2.1 0.3 1.1 1.1 4.4

Cooling (electric) 33.4 25.8 20.0 14.7 8.4 14.9 2.8 11.6

Fans (electric) 19.9 20.8 21.6 20.8 19.0 21.5 17.0 20.2

SWH (electric) 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 122.5 117.1 111.4 107.0 97.1 106.7 90.4 105.7

Table 3–23 Medium Box High Plug All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.5

Interior lighting (electric) 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6 48.6

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5

Heating (electric) 2.5 2.7 6.5 4.1 11.1 7.7 14.0 30.5

Cooling (electric) 9.6 3.0 8.3 6.9 7.1 4.3 2.9 1.3

Fans (electric) 23.3 18.4 19.4 22.0 19.4 20.9 18.3 16.7

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Total 104.8 93.5 103.7 102.4 107.1 102.4 104.9 118.3
39 

Figure 3–17 Medium box high plug all-electric baseline simulation results

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
40 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–24 Big Box All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6

Interior lighting (electric) 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6

Heating (electric) 0.1 1.3 0.5 1.5 0.1 0.7 0.7 3.7

Cooling (electric) 32.2 24.6 20.0 13.2 7.4 13.4 2.4 10.4

Fans (electric) 19.5 20.2 21.5 18.4 16.8 18.6 14.5 17.7

SWH (electric) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

Total 116.0 110.4 106.2 97.5 88.6 97.0 81.9 96.1

Table 3–25 Big Box All-Electric Baseline Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6 9.6

Interior lighting (electric) 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8 48.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.5

Heating (electric) 1.8 2.3 6.2 3.7 10.5 7.0 13.9 29.8

Cooling (electric) 8.6 2.5 7.5 6.1 6.3 3.8 2.6 1.1

Fans (electric) 20.3 15.7 17.3 19.5 17.2 18.3 16.3 14.3

SWH (electric) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Total 95.1 84.9 95.4 93.7 98.4 93.6 97.1 109.7
41 

Figure 3–18 Big box all-electric baseline simulation results

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
42 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

3.4 Low-Energy Model Development and Assumptions

Extensive modeling was used to determine the effectiveness of all considered AEDG-MBBR

recommendations. This section documents the energy models that incorporated the final set of 

AEDG-MBBR recommendations.

3.4.1 Envelope

3.4.1.1 Exterior Walls

The exterior walls in all three low-energy models were modeled exactly as in the baseline

models, except for the insulation layer. The low-energy exterior wall R- and U-values are shown 

in Table 3–26 (steel-framed walls) and Table 3–27 (mass walls), with the baseline values 

included for easy comparison. 

Table 3–26 Low-Energy Steel-Framed Exterior Wall Constructions

Climate 

Zone 

Assembly U-Factor 

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) 

Insulation R-Value, Nominal 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

Baseline Models Low-Energy Models Baseline Models Low-Energy Models 

1 (A) U-0.124 U-0.064 R-13.0 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i.

2 (A,B) U-0.124 U-0.064 R-13.0 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i.

3 (A,B,C) U-0.124 U-0.064 R-13.0 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i.

4 (A,B,C) U-0.124 U-0.057 R-13.0 R-13.0 + R-10.0 c.i.

5 (A,B) U-0.084 U-0.049 R-13.0 + R-3.8 c.i. R-13.0 + R-12.5 c.i.

6 (A,B) U-0.084 U-0.043 R-13.0 + R-3.8 c.i. R-13.0 + R-15.0 c.i.

7 U-0.064 U-0.037 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i. R-13.0 + R-18.8 c.i.

8 U-0.064 U-0.037 R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i. R-13.0 + R-18.8 c.i.

Table 3–27 Low-Energy Mass Exterior Wall Constructions

Climate 

Zone 

Assembly U-Factor 

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) 

Insulation R-Value, Nominal 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

Baseline Models Low-Energy Models Baseline Models Low-Energy Models

1 (A) U-0.580 U-0.580 NR* NR*

2 (A,B) U-0.580 U-0.151 NR* R-5.7 c.i.

3 (A,B,C) U-0.151 U-0.123 R-5.7 c.i. R-7.6 c.i.

4 (A,B,C) U-0.151 U-0.104 R-5.7 c.i. R-9.5 c.i.

5 (A,B) U-0.123 U-0.090 R-7.6 c.i. R-11.4 c.i.

6 (A,B) U-0.104 U-0.071 R-9.5 c.i. R-15.4 c.i.

7 U-0.090 U-0.067 R-11.4 c.i. R-17.0 c.i.

8 U-0.080 U-0.063 R-13.3 c.i. R-19.0 c.i.

* No insulation requirement 

3.4.1.2 Roofs

The roofs in the low-energy models were modeled exactly as in the baseline models, except for 

the insulation layer. The low-energy roof R- and U-values used are provided in Table 3–28, with 

the baseline values included for easy comparison. 
43 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 3–28 Low-Energy Roof Constructions

Climate 

Zone 

Assembly U-Factor 

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) 

Insulation R-Value, Nominal 

(h·ft2·°F/Btu) 

Baseline Models Low-Energy Models Baseline Models Low-Energy Models 

1 (A) U-0.063 U-0.048 R-15.0 c.i. R-20.0 c.i.

2 (A,B) U-0.063 U-0.039 R-15.0 c.i. R-25.0 c.i.

3 (A,B,C) U-0.063 U-0.039 R-15.0 c.i. R-25.0 c.i.

4 (A,B,C) U-0.063 U-0.039 R-15.0 c.i. R-25.0 c.i.

5 (A,B) U-0.063 U-0.032 R-15.0 c.i. R-30.0 c.i.

6 (A,B) U-0.063 U-0.032 R-15.0 c.i. R-30.0 c.i.

7 U-0.063 U-0.028 R-15.0 c.i. R-35.0 c.i.

8 U-0.048 U-0.028 R-20.0 c.i. R-35.0 c.i.

3.4.1.3 Slab-on-Grade Floors

The floors in the low-energy models were modeled exactly as those in the baseline models. 

3.4.1.4 View Fenestration

The U-factors, SHGCs, and VLTs that were used in the low-energy models are shown in Table 

3–29, with the baseline values included for easy comparison.

Table 3–29 Low-Energy View Window Constructions

Climate 

Zone 

U-Factor 

(Btu/h·ft2·°F) SHGC VLT

Baseline 

Models 

Low-Energy 

Models 

Baseline 

Models 

Low-Energy 

Models 

Baseline 

Models 

Low-Energy 

Models 

1 (A) 1.22 1.20 0.25 0.25 0.250 0.250

2 (A,B) 1.22 0.70 0.25 0.25 0.250 0.250

3 (A,B) 0.57 0.60 0.25 0.25 0.318 0.320

3 (C) 1.22 0.60 0.34 0.25 0.340 0.320

4 (A,B,C) 0.57 0.50 0.39 0.40 0.495 0.510

5 (A,B) 0.57 0.45 0.39 0.40 0.495 0.510

6 (A,B) 0.57 0.45 0.39 0.40 0.495 0.510

7 0.57 0.40 0.49 0.45 0.490 0.450

8 0.46 0.40 0.49 0.45 0.490 0.450

3.4.2 Electric Lighting

3.4.2.1 Interior Lighting

The LPDs used in the low-energy models are listed in Table 3–30, with the baseline values 

included for easy comparison. The peak values in Table 3–30 were modified with hour-by-hour 

multiplier schedules in EnergyPlus. Both the medium box and big box stores used the schedules 

in Figure 3–19. The lighting schedule is similar to that used in the baseline models (Figure 3–

11), except for after-hours control. In the low-energy models, the lights are completely shut off 

during unoccupied periods (versus 10% on in the baseline), and during staff stocking time the 

lights are at 16% on (versus 50% on in the baseline). 
44 

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Table 3–30 Low-Energy LPD by Space Type

Space Type Baseline LPD 

(W/ft2) 

Low-Energy LPD 

(W/ft2) 

Sales floor 3.35* 1.90***

Vestibule 0.50 0.45** (0.50)

Corridor 0.50 0.54** (0.60)

Restroom 0.90 0.86** (0.95)

Stock room 0.80 0.86** (0.95)

Office 1.10 0.81** (0.90)

Meeting room 1.17** (1.30) 0.81** (0.90)

Break room 0.81** (0.90) 0.45** (0.50)

Mechanical room 1.50 0.86** (0.95)

* Includes 1.65 W/ft2 of accent lighting 

** 10% reduction applied in the models to account for occupancy sensors; the value without occupancy sensors is in parenthesis 

*** Includes 0.75 W/ft2 of accent lighting 

Figure 3–19 Low-energy lighting schedule 

3.4.2.2 Exterior Lighting

As in the baseline models, the exterior lighting in the low-energy models is meant to represent 

parking lot lighting. The parking lot area assumption remained the same (2.5 times the building 

area [101,250 ft2 for the medium box stores, 248,088 ft2 for the big box store]). The LPD was 

0.10 W/ft2 of parking lot area (from the AEDG-MBBR recommendation tables, see Table 5–1

and Table 5–2), resulting in 10,125 W for the medium box stores and 24,809 W for the big box 

store. In both models, the lights were controlled by an astronomical clock that turned the lights 

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday, Saturday Sunday
45 

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on when the sun set and off when the sun rose. The low-energy models also employed an 

energy-saving feature that turned the lights to quarter power from midnight to 6:00 a.m. 

3.4.2.3 Daylighting

Daylighting in a box retail environment is highly situation and retailer specific. Often, retailers 

can successfully daylight only front entry and back-of-house spaces, which make up a small 

fraction of the store. Although there are many ways to successfully daylight a retail space, for 

this analysis, a conservative approach was taken to model no daylighting. The AEDG-MBBR 

contains many case studies and how-to tips. Daylighting is not discouraged in any way, but for 

this analysis we showed that daylighting is not always required to achieve the 50% energy 

savings goal. 

3.4.3 Plug and Process Loads

The modeled low-energy model plug and process loads represented a 25% reduction over the 

baseline models. This reduction can be accomplished by installing ENERGY STAR® 

equipment, consolidating or removing equipment, etc.; more details can be found in the AEDGMBBR. Table 3–31 shows a summary of the plug and process loads used in the low-energy 

models. 

Table 3–31 Low-Energy Model Plug and Process Loads

Space Type

Medium Box

Big Box Low Plug (W/ft2) (W/ft2) 

High Plug 

(W/ft2) 

Sales floor 0.30 0.53 0.30

Vestibule 0.00 0.00 0.00

Corridor 0.00 0.00 0.00

Restroom 0.08 0.08 0.08

Stock room 0.56 0.56 0.56

Office 0.56 0.83 0.56

Meeting room 0.56 0.83 0.56

Break room 1.95 1.95 1.95

Mechanical room 0.00 0.00 0.00

The peak values in Table 3–31 were modified with hour-by-hour multiplier schedules in 

EnergyPlus. The electric equipment schedules in the low-energy models had the same values 

during operating hours as the baseline models; however, for the low-energy models, the schedule 

values during nonoperating hours were lowered from 0.4 to 0.1 to simulate the improved plug 

load control recommendations in the AEDG-MBBR. This schedule modification was meant to 

represent items such as computer power management and plug strip controls, and is in addition 

to the plug load reductions detailed in Table 3–31. (See the AEDG-MBBR for more details on 

plug load reduction strategies.) 
46 

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Figure 3–20 Low-energy plug and process load schedule 

3.4.4 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning

Although many types of HVAC systems could be used in retail stores, the AEDG-MBBR

provides recommendations for each of the following four system types:

• Packaged VAV DX air conditioner with a gas furnace (VAV) 

• Packaged CAV DX air conditioner with a gas furnace and a DOAS (CAV DOAS) 

• ASHP with electric resistance supplemental heat and a DOAS (ASHP DOAS)

• WSHP with a DOAS (WSHP DOAS)

More than one HVAC system type is provided to give AEDG-MBBR users flexibility in 

designing high-performance retail buildings. The PC used their experience in designing retail 

stores to determine the HVAC system types to include in the AEDG-MBBR, and they felt these 

four types were widely applicable, readily available, and comparatively common. Energy 

modeling showed that all four system types (when coupled with the other recommendations) met 

or exceeded the 50% energy savings goals. The AEDG-MBBR discusses more variations among 

the modeled system types, but the PC members decided to model only the most common 

configurations. 

The HVAC zoning for the low-energy models was the same as the baseline models; that is, each 

EnergyPlus thermal zone (the disjointed rectangles in Figure 3–3 [medium box] and Figure 3–4

[big box]) was served by the heating and cooling equipment described in detail in the following 

sections. For this analysis we assumed all units were 10 tons.

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Fraction of Peak

Hour

Weekday, Saturday Sunday
47 

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3.4.4.1 Packaged Variable Air Volume Direct Expansion System

In this low-energy model variation, each thermal zone was ventilated and conditioned via a 

packaged VAV system with electric reheat at the zone terminal boxes. The AEDG-MBBR 

specifies an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 11.5 for a 10-ton unit. In EnergyPlus, the 

efficiency of DX cooling systems is specified by entering a COP. The COP input in EnergyPlus 

does not include the rated power consumption of the supply air fan, so the EER needs to be 

adjusted to remove the supply air fan energy. The procedure in Section 3.3.4.2.5 of Hale et al. 

(2009) was followed to determine the modeling inputs for EnergyPlus. The procedure is quickly 

outlined as follows; see Hale et al. (2009) for more details. The kW/ton of the unit can be 

determined by converting the 11.5 EER with an assumed COP of 4.0. This yields 0.1645 

kW/ton, and assuming 400 cfm/ton this results in 0.551 hp/1000 cfm. Then assuming 1.5 in. 

w.c. for internal pressure drop and the ARI Standard 340/360 minimum external pressure drop of 

0.3 in. w.c. for a 10-ton unit results in a total rated pressure drop of 1.8 in. w.c. This pressure 

drop is used only for the fan efficiency calculation. The ratio of 1.8 in. w.c. to 0.551 hp/1000 

cfm (with proper unit conversions) results in a fan efficiency of 51.6%. The electrical efficiency 

of the motor was assumed to be 93% and the unit also had an 80% efficient natural gas fired 

furnace.

The VAV systems in the office, break room, corridor, stock room, meeting room, restroom, and 

mechanical room zones of Figure 3–3 (medium box) and Figure 3–4 (big box) had a pressure 

drop of 3.3 in. w.c. The systems in the main sales, perimeter sales, and vestibule zones of Figure 

3–3 (medium box) and Figure 3–4 (big box) had a pressure drop of 2.2 in. w.c. The difference in 

pressure drop was to account for the more complex ductwork layout in the back-of-house areas. 

Each VAV system used a differential enthalpy controlled economizer. The supply air 

temperature of the systems was varied according to the EnergyPlus Energy Management System 

(EMS) code in Appendix D.1. The VAV systems also included DCV capability (in zones that 

had a per-person ventilation requirement), and energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) or indirect 

evaporative cooling (depending on climate zone). 

The indirect evaporative coolers were modeled in climate zones 2B, 3B, 4B, and 5B and 

operated in the late spring through early fall (April 16 through September 30). In the later fall

through early spring (October 1 through April 15) the coolers were used as sensible heat 

exchangers (with 65% heat exchanger effectiveness) for energy recovery. This scheme was 

modeled in EnergyPlus by alternating between an ERV and an evaporative cooler using the EMS 

code (see Appendix D.2). Each evaporative cooler had a wet bulb effectiveness of 58.5%, a dew 

point effectiveness of 90%, a blowdown ratio of 3, a wetted pressure drop of 1.18 in. w.c., and a 

dry pressure drop of 1.01 in. w.c.

The wetted pressure drop was calculated by summing the pressure drop of the components: 0.5 

in. w.c. for the inlet path and 0.85 in. w.c. for the return path at 80% of the full flow rate (it was 

assumed that the restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air) (0.5 in. w.c. + 0.85 in. 

w.c. × 0.8 = 1.18 in. w.c.). The dry pressure drop was determined the same way, with 0.5 in. 

w.c. for the inlet path and 0.64 in. w.c. (at full flow) for the return path at 80% of the full flow 

rate (it was assumed that the restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air) (0.5 in w.c. + 

0.64 in. w.c. × 0.8 = 1.01 in. w.c.).

In climate zones 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A the ERVs were modeled as sensible and latent 

rotary heat exchangers with an 82.6% sensible effectiveness, 76.1% latent effectiveness, and a 

1.34 in. w.c. pressure drop. The pressure drop was calculated by combining the pressure drop of 
48 

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the components: 0.7 in. w.c. for the inlet path and 0.8 in. w.c. for the return path at 80% of the 

full flow rate (it was assumed that the restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air) (0.7 

in. w.c. + 0.8 in. w.c. × 0.8 = 1.34 in. w.c.).

In climate zones 4C, 6B, 7, and 8 the ERVs were modeled as sensible rotary heat exchangers 

with an 82.6% sensible effectiveness and a 1.01 in. w.c. pressure drop. The pressure drop was 

calculated by summing the pressure drop of the components: 0.5 in. w.c. for the inlet path and 

0.64 in. w.c. (at full flow) for the return path at 80% of the full flow rate (it was assumed that the 

restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air) (0.5 in. w.c. + 0.64 in. w.c. × 0.8 = 1.01 

in. w.c.).

All ERVs were equipped with exhaust-only frost control (with a threshold temperature of 10°F 

in climate zones with sensible-only ERVs and –10°F in climate zones with sensible and latent 

ERVs), an initial defrost time fraction of 0.167 min/min, and a defrost time increase rate of 0.024 

(min/min)/°C. Climate zone 3C did not contain an ERV or evaporative cooler. 

In EnergyPlus, DCV was modeled by varying the per-person ventilation requirement (see 

Table 3–5) based on the occupancy schedule for that zone (see Figure 3–5 and Figure 3–6). For 

example, the per-person ventilation requirement in the sales zone is 7.5 cfm/person and the peak 

occupant density is 15 people per 1000 ft2. The sales zone is 32,100 ft2, which results in a peak 

occupant value of about 480. The occupancy schedule value on January 1 at noon is 0.25, which 

means the occupant value is about 120. At 7.5 cfm/person, the ventilation rate would be 

approximately 900 cfm. This ventilation rate value fluctuates in this manner as the occupancy 

schedule changes. DCV was modeled in all spaces with a per-person ventilation requirement in 

Table 3–5, and there was no threshold of occupancy driving OA rates.

3.4.4.2 DOAS

The three other low-energy model variations used a DOAS to supply ventilation air to the space; 

space conditioning was handled through other means. Each model contained two multizone 

DOAS, one serving the sales area and another serving the back-of-house areas. The sales area 

DOAS served the vestibule, perimeter sales, and main sales areas; the back-of-house DOAS 

served the hallway, office, meeting room, break room, restroom, mechanical room, and stock 

room zones, illustrated in Figure 3–3 (medium box) and Figure 3–4 (big box). 

The DOASs were modeled with an 80% efficient natural gas-fired furnace, a 4.0 COP DX 

cooling coil, and a VAV fan. The DOAS supplied air at 53°F year-round. The VAV fan had an 

efficiency of 51.6%; the fan motor had an efficiency of 93%; and the system pressure drop at full 

flow was 2.5 in. w.c. for the sales DOAS and 3.3 in. w.c. for the back-of-house DOAS. The 

difference in pressure drop was to account for the more complex ductwork layout that would 

exist in the back-of-house areas. The DOAS also included DCV capability (in zones that had a 

per-person ventilation requirement), and ERVs or indirect evaporative cooling (depending on 

climate zone). 

The indirect evaporative coolers were modeled in climate zones 2B, 3B, 4B, and 5B and 

operated in the late spring through early fall (April 16 through September 30). In the later fall

through early spring (October 1 through April 15) the coolers were used as sensible heat 

exchangers (with 65% heat exchanger effectiveness) for energy recovery. This scheme was 

modeled in EnergyPlus by alternating between an ERV and an evaporative cooler using EMS 

code (see Appendix D.2). Each evaporative cooler had a wet bulb effectiveness of 58.5%, a dew 
49 

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point effectiveness of 90%, a blowdown ratio of 3, a wetted pressure drop of 1.18 in. w.c., and a 

dry pressure drop of 1.01 in. w.c.

The wetted pressure drop was calculated by summing the pressure drop of the components: 0.5 

in. w.c. for the inlet path and 0.85 in. w.c. for the return path at 80% of the full flow rate (we

assumed that the restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air) (0.5 in. w.c. + 0.85 in. 

w.c. × 0.8 = 1.18 in. w.c.). The dry pressure drop was determined the same way, with 0.5 in. 

w.c. for the inlet path and 0.64 in. w.c. (at full flow) for the return path at 80% of the full flow 

rate. We assumed that the restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air (0.5 in. w.c. + 

0.64 in. w.c. × 0.8 = 1.01 in. w.c.). 

In climate zones 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A the ERVs were modeled as sensible and latent 

rotary heat exchangers with an 82.6% sensible effectiveness, 76.1% latent effectiveness, and a 

1.34 in. w.c. pressure drop. The pressure drop was calculated by summing the pressure drop of 

the components: 0.7 in. w.c. for the inlet path and 0.8 in. w.c. for the return path at 80% of the 

full flow rate. We assumed that the restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air 

(0.7 in. w.c. + 0.8 in. w.c. × 0.8 = 1.34 in. w.c.).

In climate zones 3C, 4C, 6B, 7, and 8 the ERVs were modeled as sensible rotary heat exchangers 

with an 82.6% sensible effectiveness and a 1.01 in. w.c. pressure drop. The pressure drop was 

calculated by summing the pressure drop of the components: 0.5 in. w.c. for the inlet path and 

0.64 in. w.c. (at full flow) for the return path at 80% of the full flow rate. We assumed that the 

restrooms exhausted 20% of the available exhaust air (0.5 in. w.c. + 0.64 in. w.c. × 0.8 = 1.01 in. 

w.c.).

All ERVs were equipped with exhaust-only frost control (with a threshold temperature of 10°F 

in climate zones with sensible-only ERVs and –10°F in climate zones with sensible and latent 

ERVs), an initial defrost time fraction of 0.167 min/min, and a defrost time increase rate of 0.024 

(min/min)/°C. The ventilation air from the DOAS was delivered to the zone via a VAV terminal 

unit that was capable of varying the ventilation rate. 

DCV in the DOAS was modeled exactly as in the packaged VAV DX system. (See Section 

3.4.4.1 for more details on how DCV was modeled in the DOAS.) 

3.4.4.3 Packaged Constant Air Volume Direct Exchange With a 

Dedicated Outdoor Air System

In this low-energy model variation, ventilation was handled by the DOAS described in Section 

3.4.4.2 and each thermal zone contained unitary heating and cooling equipment to handle space 

conditioning. These systems were modeled by placing an autosized system with a 51.6% 

efficient constant volume fan, a 2.2 in. w.c. pressure drop, a 4.0 COP DX cooling coil, and an 

80% efficient gas-fired furnace in each thermal zone. The same procedure as in Section 3.4.4.1

was followed to convert the 11.5 EER specified by the AEDG-MBBR into the proper 

EnergyPlus inputs. These systems cycled with the load in each zone. We assumed that that the 

larger zones would be served by multiple such units, even though EnergyPlus assigned only one 

HVAC system; that system was meant to represent multiple, identical smaller packaged units 

that operated in tandem to condition the space. This is acceptable because normalized 

performance curves for the smaller unit were used.
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3.4.4.4 Air Source Heat Pump With a Dedicated Outdoor Air System

In this low-energy model variation, ventilation was handled by the DOAS described in Section

3.4.4.2 and each thermal zone contained an ASHP to handle space conditioning. These systems 

were modeled by placing an autosized ASHP with a 51.6% efficient constant volume fan, a 2.2 

in. w.c. pressure drop, 11.5 EER (3.4 cooling COP)/3.4 heating COP (at 47°F) DX coils, and an 

electric supplemental heating coil. These systems cycled with the load in each zone. We

assumed that that the larger zones would be served by multiple such units, even though 

EnergyPlus assigned only one HVAC system; that system was meant to represent multiple, 

identical smaller packaged units that operated in tandem to condition the space. This is 

acceptable because normalized performance curves for the smaller unit were used. This system 

was compared to the all-electric baseline (Section 3.3.7) when results were generated (Section 

5.2.3).

3.4.4.5 Water-Source Heat Pump With a Dedicated Outdoor Air System

In this low-energy model variation, ventilation was handled by the DOAS described in Section 

3.4.4.2 and each thermal zone contained a WSHP to handle space conditioning. These systems 

were modeled by placing an autosized WSHP with a 51.6% efficient constant volume fan, a 2.2 

in. w.c. pressure drop, 5.0 cooling COP/15.0 EER heating COP DX coils (efficiency values from 

the AEDG-MBBR), and an electric supplemental heating coil. These systems cycled with the 

load in each zone. We assumed that the larger zones would be served by multiple such units, 

even though EnergyPlus assigned only one HVAC system; that system was meant to represent 

multiple, identical smaller packaged units that operated in tandem to condition the space. This is 

acceptable because normalized performance curves for the smaller unit were used.

The heat pumps drew or rejected energy from or to a single plant water loop that was served by 

an 80% efficient variable-speed pump with 60 ft of head. The plant water loop included a boiler 

to maintain loop temperature above 68°F and an evaporative fluid cooler to maintain loop 

temperature below 86°F. The fluid cooler was modeled as a single-speed unit that cycled the van 

to control capacity. It had a 0.2 evaporation loss factor, a 0.008% drift loss, and a 3.0 blowdown 

concentration ratio. The boiler on the loop was a 90% efficient natural gas-fired condensing 

boiler.

3.4.5 Service Water Heating

The SWH in both the medium box and big box low-energy models was modeled exactly as in the 

baseline, except that the water heaters were modeled as 90% efficient instead of 86.4% efficient. 

The hot water consumption rates were determined using ASHRAE (2003), specifically Chapter 

49, Table 8. That table does not have an entry for retail, so we assumed that the retail hot water 

use was similar to that in an office building. The peak hot water consumption rate for all 

baseline models was 18 gal/h, based on 40 gal/h for sinks and 20 gal/h for public lavatories, 

multiplied by a demand factor of 0.3. The water heater storage tank had a volume of 50 gal 

based on a storage capacity factor of 2.0 and 71.4% usable volume percentage. The consumption 

schedule as a fraction of peak load was the same as the occupancy schedule (see Figure 3–5 and 

Figure 3–6). The delivered hot water outlet temperature at the fixture was assumed to be 104oF 

and the water heater set point was 140oF.
51 

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4. Energy Targets

Careful goal setting is required to design and construct high-performance buildings. The goal of 

the AEDG-MBBR was to provide guidance to procure a building that consumed at least 50% 

less energy than a computer-modeled Standard 90.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004b) compliant baseline. 

To better define this goal, an absolute whole-building energy target—a single number that 

defines the energy performance of a building—should be set as a best practice. The lower the 

number is, the more energy efficient the building is. The AEDG-MBBR provides these targets 

to help users set goals for their design. These targets can be used to select design teams as part 

of a procurement strategy, to set early design goals, to track design development progress, and to 

help designers and owners ensure that the desired level of performance for a project is achieved. 

In general, the energy targets in the AEDG-MBBR are applicable to most retail stores. 

The AEDG-MBBR energy targets were designed to simplify the process of setting wholebuilding absolute energy use targets. The prescriptive path represents one way, but not the only 

way, to achieve industry best practice energy performance. Specification of whole-building 

absolute energy use targets gives freedom to reach the performance goal with an approach that 

best fits the overall goals and constraints (including those not related to energy performance) of 

the project. Specification of the AEDG-MBBR whole-building absolute energy targets can 

eliminate most analysis that may otherwise be required to specify energy performance goals, 

because the guide values embody the knowledge required to set practical, aggressive energy 

performance targets in the medium and big-box retail environment. 

One can specify an absolute energy target based on the AEDG-MBBR energy target and then 

focus analysis efforts toward achieving industry best practice energy performance rather than 

trying to define a reference point against which to measure performance. For a more detailed 

discussion see Leach et al. (2012). 

The whole-building absolute energy targets for the AEDG-MBBR were developed in accordance 

with the following approach: 

1. Start with the models from Hale et al. (2009); these models were minimally compliant 

with Standard 90.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004b). The models vary according to building size 

and plug load density. 

2. Update the models according to the AEDG-MBBR PC’s expert guidance. Give special 

care to aspects of the model that are not prescribed by Standard 90.1-2004, including 

schedules and unregulated plug and process loads. The goal was to develop Standard 

90.1-2004 compliant models that accurately captured typical (common practice) wholebuilding energy use for retail stores. The final models used for the analyses are defined 

in Section 3.3 of this report.

3. Simulate the industry-vetted baseline models across a set of climate zones that fully 

represent the variations in the U.S. climate zones (Figure 3–2). Benchmark modeling 

results against available sector data and solicit input from the PC. Make any necessary 

corrections to the model inputs and resimulate. Iterations continue until results are in line 

with sector data and industry expectations for baseline energy performance by climate 

zone. 

4. Set climate-specific absolute targets representing 50% savings beyond Standard 90.1-

2004 by halving baseline whole-building energy performance results. Confirm through 
52 

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whole-building energy simulation and a case study survey (including committee member 

projects) that the 50% savings targets are feasible and representative of industry best 

practice energy performance.

The outcomes of this process can be seen in Table 4–1 and Table 4–2. The values in these tables 

represent 50% savings over the baseline models, which were compliant with Standard 90.1-2004 

(ASHRAE 2004b). The PC confirmed that these results were in line with their expectations for 

50% savings. 

Table 4–1 Medium Box Retail Energy Targets

Climate 

Zone 

Low Plug High Plug

Low Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

Med Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

High Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

Low Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

Med Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

High Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

1A 42 58 81 45 61 85

2A 41 56 77 44 59 80

2B 37 53 75 40 56 79

3A 38 51 70 40 53 73

3B:CA 31 46 67 34 49 69

3B 36 50 72 38 53 75

3C 29 43 61 32 45 64

4A 39 51 68 41 53 70

4B 36 50 70 39 53 72

4C 33 44 61 35 47 63

5A 40 50 65 42 52 67

5B 36 49 67 39 51 69

6A 43 53 66 45 54 68

6B 39 50 65 41 52 67

7 44 52 63 46 54 65

8 56 61 69 57 62 71
53 

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Table 4–2 Big Box Retail Energy Targets

Climate 

Zone 

Low Plug High Plug

Low Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

Med Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

High Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

Low Accent 

(kBtu/ft2yr)

Med Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

High Accent

(kBtu/ft2yr)

1A 42 58 82 45 62 85

2A 41 56 77 44 58 80

2B 38 54 77 41 57 80

3A 35 49 69 38 52 72

3B:CA 30 45 66 33 48 69

3B 34 49 71 37 52 74

3C 28 41 61 30 44 63

4A 37 49 66 39 51 68

4B 34 48 68 37 51 71

4C 31 43 60 33 45 62

5A 38 49 64 40 51 66

5B 35 47 66 37 50 68

6A 41 51 64 43 52 66

6B 37 48 63 39 50 65

7 42 50 62 44 52 63

8 53 58 67 54 60 68

Programmatic requirements can vary greatly from one application to another. A high-end 

retailer may use high-wattage accent lighting to display merchandise with a particular style; a 

discount retailer may use little or no accent lighting. Similarly, an electronics retailer may have 

significantly higher installed plug loads than a clothing retailer. Because plug loads and accent 

lighting can vary significantly according to project-specific requirements, the AEDG-MBBR 

energy targets were determined for a range of plug load and accent lighting levels. Energy 

targets are provided for two levels of baseline plug load requirements: Low and High, 

representing whole-building average installed plug load densities of 0.5 W/ft2 and 0.7 W/ft2, 

respectively. A general merchandise store would be a typical low-plug load case, whereas a 

dedicated electronics store would be a typical high-plug load case. Within each category of 

installed plug loads, energy targets are provided for three levels of baseline accent lighting 

requirements: (1) little or no accent lighting (Low), with a value of 0.0 W/ft2; (2) a typical level 

of accent lighting (Med), 1.6 W/ft2 for sales areas; and (3) a high level of accent lighting (High), 

representative of retail applications with specialty accent lighting requirements, such as jewelry 

sales, with a value of 3.9 W/ft2 for sales areas, the maximum allowed for a sales area by Standard 

90.1-2004. 
54 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

5. Evaluation Results

This section contains the PC-approved energy efficiency recommendations for the AEDGMBBR. The simulated energy savings that are achieved as a result of applying these 

recommendations are also presented. End-use comparison figures are provided; the end-use data 

are also presented in tabular format.

The guide recommendations represent a way to achieve 50% energy savings over Standard 90.1-

2004 in a typical retail building. The PC recognizes that there are other ways of achieving the 

50% energy savings, and offers these recommendations as one way, but not the only way, of 

meeting the energy savings target. When a recommendation contains the designation “Comply 

with 90.1,” the AEDG-MBBR provides no recommendation for this component or system. In 

these cases, the user must meet the more stringent of either the applicable version of Standard 

90.1 or the local code requirements.

5.1 Recommendation Tables for 50% Energy Savings

This section provides the recommendation tables in the AEDG-MBBR. The opaque envelope 

recommendations are presented for different climate zones by roof type, wall type, floor type, 

slab type, and door type. Recommendations for the thermal and optical characteristics of the 

vertical fenestration are provided. Interior lighting recommendations, including LPD, lamp 

efficacy, ballast specification, and controls; as well as exterior LPDs and controls, are presented. 

Plug and process load recommendations are provided. SWH efficiency recommendations are 

provided for electric and gas storage water heaters, as well as instantaneous units. Many types of 

HVAC systems could be used in retail stores, but the AEDG-MBBR provides recommendations 

for each of the following four system types:

• Packaged VAV DX air conditioner with a gas furnace (VAV)

• Packaged CAV DX air conditioner with a gas furnace and a DOAS (CAV DOAS) 

• ASHP with electric resistance supplemental heat and a DOAS (ASHP DOAS)

• WSHP with a DOAS (WSHP DOAS)

Unique recommendations for cooling, heating, and fan efficiencies are included for each HVAC 

system type in the climate-specific recommendations. Either DCV or ERVs are also

recommended, along with economizers (where applicable) for each HVAC system type.

The recommendation tables for the AEDG-MBBR (ASHRAE et al. 2011b) are shown in 

Table 5–1 and Table 5–2. 
55 

Table 5–1 AEDG-MBBR Recommendations: Climate Zones 1–4 

Item Component Climate Zone 1 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 2 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 3 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 4 

Recommendation 

Envelope

Roofs

Insulation entirely above 

deck R-20.0 c.i. R-25.0 c.i.

Metal building R-19.0 + R-10.0 filled cavity R-19.0 + R-11.0 

Linear System (Ls)

Solar reflectance index 78 No 

recommendation

Walls

Mass (heat capacity 

> 7 Btu/ft2)

No 

recommendation R-5.7 c.i. R-7.6 c.i. R-9.5 c.i.

Metal building R-0.0 + R-9.8 c.i. R-0.0 + R-13.0 c.i. R-0.0 + R-15.8 c.i.

Steel framed R-13.0 + R-7.5 c.i. R-13.0 + R-10.0 c.i.

Floors

Mass No 

recommendation R-10.4 c.i. R-12.5 c.i. R-14.6 c.i.

Steel framed No 

recommendation R-30.0 R-38.0

Slabs Unheated No recommendation R-15 for 24 in.

Heated R-7.5 for 12 in. R-10.0 for 24 in. R-15.0 for 24 in R-20 for 24 in.

Doors

Swinging U-0.70 U-0.50

Nonswinging Roll-up = U-0.25; All other = U-0.07

Vehicular/dock 

infiltration–door closed 0.28 cfm/ft2 of door area

Vehicular/dock 

infiltration–door open, 

truck in place

Weather seals for dock, levelers, trailer hinges

Vestibules At building entrance Yes

View fenestration—

all orientations

Thermal transmittance U-1.20 U-0.70 U-0.60 U-0.50

SHGC 0.25 0.40

VLT 0.25 0.32 0.51

Daylighting/

Lighting

Interior lighting

LPD–ambient lighting

Sales floor = 1.15 W/ft2

Stock room = 0.6 W/ft2

Average of all other = 0.9 W/ft2

LPD–additional specialty 

sales floor lighting

Sporting goods, small electronics = 0.6 W/ft2

Furniture, clothing, cosmetics, art = 0.95 W/ft2

Jewelry, crystal, china = 1.5 W/ft2

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
56 

Item Component Climate Zone 1 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 2 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 3 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 4 

Recommendation 

All other = 0.4 W/ft2

Light source efficacy 

(mean lumens per Watt) T8 and T5 lamps > 2 ft = 92; T8 and T5 lamps ≤ 2 ft = 85; All other > 50

T8 ballasts Nondimming = National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Premium Instant 

Start; Dimming = NEMA Premium Programmed Start

All T5/T5HO ballasts Electronic programmed start

All compact fluorescent 

lamp and high-intensity 

discharge ballasts

Electronic

Lighting controls

Sale floor = Time switch–auto to 25% 3 h before and after store open hours; auto to 

2% or less after hours

Additional specialty lighting = auto ON only during store open hours

Stock room, restrooms = auto ON/OFF occupancy sensors

All other = manual ON auto OFF occupancy sensors

After hours = maximum 2% of total building LPD

Exterior lighting

Façade and landscape 

lighting

LPD = 0.075 W/ft2 in lighting zone 3 (LZ3) and LZ4; 0.05 W/ft2 in LZ2

Controls = auto OFF between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Parking lot and drives LPD = 0.1 W/ft2 in LZ3 and LZ4; 0.06 W/ft2 in LZ2

Controls = auto reduce to 25% (12 a.m. to 6 a.m.)

Walkways, plazas, and 

special feature areas

LPD = 0.16 W/ft2 in LZ3 and LZ4; 0.14 W/ft2 in LZ2

Controls = auto reduce to 25% (12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.)

All other exterior lighting LPD = follow Standard 90.1-2010

Controls = auto reduce to 25% (12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.)

Plug Loads

Equipment choices

ENERGY STAR 

equipment

All illuminated signage, security monitors, computers, equipment, and appliances 

(where available)

Vending machines Delamp in break rooms and specify best-in-class efficiency; specify plug load 

managing systems for refrigerated vending

Procurement Incorporate control and efficiency options in negotiations for all third-party owned plug 

loads; consolidate equipment where possible

Computers Specify laptops, tablets, or mini-desktops where feasible

Signage Use light-emitting diodes internally illuminated where applicable; Consolidate/replace 

static media with dynamic

Controls Sales floor plug control

Auto control all display outlets that can be turned off during nonbusiness hours and all 

other sales outlets that can be turned off during unoccupied hours; specify auto 

standby modes for third-party owned/supplied plug loads

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
57 

Item Component Climate Zone 1 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 2 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 3 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 4 

Recommendation 

Computer power control Network control with power-saving modes and control during unoccupied hours

Occupancy sensors Office/break/security room plug strip occupancy sensors; other equipment as 

applicable

Timer switches Water coolers, coffee makers, other small appliances auto shut-off during unoccupied 

hours

Policies Store policy on allowed equipment

SWH

SWH

Gas water heater 

efficiency Condensing water heaters = 95% efficiency

Electric storage energy 

factor (EF) 

(≤12 kW, ≤20 gal)

EF > 0.99 – 0.0012 × volume (gal)

Point-of-use heater 

selection 0.81 EF or 81% Et

Electric heat pump water 

heater COP 3.0 (interior heat source)

Pipe insulation (d < 1.5 

in./d ≥ 1.5 in.) 1 in./1.5 in.

HVAC

Packaged variablevolume DX air 

conditioner

Heating efficiency 80%

Cooling efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 15.0 seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER)

65–135 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.8 integrated energy efficiency ratio (IEER) 

135–240 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.3 IEER

240–760 kBtu/h = 10.5 EER, 11.3 IEER

≥ 760 kBtu/h = 9.7 EER, 10.9 IEER

Maximum external static 

pressure

Single zone = 0.7 in. w.c.

Multizone = 1.8 in. w.c.

Packaged constantvolume DX air 

conditioner with 

DOAS

Heating efficiency 80%

Cooling efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 15.0 SEER

65–135 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.8 IEER

135–240 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.3 IEER

240–760 kBtu/h = 10.5 EER, 11.3 IEER;

≥ 760 kBtu/h = 9.7 EER, 10.9 IEER

Maximum external static 

pressure

0.7 in. w.c.

Packaged singlezone ASHP with 

DOAS

Heating efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 9.0 heating seasonal performance factor

65–135 kBtu/h = 3.4 COP at 47°F; 2.4 COP at 17°F

135–240 kBtu/h = 3.2 COP at 47°F; 2.1 COP at 17°F

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
58 

Item Component Climate Zone 1 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 2 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 3 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 4 

Recommendation 

≥ 240 kBtu/h = 3.2 COP at 47°F; 2.1 COP at 17°F

Cooling efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 15.0 SEER, 12.0 EER

65–135 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.8 IEER

135–240 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.3 IEER

≥ 240 kBtu/h = 10.5 EER, 11.3 IEER

Maximum external static 

pressure

0.7 in. w.c.

Maximum fan power 0.4 W/cfm

Packaged singlezone WSHP with 

DOAS

Heating efficiency Full load =15.0 EER; part load= 17.6 EER

Cooling efficiency Full load = 5.0 COP; part load = 5.7 COP

Maximum external static 

pressure

0.7 in. w.c.

Maximum fan power 0.4 W/cfm

Water circulation pumps Variable frequency drive (VFD) and NEMA premium efficiency

Cooling tower/fluid cooler VFD on fans

Boiler efficiency 90% combustion efficiency

DOAS

Heating efficiency See Table 5-10 in AEDG-MBBR

Cooling efficiency See Table 5-10 in AEDG-MBBR

Fan external static 

pressure

Constant volume = 1.0 in. w.c.

Variable volume (DCV) = 1.8 in. w.c.

Fan and motor 65% mechanical/motor efficiency in absence of whole unit EER rating; motor efficiency 

as per Standard 90.1-2010 Table 10.8B

Ventilation/exhaust

Cooling capacity for 

which an economizer is 

required

No economizer ≥ 54,000 Btu/h

DCV/performance-based 

ventilation

Control ventilation air based on pollutant concentrations in space (carbon dioxide, 

VOCs, etc.)

Exhaust air energy 

recovery

A (humid) zones = 75% total effectiveness; B (dry) zones = 75% sensible 

effectiveness; Capture minimum 80% available exhaust air, including general and 

bathroom, for energy recovery

Exhaust airflow control Control based on occupancy using time clock or occupancy sensor

Ducts and dampers

OA air damper Motorized damper

Duct seal class Seal class A

Insulation level R-6

Q

A

M&V/Benchmarking Electrical submeters Design and circuit for separate submeters for lighting, HVAC, general 120V, SWH, 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
59 

Item Component Climate Zone 1 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 2 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 3 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 4 

Recommendation 

renewables, and whole building

Benchmarks Benchmark monthly energy use

Training Facility operator or continuous benchmarking

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
60 

Table 5–2 AEDG-MBBR Recommendations: Climate Zones 5–8 

Item Component Climate Zone 5 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 6 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 7 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 8 

Recommendation 

Envelope

Roofs

Insulation entirely above 

deck R-30.0 c.i. R-35.0 c.i.

Metal building R-19.0 + R-11.0 Ls R-25.0 + R-11.0 Ls R-30.0 + R-11.0 Ls R-25.0 + R-11.0 + 

R-11.0 Ls

Solar reflectance index No recommendation

Walls

Mass (heat capacity

> 7 Btu/ft2) R-11.4 c.i. R-15.4 c.i. R-17.0 c.i. R-19.0 c.i.

Metal building R-0.0 + R-19.0 c.i. R-0.0 + R-22.1 c.i. R-0.0 + R-25.0 c.i.

Steel framed R-13.0 + R-12.5 c.i. R-13.0 + R-15.0 c.i. R-13.0 + R-18.8 c.i.

Floors Mass R-14.6 c.i. R-16.7 c.i. R-20.9 c.i. R-23.0 c.i.

Steel framed R-38.0 R-49.0 R-60.0

Slabs Unheated R-15 for 24 in. R-20 for 24 in.

Heated R-20 for 24 in. R-20 for 48 in. R-25 for 48 in.

Doors

Swinging U-0.50 U-0.50

Nonswinging Roll-up = U-0.25; All other = U-0.07

Vehicular/dock 

infiltration–door closed 0.28 cfm/ft2 of door area

Vehicular/dock 

infiltration–door open, 

truck in place

Weather seals for dock, levelers, trailer hinges

Vestibules At building entrance Yes

View fenestration—

all orientations

Thermal transmittance U-0.45 U-0.40

SHGC 0.40 0.45

VLT 0.51 0.45

Daylighting/Lighting

Interior lighting

LPD–ambient lighting

Sales floor = 1.15 W/ft2

Stock room = 0.6 W/ft2

Average of all other = 0.9 W/ft2

LPD–additional specialty 

sales floor lighting

Sporting goods, small electronics = 0.6 W/ft2

Furniture, clothing, cosmetics, art = 0.95 W/ft2

Jewelry, crystal, china = 1.5 W/ft2

All other = 0.4 W/ft2

Light source efficacy 

(mean lumens per Watt) T8 and T5 lamps > 2 ft = 92; T8 and T5 lamps ≤ 2 ft = 85; All other > 50

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
61 

Item Component Climate Zone 5 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 6 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 7 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 8 

Recommendation 

T8 ballasts Nondimming = NEMA Premium Instant Start; Dimming = NEMA Premium Programmed 

Start

All T5/T5HO ballasts Electronic programmed start

All compact fluorescent 

lamp and high-intensity 

discharge ballasts

Electronic

Lighting controls

Sale floor = Time switch–auto to 25% 3 h before and after store open hours; auto to 2% or 

less after hours

Additional specialty lighting = auto ON only during store open hours

Stock room, restrooms = auto ON/OFF occupancy sensors

All other = manual ON auto OFF occupancy sensors

After hours = max 2% of total building LPD

Exterior lighting

Façade and landscape 

lighting

LPD = 0.075 W/ft2 in LZ3 and LZ4; 0.05 W/ft2 in LZ2

Controls = auto OFF between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Parking lot and drives LPD = 0.1 W/ft2 in LZ3 and LZ4; 0.06 W/ft2 in LZ2

Controls = auto reduce to 25% (12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.)

Walkways, plazas, and 

special feature areas

LPD = 0.16 W/ft2 in LZ3 and LZ4; 0.14 W/ft2 in LZ2

Controls = auto reduce to 25% (12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.)

All other exterior lighting LPD = follow Standard 90.1-2010

Controls = auto reduce to 25% (12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.)

Plug Loads

Equipment choices

ENERGY STAR 

equipment

All illuminated signage, security monitors, computers, equipment, and appliances (where 

available)

Vending machines Delamp in break rooms and specify best-in-class efficiency; specify plug load managing 

systems for refrigerated vending

Procurement Incorporate control and efficiency options in negotiations for all third-party owned plug 

loads; consolidate equipment where possible

Computers Specify laptops, tablets, or mini-desktops where feasible

Signage Use light-emitting diodes internally illuminated where applicable; Consolidate/replace static 

media with dynamic

Controls

Sales floor plug control

Auto control all display outlets that can be turned off during nonbusiness hours and all 

other sales outlets that can be turned off during unoccupied hours; specify auto standby 

modes for third-party owned/supplied plug loads

Computer power control Network control with power-saving modes and control during unoccupied hours

Occupancy sensors Office/break/security room plug strip occupancy sensors; other equipment as applicable

Timer switches Water coolers, coffee makers, other small appliances auto shut-off during unoccupied 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
62 

Item Component Climate Zone 5 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 6 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 7 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 8 

Recommendation 

hours

Policies Store policy on allowed equipment

SWH

SWH

Gas water heater 

efficiency Condensing water heaters = 95% efficiency

Electric storage EF (≤12 

kW, ≤20 gal) EF > 0.99 – 0.0012 × volume (gal)

Point-of-use heater 

selection 0.81 EF or 81% Et

Electric heat pump water 

heater COP 3.0 (interior heat source)

Pipe insulation (d < 1.5 

in./d ≥ 1.5 in.) 1 in./1.5 in.

HVAC

Packaged VAV DX 

air conditioners 

Heating efficiency 80%

Cooling efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 15.0 SEER

65–135 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.8 IEER

135–240 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.3 IEER

240–760 kBtu/h = 10.5 EER, 11.3 IEER

≥ 760 kBtu/h = 9.7 EER, 10.9 IEER

Maximum external static 

pressure

Single zone = 0.7 in. w.c.

Multizone = 1.8 in. w.c.

Packaged CAV DX 

air conditioners 

with DOAS

Heating efficiency 80%

Cooling efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 15.0 SEER

65–135 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.8 IEER

135–240 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.3 IEER

240–760 kBtu/h = 10.5 EER, 11.3 IEER

≥ 760 kBtu/h = 9.7 EER, 10.9 IEER

Maximum external static 

pressure

0.7 in. w.c.

Packaged singlezone ASHPs with 

DOAS

Heating efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 9.0 heating seasonal performance factor

65–135 kBtu/h = 3.4 COP at 47°F; 2.4 COP at 17°F

135–240 kBtu/h = 3.2 COP at 47°F; 2.1 COP at 17°F

≥ 240 kBtu/h = 3.2 COP at 47°F; 2.1 COP at 17°F

Cooling efficiency

< 65 kBtu/h = 15.0 SEER, 12.0 EER

65–135 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.8 IEER

135–240 kBtu/h = 11.5 EER, 12.3 IEER

≥ 240 kBtu/h = 10.5 EER, 11.3 IEER

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
63 

Item Component Climate Zone 5 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 6 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 7 

Recommendation 

Climate Zone 8 

Recommendation 

Maximum external static 

pressure

0.7 in. w.c.

Maximum fan power 0.4 W/cfm

Packaged singlezone WSHPs with 

DOAS

Heating efficiency Full load =15.0 EER; part load= 17.6 EER

Cooling efficiency Full load = 5.0 COP; part load = 5.7 COP

Maximum external static 

pressure

0.7 in. w.c.

Maximum fan power 0.4 W/cfm

Water circulation pumps VFD and NEMA premium efficiency

Cooling tower/fluid 

cooler VFD on fans

Boiler efficiency 90% combustion efficiency

DOAS

Heating efficiency See Table 5-10 in AEDG-MBBR

Cooling efficiency See Table 5-10 in AEDG-MBBR

Fan external static 

pressure

Constant volume = 1.0 in. w.c.

Variable volume (DCV) = 1.8 in. w.c.

Fan and motor 65% mechanical/motor efficiency in absence of whole unit EER rating; motor efficiency as 

per Standard 90.1-2010 Table 10.8B

Ventilation/exhaust

Cooling capacity for 

which an economizer is 

required

≥54,000 Btu/h

DCV/performancebased ventilation

Control ventilation air based on pollutant concentrations in space (carbon dioxide, VOCs, 

etc.)

Exhaust air energy 

recovery

A (humid) zones= 75% total effectiveness; B (dry) zones = 75% sensible effectiveness; 

Capture min. 80% available exhaust air, including general and bathroom, for energy 

recovery

Exhaust airflow control Control based on occupancy using time clock or occupancy sensor

Ducts and dampers

OA damper Motorized damper

Duct seal class Seal class A

Insulation level R-6

QA

M&V/benchmarking

Electrical submeters Design and circuit for separate submeters for lighting, HVAC, general 120V, service water 

heater, renewables, and whole building

Benchmarks Benchmark monthly energy use

Training Facility operator or continuous benchmarking

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
64 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

5.2 Energy Savings Results

When the AEDG-MBBR recommendations were compiled and the final low-energy models 

simulated, the 50% or greater energy savings goal was met or exceeded in all climate zones for 

all HVAC system types. Table 5–3 and Table 5–4 illustrate the energy savings results. 

Table 5–3 Medium Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004

Climate 

Zone 

Representative 

City

Low Plug High Plug

VAV CAV

DOAS

ASHP

DOAS

WSHP

DOAS VAV CAVDOAS

ASHP

DOAS

WSHP

DOAS

1A Miami, FL 58.2% 59.7% 59.3% 58.2% 57.0% 58.5% 58.1% 56.9%

2A Houston, TX 58.7% 59.5% 59.7% 58.9% 57.8% 58.5% 58.5% 57.7%

2B Phoenix, AZ 56.8% 58.7% 59.3% 58.6% 56.2% 57.9% 58.4% 57.7%

3A Atlanta, GA 56.6% 56.6% 57.5% 56.5% 56.0% 56.0% 56.6% 55.7%

3B:CA Los Angeles, CA 54.4% 54.4% 55.2% 54.6% 53.2% 53.9% 54.3% 53.8%

3B Las Vegas, NV 57.5% 57.5% 58.9% 57.6% 57.0% 57.0% 58.0% 57.0%

3C San Francisco, CA 54.0% 50.5% 52.9% 51.4% 53.5% 50.7% 52.3% 51.4%

4A Baltimore, MD 56.8% 55.8% 57.2% 56.3% 56.1% 55.4% 56.3% 55.6%

4B Albuquerque, NM 58.0% 58.1% 58.9% 58.7% 57.2% 57.6% 58.1% 57.9%

4C Seattle, WA 54.3% 51.7% 54.4% 52.8% 53.2% 51.9% 53.8% 52.6%

5A Chicago, IL 57.2% 55.5% 56.6% 56.1% 56.0% 55.1% 55.9% 55.5%

5B Denver, CO 57.4% 57.8% 58.6% 58.6% 56.8% 57.4% 57.9% 57.9%

6A Minneapolis, MN 58.1% 56.4% 56.9% 57.2% 56.8% 55.8% 56.1% 56.4%

6B Helena, MT 56.5% 55.2% 56.3% 56.3% 55.6% 55.0% 55.7% 55.9%

7 Duluth, MN 58.5% 56.3% 56.7% 57.6% 57.5% 55.9% 56.0% 56.9%

8 Fairbanks, AK 54.2% 52.9% 53.5% 55.1% 54.1% 52.9% 53.2% 54.8%

Table 5–4 Big Box Percent Energy Savings Over Standard 90.1-2004

Climate 

Zone 

Representative 

City

Big Box

VAV CAV

DOAS

ASHP

DOAS

WSHP

DOAS

1A Miami, FL 56.5% 58.8% 58.4% 56.9%

2A Houston, TX 59.3% 59.7% 59.9% 59.0%

2B Phoenix, AZ 57.9% 59.6% 60.2% 59.3%

3A Atlanta, GA 56.5% 55.9% 56.8% 55.5%

3B:CA Los Angeles, CA 54.0% 53.9% 54.5% 53.9%

3B Las Vegas, NV 57.1% 57.0% 58.2% 56.9%

3C San Francisco, CA 53.9% 50.0% 52.1% 50.7%

4A Baltimore, MD 56.2% 55.0% 56.5% 55.3%

4B Albuquerque, NM 57.7% 57.6% 58.6% 57.9%

4C Seattle, WA 54.0% 51.0% 53.9% 51.9%

5A Chicago, IL 57.1% 55.3% 56.6% 55.7%

5B Denver, CO 57.4% 57.6% 58.7% 58.2%

6A Minneapolis, MN 58.0% 56.1% 56.9% 56.8%

6B Helena, MT 56.4% 55.0% 56.4% 55.9%

7 Duluth, MN 58.6% 56.3% 57.0% 57.4%

8 Fairbanks, AK 54.4% 53.0% 54.0% 55.2%
65 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Energy savings are relative to the Standard 90.1-2004 (ASHRAE 2004b) baseline energy use, 

and included unregulated loads in the energy use of the baseline and low-energy models. The 

analysis shows that the AEDG-MBBR recommendations met the goal of 50% or greater energy 

savings and that this goal can be met with a range of HVAC system types. 

The simulation results are presented in Table 5–5 through Table 5–28, broken out by low-energy 

model HVAC system type (see Section 3.4.4 for details about the different HVAC system types).

5.2.1 Packaged Variable Air Volume Direct Expansion

Table 5–5 Medium Box Low Plug VAV Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.9

Heating (gas) 0.0 0.4 0.5 1.0 0.2 1.1 2.9 2.0

Cooling (electric) 14.3 10.9 10.2 7.8 7.0 6.6 2.4 6.0

Fans (electric) 3.1 3.2 3.1 3.4 2.7 3.2 1.8 3.6

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 48.4 45.8 45.2 44.0 41.4 42.7 38.9 43.7

Percent Savings 58.2% 58.7% 56.8% 56.6% 54.4% 57.5% 54.0% 56.8%

Table 5–6 Medium Box Low Plug VAV Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.7 1.3 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Heating (gas) 2.0 1.6 2.5 3.2 3.9 4.2 4.9 17.9

Cooling (electric) 4.2 3.4 4.7 2.9 4.4 3.1 2.5 1.7

Fans (electric) 3.6 3.0 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.5 4.1

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 41.6 40.5 42.9 41.5 44.0 43.1 43.2 56.3

Percent Savings 58.0% 54.3% 57.2% 57.4% 58.1% 56.5% 58.5% 54.2%
66 

Figure 5–1 Medium box low plug VAV simulation results

58.2%

58.7%

56.8%

56.6%

54.4%

57.5%

54.0%

56.8% 58.0%

54.3%

57.2% 57.4%

58.1%

56.5%

58.5%

54.2%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
67 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–7 Medium Box High Plug VAV Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.3 0.5 0.6 0.3 0.7 0.6 0.9

Heating (gas) 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.9 0.2 0.9 2.5 1.7

Cooling (electric) 15.2 11.2 10.4 7.8 7.7 6.7 2.7 6.1

Fans (electric) 3.3 3.3 3.2 3.5 2.8 3.4 1.8 3.7

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 52.7 49.5 48.8 47.3 45.4 46.0 42.2 46.9

Percent Savings 57.0% 57.8% 56.2% 56.0% 53.2% 57.0% 53.5% 56.1%

Table 5–8 Medium Box High Plug VAV Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.6 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.9 0.9 1.0

Heating (gas) 1.6 1.4 2.2 2.8 3.4 3.7 4.1 15.7

Cooling (electric) 4.6 3.8 5.1 3.1 4.8 3.4 2.7 1.9

Fans (electric) 3.8 3.1 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7 3.6 4.3

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 45.1 44.1 46.4 44.7 47.4 46.3 46.0 57.8

Percent Savings 57.2% 53.2% 56.0% 56.8% 56.8% 55.6% 57.5% 54.1%
68 

Figure 5–2 Medium box high plug VAV simulation results

57.0%

57.8%

56.2%

56.0%

53.2%

57.0%

53.5%

56.1% 57.2%

53.2%

56.0% 56.8%

56.8%

55.6%

57.5%

54.1%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
69 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–9 Big Box VAV Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.8

Heating (gas) 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.7 0.1 0.7 2.5 1.5

Cooling (electric) 15.9 10.5 10.2 7.2 7.0 6.5 2.4 5.9

Fans (electric) 3.7 3.1 3.0 3.2 2.5 3.0 1.6 3.3

SWH (electric) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3

Total 50.4 45.0 44.8 42.6 40.8 41.8 37.8 42.5

Percent Savings 56.5% 59.3% 57.9% 56.5% 54.0% 57.1% 53.9% 56.2%

Table 5–10 Big Box VAV Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.6 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8

Heating (gas) 1.5 1.3 2.0 2.6 3.2 3.5 4.2 16.2

Cooling (electric) 4.1 3.4 4.6 2.8 4.3 3.0 2.4 1.6

Fans (electric) 3.4 2.7 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.6

SWH (electric) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Total 40.4 39.3 41.6 40.3 42.4 41.5 41.6 53.4

Percent Savings 57.7% 54.0% 57.1% 57.4% 58.0% 56.4% 58.6% 54.4%
70 

Figure 5–3 Big box VAV simulation results

56.5%

59.3%

57.9%

56.5%

54.0%

57.1%

53.9%

56.2% 57.7%

54.0%

57.1% 57.4%

58.0%

56.4%

58.6%

54.4%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
71 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

5.2.2 Constant Air Volume Direct Expansion With Dedicated Outdoor Air System

Table 5–11 Medium Box Low Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Heating (gas) 0.0 1.3 1.6 3.1 1.2 3.0 3.4 5.3

Cooling (electric) 12.9 10.0 8.0 7.2 6.8 6.0 5.2 5.6

Fans (electric) 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.2 2.6

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 46.7 45.0 43.2 44.0 41.4 42.6 41.9 44.7

Percent Savings 59.7% 59.5% 58.7% 56.6% 54.4% 57.5% 50.5% 55.8%

Table 5–12 Medium Box Low Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Heating (gas) 3.8 5.5 6.2 4.8 7.8 7.8 9.0 21.7

Cooling (electric) 4.0 3.7 4.5 2.7 4.2 2.9 2.6 1.9

Fans (electric) 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 41.6 42.8 44.5 41.2 45.9 44.4 45.5 57.8

Percent Savings 58.1% 51.7% 55.5% 57.8% 56.4% 55.2% 56.3% 52.9%
72 

Figure 5–4 Medium box low plug CAV DOAS simulation results

59.7%

59.5%

58.7%

56.6%

54.4%

57.5%

50.5%

55.8% 58.1%

51.7%

55.5% 57.8%

56.4%

55.2%

56.3%

52.9%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
73 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–13 Medium Box High Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Heating (gas) 0.0 1.1 1.3 2.6 0.9 2.5 2.7 4.5

Cooling (electric) 13.5 10.5 8.5 7.5 7.1 6.4 5.4 5.9

Fans (electric) 3.0 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.4 2.7 2.2 2.7

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 50.9 48.7 46.9 47.3 44.8 46.0 44.7 47.7

Percent Savings 58.5% 58.5% 57.9% 56.0% 53.9% 57.0% 50.7% 55.4%

Table 5–14 Medium Box High Plug CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Heating (gas) 3.2 4.6 5.3 4.1 6.9 6.8 7.9 19.8

Cooling (electric) 4.4 3.9 4.7 2.9 4.4 3.1 2.7 2.0

Fans (electric) 2.7 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.6

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 44.7 45.3 47.2 44.1 48.5 46.9 47.8 59.3

Percent Savings 57.6% 51.9% 55.1% 57.4% 55.8% 55.0% 55.9% 52.9%
74 

Figure 5–5 Medium box high plug CAV DOAS simulation results

58.5%

58.5%

57.9%

56.0%

53.9%

57.0%

50.7%

55.4% 57.6%

51.9%

55.1% 57.4%

55.8%

55.0%

55.9%

52.9%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
75 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–15 Big Box CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Heating (gas) 0.0 1.1 1.4 2.6 1.0 2.4 2.7 4.6

Cooling (electric) 13.8 9.9 8.1 7.1 6.7 6.0 5.2 5.5

Fans (electric) 3.2 2.7 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.5 2.1 2.6

SWH (electric) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3

Total 47.8 44.6 42.9 43.2 40.9 41.8 41.0 43.6

Percent Savings 58.8% 59.7% 59.6% 55.9% 53.9% 57.0% 50.0% 55.0%

Table 5–16 Big Box CAV DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Heating (gas) 3.2 5.0 5.5 4.1 6.7 6.8 8.0 19.5

Cooling (electric) 3.9 3.7 4.4 2.6 4.1 2.9 2.6 1.9

Fans (electric) 2.5 2.2 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.3 2.4 2.5

SWH (electric) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Total 40.5 41.8 43.3 40.1 44.3 42.9 44.0 55.0

Percent Savings 57.6% 51.0% 55.3% 57.6% 56.1% 55.0% 56.3% 53.0%
76 

Figure 5–6 Big box CAV DOAS simulation results

58.8%

59.7%

59.6%

55.9%

53.9%

57.0%

50.0%

55.0% 57.6%

51.0%

55.3% 57.6%

56.1%

55.0%

56.3%

53.0%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
77 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

5.2.3 Air Source Heat Pump With Dedicated Outdoor Air System

This model used the all-electric baseline for energy savings comparisons.

Table 5–17 Medium Box Low Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.7 0.7 1.7 0.4 1.3 1.1 3.0

Cooling (electric) 13.2 10.2 8.2 7.3 6.9 6.2 5.2 5.8

Fans (electric) 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.3 2.6 2.2 2.9

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 47.1 44.6 42.5 42.8 40.6 41.2 39.8 42.8

Percent Savings 59.3% 59.7% 59.3% 57.5% 55.2% 58.9% 52.9% 57.2%

Table 5–18 Medium Box Low Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 2.3 2.6 3.8 3.1 5.1 5.1 6.1 15.3

Cooling (electric) 4.2 3.8 4.6 2.8 4.3 3.0 2.6 1.9

Fans (electric) 2.7 2.5 3.0 2.8 3.3 3.0 3.3 4.5

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 40.4 40.1 42.6 39.9 44.0 42.4 43.4 53.3

Percent Savings 58.9% 54.4% 56.6% 58.6% 56.9% 56.3% 56.7% 53.5%
78 

Figure 5–7 Medium box low plug ASHP DOAS results

59.3%

59.7%

59.3%

57.5%

55.2%

58.9%

52.9%

57.2% 58.9%

54.4%

56.6% 58.6%

56.9%

56.3%

56.7%

53.5%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
79 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–19 Medium Box High Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.6 0.6 1.5 0.3 1.1 0.9 2.7

Cooling (electric) 14.0 10.8 8.8 7.7 7.3 6.7 5.4 6.1

Fans (electric) 3.1 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.3 2.6 2.2 2.9

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 51.3 48.6 46.4 46.4 44.3 44.8 43.1 46.2

Percent Savings 58.1% 58.5% 58.4% 56.6% 54.3% 58.0% 52.3% 56.3%

Table 5–20 Medium Box High Plug ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 2.0 2.3 3.3 2.7 4.6 4.6 5.4 14.1

Cooling (electric) 4.6 4.0 4.9 3.1 4.5 3.2 2.8 2.0

Fans (electric) 2.8 2.4 3.0 2.8 3.3 2.9 3.3 4.4

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 43.9 43.2 45.8 43.2 47.0 45.4 46.2 55.4

Percent Savings 58.1% 53.8% 55.9% 57.9% 56.1% 55.7% 56.0% 53.2%
80 

Figure 5–8 Medium box high plug ASHP DOAS results

58.1%

58.5%

58.4%

56.6%

54.3%

58.0%

52.3%

56.3% 58.1%

53.8%

55.9% 57.9%

56.1%

55.7% 56.0%

53.2%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
81 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–21 Big Box ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.5 0.5 1.2 0.3 1.0 0.9 2.4

Cooling (electric) 14.3 10.2 8.3 7.2 6.9 6.1 5.2 5.6

Fans (electric) 3.2 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.2 2.8

SWH (electric) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3

Total 48.3 44.3 42.3 42.1 40.3 40.5 39.2 41.8

Percent Savings 58.4% 59.9% 60.2% 56.8% 54.5% 58.2% 52.1% 56.5%

Table 5–22 Big Box ASHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 1.7 2.1 3.0 2.3 4.0 4.1 4.9 13.2

Cooling (electric) 4.1 3.7 4.5 2.7 4.2 2.9 2.6 1.9

Fans (electric) 2.6 2.4 2.9 2.7 3.2 2.8 3.2 4.2

SWH (electric) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Total 39.4 39.2 41.4 38.7 42.4 40.8 41.7 50.4

Percent Savings 58.6% 53.9% 56.6% 58.7% 56.9% 56.4% 57.0% 54.0%
82 

Figure 5–9 Big box ASHP DOAS simulation results

58.4%

59.9%

60.2%

56.8%

54.5%

58.2%

52.1%

56.5% 58.6%

53.9%

56.6% 58.7%

56.9%

56.4%

57.0%

54.0%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
83 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

5.2.4 Water Source Heat Pump With Dedicated Outdoor Air System

Table 5–23 Medium Box Low Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.6 0.7 1.1

Heating (gas) 0.0 0.5 0.6 1.5 0.3 1.4 1.5 2.7

Cooling (electric) 13.4 10.2 8.0 7.4 6.8 6.1 5.2 5.8

Fans (electric) 2.9 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.2 2.6

Pumps (electric) 1.2 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.8

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 48.4 45.6 43.4 44.1 41.2 42.5 41.1 44.2

Percent Savings 58.2% 58.9% 58.6% 56.5% 54.6% 57.6% 51.4% 56.3%

Table 5–24 Medium Box Low Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.3

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.8 1.2 1.3 1.0 1.6 1.5 1.8 3.9

Heating (gas) 1.4 2.9 3.3 2.2 4.4 4.4 5.1 13.8

Cooling (electric) 4.2 3.8 4.6 2.8 4.3 3.0 2.6 1.9

Fans (electric) 2.8 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.6 3.4

Pumps (electric) 0.6 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.5

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 40.9 41.8 43.9 40.4 45.0 43.3 44.2 55.2

Percent Savings 58.7% 52.8% 56.1% 58.6% 57.2% 56.3% 57.6% 55.1%
84 

Figure 5–10 Medium box low plug WSHP DOAS results

58.2%

58.9%

58.6%

56.5%

54.6%

57.6%

51.4%

56.3% 58.7%

52.8%

56.1% 58.6%

57.2%

56.3%

57.6%

55.1%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Pumps (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
85 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–25 Medium Box High Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.6 0.2 0.5 0.6 1.0

Heating (gas) 0.0 0.4 0.5 1.2 0.1 1.0 1.1 2.2

Cooling (electric) 14.1 10.8 8.5 7.8 7.2 6.6 5.4 6.1

Fans (electric) 3.0 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.4 2.7 2.2 2.7

Pumps (electric) 1.4 1.1 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.8 0.3 0.9

SWH (electric) 0.4 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7

Total 52.9 49.6 47.2 47.6 44.9 46.0 44.1 47.4

Percent Savings 56.9% 57.7% 57.7% 55.7% 53.8% 57.0% 51.4% 55.6%

Table 5–26 Medium Box High Plug WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7 9.7

Interior lighting (electric) 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8 21.8

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.7 1.0 1.1 0.8 1.4 1.3 1.6 3.5

Heating (gas) 1.0 2.3 2.8 1.7 3.8 3.7 4.3 12.6

Cooling (electric) 4.6 3.9 4.9 3.1 4.6 3.2 2.8 2.0

Fans (electric) 2.9 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.6 3.3

Pumps (electric) 0.6 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.5

SWH (electric) 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.0

Total 44.4 44.6 46.8 43.5 47.8 46.0 46.7 56.9

Percent Savings 57.9% 52.6% 55.5% 57.9% 56.4% 55.9% 56.9% 54.8%
86 

Figure 5–11 Medium box high plug WSHP DOAS results

56.9%

57.7%

57.7%

55.7%

53.8%

57.0%

51.4%

55.6% 57.9%

52.6%

55.5% 57.9%

56.4%

55.9%

56.9%

54.8%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Pumps (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
87 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table 5–27 Big Box WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 1A–4A

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3

Heating (electric) 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.2 0.5 0.6 1.0

Heating (gas) 0.0 0.5 0.6 1.3 0.3 1.2 1.3 2.5

Cooling (electric) 14.5 10.2 8.1 7.3 6.8 6.1 5.2 5.7

Fans (electric) 3.2 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.2 2.6

Pumps (electric) 1.6 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.4 0.6 0.2 0.8

SWH (electric) 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3

Total 50.0 45.4 43.3 43.5 40.9 41.9 40.4 43.4

Percent Savings 56.9% 59.0% 59.3% 55.5% 53.9% 56.9% 50.7% 55.3%

Table 5–28 Big Box WSHP DOAS Simulation Results, 4B–8 

End Use 

(kBtu/ft2yr) 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8 

Interior equipment (electric) 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.4

Interior lighting (electric) 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9 21.9

Exterior lighting (electric) 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4

Heating (electric) 0.7 1.0 1.1 0.9 1.4 1.3 1.6 4.8

Heating (gas) 1.4 2.7 3.0 2.0 3.8 3.8 4.6 10.9

Cooling (electric) 4.1 3.7 4.5 2.7 4.2 2.9 2.6 1.9

Fans (electric) 2.7 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.6 3.4

Pumps (electric) 0.5 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.4

SWH (electric) 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.4

Total 40.3 41.1 42.9 39.5 43.6 42.0 42.9 52.5

Percent Savings 57.9% 51.9% 55.7% 58.2% 56.8% 55.9% 57.4% 55.2%
88 

Figure 5–12 Big box WSHP DOAS simulation results

56.9%

59.0%

59.3%

55.5%

53.9%

56.9%

50.7%

55.3% 57.9%

51.9%

55.7% 58.2%

56.8%

55.9%

57.4%

55.2%

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1A 2A 2B 3A 3B:CA 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C 5A 5B 6A 6B 7 8

Annual Energy End Use Intensity (kBtu/ft2yr)

Climate Zone

SWH (elec)

Pumps (elec)

Fans (elec)

Cooling (elec)

Heating (gas)

Heating (elec)

Ext Light (elec)

Int Light (elec)

Int Equip (elec)

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
89 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

6. Conclusion

This TSD describes the process and methodology used to develop the AEDG-MBBR, which is 

intended to provide recommendations for achieving 50% whole-building energy savings in retail 

facilities over levels achieved by following Standard 90.1-2004. The AEDG-MBBR was 

developed in collaboration with ASHRAE, AIA, IES, USGBC, and DOE. One of NREL’s tasks 

was to provide the analysis and modeling support to verify energy savings and develop 

recommendations that met the 50% savings goal. The 50% energy savings target represents a 

step toward achieving net-zero energy retail facilities. Net-zero energy buildings draw equal (or 

less) energy from outside sources than they generate on site from renewable energy sources 

during a given year. The AEDG-MBBR provides user-friendly design assistance and 

recommendations to design, architectural, and engineering firms to help achieve energy savings. 

It includes prescriptive recommendations by climate zone for designing the building envelope, 

fenestration lighting systems (including electrical lights and daylighting), HVAC systems, 

building automation and controls, OA treatment, and the SWH system. Additional savings 

recommendations are also included, but are not necessary for 50% savings. These are provided 

for alternative HVAC systems and renewable energy systems. The AEDG-MBBR contains 

recommendations only and is not a code or standard. 

The AEDG-MBBR provides a simple, easy-to-use guide to help the building designer, 

contractor, and owner identify a clear, prescriptive path to 50% energy savings over Standard 

90.1-2004. In many ways, it is a simple interface to a complex analysis performed using 

EnergyPlus. The combination of a set of recommendations contained on a single page, along 

with numerous how-to tips to help the construction team complete the project successfully, 

should help facilitate increased energy efficiency in new buildings. Case studies of actual retail 

applications add to the resources of energy efficiency opportunities. The ultimate goal of the 

AEDG partner organizations is to achieve net-zero energy buildings, and the 50% savings guides 

represent a step in reaching this goal. 

Separate from the AEDG-MBBR, this TSD was created to document the process used to develop 

the guide and the analysis performed to support that development. The specific objectives were 

to: 

• Document the process and schedule used to develop the AEDG-MBBR.

• Document prototypical medium and big box retail store characteristics.

• Document the EnergyPlus modeling assumptions used to establish 50% energy savings. 

• Document the baseline and low-energy EnergyPlus retail store models. 

• Present the recommendations for achieving at least 50% savings over Standard 90.1-

2004. 

• Demonstrate that the recommendations result in 50% or greater energy savings by 

climate zone.

A partial subset of the information contained in this TSD is included in the AEDG-MBBR, but 

the information is too extensive for full inclusion. This TSD provides complete documentation of 

all the simulation results for each climate zone and HVAC system type covered by the guide. It

also provides a technical resource to industry members who are looking to implement AEDG 

recommendations in real projects. 
90 

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National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

7. References

ASHRAE (1999). ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings 

Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Atlanta, Georgia, American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

ASHRAE (2003). HVAC Applications Handbook. Atlanta, GA, American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

ASHRAE (2004a). ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air 

Quality. Atlanta, Georgia, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning 

Engineers, Inc.

ASHRAE (2004b). ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings 

Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Atlanta, Georgia, American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

ASHRAE (2009). Fundamentals Handbook. Atlanta, GA, American Society of Heating, 

Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, NBI and DOE (2004). Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small 

Office Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building, 

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2006). Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small 

Retail Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building, 

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2008a). Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 

School Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building, 

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2008b). Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small 

Warehouses and Self-Storage Buildings: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero 

Energy Building, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, 

Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2009a). Advanced Energy Design Guide for 

Highway Lodging: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building. 

Atlanta, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2009b). Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small 

Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy 

Building. Atlanta, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, 

Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2011a). Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 

School Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building, 

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2011b). Advanced Energy Design Guide for 

Medium to Big Box Retail Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero 
91 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Energy Building, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, 

Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2011c). Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small 

to Medium Office Buildings: Achieving 50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy 

Building. Atlanta, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, 

Inc. 

ASHRAE, AIA, IESNA, USGBC and DOE (2012). Advanced Energy Design Guide for Large 

Hospitals: Achieving 50% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building, American 

Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 

Briggs, R. S., R. G. Lucas and Z. T. Taylor (2003). Climate Classification for Building Energy 

Codes and Standards: Part 1- Development Process. Richland, WA.

Deru, M., K. Field, D. Studer, K. Benne, B. Griffith, P. Torcellini, B. Liu, M. Halverson, D. 

Winiarski, M. Rosenberg, M. Yazdanian, J. Huang and D. Crawley (2011). U.S. Department of 

Energy Commercial Reference Building Models of the National Building Stock. Golden, CO, 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 

DOE. (2003). "Map of DOE's Proposed Climate Zones." U.S. Department of Energy Building 

Energy Codes Program. www.energycodes.gov. 

DOE (2011). EnergyPlus Energy Simulation Software, Version 6.0. Washington, D.C., U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

Hale, E. T., M. Leach, A. Hirsch and P. A. Torcellini (2009). General Merchandise 50% Energy 

Savings Technical Support Document. Golden, CO, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 

Judkoff, R. and J. Neymark (1995). International Energy Agency Building Energy Simulation 

Test (BESTEST) and Diagnostic Method. Golden, CO, National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 

Leach, M., E. Bonnema, S. Pless and P. Torcellini (2012). Setting Whole-Building Absolute 

Energy Use Targets for the K-12 School, Retail, and Healthcare Sectors: Preprint. : 20 pp. 

NREL (2010). Opt-E-Plus Software for Commercial Building Optimization. Golden, CO, 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. FS-550-45620. 
92 

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Appendix A. Scoping Document

This appendix contains an exact copy of the scoping document for the AEDG-MBBR.

Purpose

To significantly transform the marketplace with speed and scale by providing user-friendly, 

“how-to” design guidance and efficiency recommendations to owners, builders, energy 

modelers, and designers of medium-box retail buildings in order to achieve energy savings of 

50% over ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004. To install skills and knowledge in practitioners that 

can be used in a wide variety of buildings. 

Background 

The ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guides (AEDGs) are a series of publications designed 

to provide recommendations for achieving energy savings over the minimum code requirements 

of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999. Designers, while complying with minimum 

energy code requirements, often lack the opportunity or have insufficient design fees to pursue 

innovative, energy efficient concepts in the design of retail buildings. The 50% AEDG for 

medium-box retail buildings will provide prescriptive design assistance in a user-friendly 

presentation to owners and designers who want to achieve greater energy savings than obtained 

through minimum code compliance. In a departure from 30% AEDG work, the intent of this 

work is not to replace energy modeling entirely, but to supplement the recommendations of the 

guide with user-friendly modeling tools to help owners and designers predict project-specific 

energy savings achievable through design recommendation implementation. 

Goal 

To provide owners and designers of medium-box retail buildings design recommendations and 

user-friendly modeling tools that will enable them to achieve 50% site energy savings beyond a 

Standard 90.1-2004 minimally-compliant baseline. 

• The recommendations of the guide will meet the 50% savings goal for each of the climate 

zones covered by the guide. The list of representative cities for each climate zone will be 

consistent with that for the 50% Technical Support Document (TSD) for General 

Merchandise (Hale et al. 2009).

• The 50% savings goal is a hard goal as opposed to an approximate target, and represents 

a significant step towards increased energy-efficiency from the goal of the 30% AEDG. 

• Energy savings will be achieved through the identification of packages of design 

measures and state-of-the-art building systems and design concepts that result in energyefficient spaces.

Audience

• Owners and design teams of medium-box retail buildings interested in 50% energy 

savings and supported by energy modeling expertise. This is typically a more 

sophisticated design team capable of using modeling to evaluate prospective designs to 

ensure they meet AEDG recommendations. 

• Engineers and designers interested in developing the skills needed to produce 50% 

energy savings in medium-box retail buildings. 
93 

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National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Recommendation Development Guidelines

• Recommendations are divided into two distinct paths: (1) a prescriptive path, for which 

tables of recommendations will be provided for the most common 50% design strategies 

and alternative design strategy subsystem performance and (2) a performance-based path 

based on whole-building energy use. Prescriptive measures will be assigned 

performance-based benchmarks. The performance-based path will allow increased 

design freedom, requiring adherence to a performance-based benchmark only with 

respect to whole-building energy use intensity. 

• Recommendations will be presented in a user-friendly, “how-to” format to ease the 

burden for the designers and give decision-makers an easy-to-follow overview of the 

design process. Modeling tools designed to enhance the speed and scope of 

recommendation deployment and adoption will be packaged in a similarly user-friendly 

manner that minimizes energy modeling experience requirements insofar as possible. 

Design recommendations need to contain practical design information that can be used 

within the constraints of typical construction and design fees. 

• Recommendations will not specify the implementation of unique products – we will 

require that all recommended products be available from at least two manufacturers. 

• Recommendations will be developed using best practice examples of design and 

technology, modeled using up-to-date performance and cost inputs. 

• Focus will be given to illustrate how to use integrated design concepts, design process, 

and team working relationships to minimize the cost of implementation for AEDG 

recommendations. 

Case Studies

A number of case studies will be included to provide examples of both whole-building integrated 

design concepts and the implementation of energy-efficient components or techniques. In many 

instances, case studies will be specific to particular geographic regions (as in the 30% AEDG).

Scope

The 50% AEDG for medium-box retail buildings, representing a progression of the 30% AEDG 

series with respect to energy-efficient design guidelines, will provide prescriptive and 

performance-based paths to achieving 50% site energy savings in medium-box retail buildings. 

Energy savings will be measured against “baseline” or “reference” buildings for each climate 

that are minimally code-compliant with respect to ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004. 

For the purposes of this 50% AEDG, we define a medium-box retail building as having the 

following common space types: 

• Sales areas

• Administrative and office areas

• Meeting and dining areas 

• Hallways and restrooms

• Storage spaces and mechanical/electrical rooms

The 50% AEDG for medium-box retail buildings will apply primarily to retail buildings with 

20,000 ft2 to 100,000 ft2 of floor area; however, many of the recommendations will apply to 

smaller and larger retail buildings as well. Recommendations will be based on the medium-box 
94 

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retail prototype design from the 50% General Merchandise TSD (Hale et al. 2009). Wholebuilding models adapted from the prototype designs will be equipped with HVAC systems 

designed to meet minimum ventilation requirements and maintain ASHRAE comfort standards 

year-round. 

Design recommendations will apply to the following building aspects:

• Opaque envelope and exterior glazing 

• Lighting and daylighting systems 

• HVAC system design and components 

• Building automation and control systems 

• Treatment of outside air, including energy recovery systems, and dehumidification 

systems

• Service water heating (SWH) for bathrooms and dining areas 

• Plug and process loads 

• Commissioning 

Design recommendations will not be provided for building aspects considered out of the scope of 

this task, including: 

• Commercial refrigeration equipment

• Domestic water well pumping 

• Sewage disposal

The guide is not intended to substitute for rating systems or references that address the full range 

of sustainable issues in retail buildings, such as acoustics, productivity, indoor air quality, water 

efficiency, landscaping, and transportation, except as they relate to operational energy 

consumption. Nor will this guide be a design text; we assume that good design skills and 

expertise in retail building design, in particular, will be required to successfully apply the design 

recommendations of the guide. 
95 

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Appendix B. Project Committee Meeting Agendas

B.1 Meeting 1

Medium-Big Box Retail Advanced Energy Design Guide 

50% Energy Savings 

Project Committee Meeting 1 Agenda 

ASHRAE Headquarters

1791 Tullie Circle

Atlanta, GA 30329 

404-636-8400 

Friday, April 15, 2011, 8:00AM – 5:00PM 

Saturday, April 16, 2011, 8:00AM – 1:30PM 

The Marriott Courtyard serves breakfast to guests. You should have received a breakfast coupon 

when you checked in with your ASHRAE rate. We can meet in the breakfast area informally at 

7:00AM for breakfast. We will identify a place to have dinner as a group on Friday night. 

Lunches will be brought in by ASHRAE. 

Pre meeting action items

• Review scoping document 

• Review 30% AEDGs

• Be prepared to share the energy efficiency strategies that you have used in retail stores

• Bring calendars for this summer/fall

• Bring case studies to share

Meeting objectives

• Common understanding of the scope 

• Define development process and integration with energy modeling 

• Identify team member experiences and roles 

• Define general concept on what it takes to get to 50% savings in a retail store 

• Form working groups and section assignments 

Agenda

Friday, April 15, 2011 

1 Welcome/review agenda Pless 8:00

2 Introductions

• Give name/affiliation and experience

• Be ready to share the energy efficiency strategies that 

you have used (what do you think it takes to get to 

50% energy savings)

All 8:15

3 AEDG-MBBR overview

• Organization of AEDG series

• Committee makeup structure/partnering organization

• Scoping document formation 

• Reference case determination

Pratt/Pless 9:15
96 

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4 Review and questions on scoping document

• Context of the other AEDGs 

• Goals and objectives of the AEDG-MBBR

• Target audience

• Review of scoping document 

• Peer review process

Pratt/Pless 9:30

5 Break All 10:00

6 AEDG-MBBR development schedule

Future meeting schedule 

• Bring your calendars for this summer/fall

Pratt/Pless 10:15

7 Outline of AEDG-MBBR

• Review outline of previous guides 

• Discuss possible modifications/changes

How will this guide be unique? 

• What will be different about this guide? 

• What new information will be provided? 

Assignments of staff to guide sections 

• Identify section leaders and section contributors

Pratt/Pless 10:45

8 Lunch All 12:00

9 ASHRAE headquarters tour All 12:45

10 Energy modeling

• Analysis engine and modeling background 

• Baseline building discussion 

• Preliminary modeling results

• Plans for modeling going forward 

How to use model results to develop the guide? 

What additional modeling can we do?

Bonnema 1:30

11 Break All 3:00

12 Group breakout

• Lighting/daylighting 

• Architecture, envelope, and integrated design 

• HVAC

• O&M, commissioning

All 3:15

Saturday, April 16, 2011 

1 Group breakout Groups 8:00

2 Break All 10:15

3 Group breakout Groups 10:45

4 Working lunch (discuss case studies)

• Bring case studies to share

All 12:00

5 Review

• Group breakout sessions 

• Action items for next meeting

All 1:00

6 Adjourn All 1:30
97 

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B.2 Meeting 2

Medium-Big Box Retail Advanced Energy Design Guide 

50% Energy Savings 

Project Committee Meeting 2 Agenda 

ASHRAE Headquarters

1791 Tullie Circle

Atlanta, GA 30329 

404-636-8400 

Sunday, May 15, 2011, 8:00AM – 5:00PM 

Monday, May 16, 2011, 8:00AM – 2:00PM

The Marriott Courtyard serves breakfast to guests. You should have received a breakfast coupon 

when you checked in with your ASHRAE rate. We can meet in the breakfast area informally at 

7:00AM for breakfast. We will identify a place to have dinner as a group on Sunday night. 

Lunches will be brought in by ASHRAE. 

Pre meeting action items

• Complete action items from 4/29/11 conference call

• Bring case studies to share

Meeting objectives

• Everyone should have all the information they need to complete the first draft by May 30. 

Agenda

Sunday, May 15, 2011 

1 Welcome/review agenda Pless 8:00

2 Review action items from 4/29/11 conference call All 8:15

3 Section updates

• Foreword – Williams

• Integrated design – Pless

• Lighting – Lane, Bauer

• HVAC – Nall, Marriott

• Envelope – McBride

All 8:30

4 Recommendation table review

• Any changes to the content or structure?

Leach 9:00

5 Modeling Update Leach 9:15

6 Break All 10:00

7 Group breakout

• Lighting/daylighting 

• Architecture, envelope, and integrated design 

• HVAC

• O&M, commissioning

Pratt/Pless 10:15

8 Lunch All 12:00

9 Group breakout

• Lighting/daylighting

All 1:00
98 

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• Architecture, envelope, and integrated design

• HVAC

• O&M, commissioning

10 Discuss plan for Chapter 3 (performance option)

• Determine outline for chapter, who will contribute

• What will be covered in the chapter

All 3:30

11 Discuss M&V for retail and how to handle it in the guide All 4:30

Monday, May 16, 2011 

1 Group breakout

• Lighting/daylighting 

• Architecture, envelope, and integrated design 

• HVAC

• O&M, commissioning

All 8:00

2 Break All 10:00

3 Group breakout

• Lighting/daylighting 

• Architecture, envelope, and integrated design 

• HVAC

• O&M, commissioning

All 10:15

4 Lunch All 12:00

5 Review

• Group breakout sessions 

• Action items for next meeting

All 1:00

6 Adjourn All 2:00
99 

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B.3 Meeting 3

Medium-Big Box Retail Advanced Energy Design Guide 

50% Energy Savings 

Project Committee Meeting 3 Agenda 

Target® Headquarters 

1000 Nicollet Mall 

Minneapolis, MN 55403 

612-304-6073 

Friday, July 15, 2011, 8:00AM – 5:00PM 

Saturday, July 16, 2011, 8:00AM – 4:00PM

The hotels that folks are staying at have restaurants nearby or on site, please get whatever level 

of breakfast you would like on your own. We will meet in the lobby of the Double Tree at 

7:45AM and walk to Target Headquarters together both days. Since this is a small group, we are 

going to go to the Target Headquarters cafe for lunch on Friday and someplace close by for 

lunch on Saturday. We will identify a place to have dinner as a group on Friday night. 

Pre meeting action items

• Review comments assigned to each member and prepare responses to discuss at the 

meeting

• Conduct detailed review of the first draft 

• Bring case studies that you would like to include in the guide 

Meeting objectives

• Address and document responses to remarks

• Identify holes in the draft 

• Assign case studies to PC members

• Develop action item list to get next draft completed by COB Wednesday July 20 

• Conference call Friday July 22, 2:30 pm EDT to discuss progress 

• “Final” deadline COB Wednesday July 27

• Draft posted August 1 

Agenda

Friday, July 15, 2011 

1 Welcome/review agenda

• Next meeting in Denver August 29-30

• Conference call Friday August 19, 2:30 pm EDT to 

discuss progress for the meeting

• Revisions due COB Wednesday September 7 for 

action items generated during the second meeting 

• Conference call Friday September 9, 2:30 pm EDT to 

discuss progress towards final draft

Pless 8:00

2 Review general draft remarks and determine responses

• Overall observations

Pratt 8:15
100 

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• Problems based on first look?

• Major holes in draft?

• Major additions needed?

3 Break All 9:45

4 Break into chapter groups and talk with Target subject matter 

experts (Cheryl Penkivech: Lighting, Ed Doyle: Architecture) 

• Are there any issues with our recommendations that 

we may be overlooking? 

• Real-life problems they run into? 

• Other discussion topics? 

All 10:00

5 Review recommendation table as a group

• Any oversights? Additions necessary?

Pless/Leach 11:30

6 Lunch All 12:00

7 Comments on Meeting 2 minutes All 1:00

8 Old action items review and update Pratt 1:15

9 Retail store and technology case study assignments Pless 1:45

10 Discuss simulation results Leach 2:00

11 Break – Tour Target® store All interested 2:30

12 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 3:30

13 Break for the day All 4:00

Saturday, July 16, 2011 

1 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 8:00

2 Break All 10:00

3 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 10:15

4 Lunch All 12:00

5 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 1:00

6 Adjourn All 4:00
101 

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B.4 Meeting 4

Medium-Big Box Retail Advanced Energy Design Guide 

50% Energy Savings 

Project Committee Meeting 4 Agenda 

NREL Research Support Facility

15301 Denver West Parkway 

Golden, CO 80401 

303-275-3000 

Monday, August 29, 2011, 8:00AM – 5:00PM 

Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 8:00AM – 2:00PM

Continental breakfast will be served each morning at 7:45 at NREL. On Monday, please meet in 

the hotel lobby at 7:30 to ride in a shuttle to the NREL visitor’s center to be badged. The badges 

are good for two days, so we can leave the hotel at 7:45 on Tuesday. We will identify a place to 

have dinner as a group on Monday night. Lunches will be brought in by NREL. 

Pre meeting action items

• Conduct detailed review of the second draft 

• Review comments assigned to each member and prepare responses to discuss at the 

meeting

• Bring any additional case studies that you would like to include in the guide 

Meeting objectives

• Address and document responses to remarks

• Identify holes in the draft 

• Acknowledgements 

• Adding how-to tips references to the tables

• Complete all bibliographical reference information

• Develop action item list to get 95% draft completed by September 7 

Agenda

Monday, August 29, 2011 

1 Welcome/review agenda Pless 8:00

2 Cover pictures (decide on 2-3 for front, 12 or so for back)

• One shot on the front of whole building 

• Three shots on the back, more freedom here

Pratt/All 8:15

3 Graphics – schedule, content, and process Pratt 8:30

4 Old action item review and update Pratt 8:45

5 Case studies

• More whole building case studies

• Technology examples (daylighting, HVAC, others?)

Bonnema 9:15

6 Break All 9:45

7 Final energy modeling results Leach 10:00

8 Review general draft remarks and determine responses

• Overall observations

Pratt 10:30
102 

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• Problems based on first look? Major holes in draft?

9 Lunch All 12:00

10 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 1:00

11 Break All 3:00

12 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 3:15

13 Break for the day All 5:00

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 

1 Review final schedule for completion of the document

• Schedule conference call times

Pratt 8:00

2 Galley proof review process Pratt 9:00

3 Break All 10:00

4 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 10:15

5 Meeting summary review

• Define the work that will need to be done 

• Define the timing for getting everything done

All 11:00

6 Lunch All 12:00

7 Break into chapter groups to address specific remarks and 

work on solutions to remarks

All 1:00

8 Adjourn All 2:00
103 

Appendix C. Schedule Tabular Data

Table C–1 Building Occupancy Schedule, January-November, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.15 0.05

Saturday 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.15 0.05

Sunday 0.00 0.05 0.05 0.15 0.20 0.20 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.20 0.20 0.15 0.05 0.05 0.00

Table C–2 Building Occupancy Schedule, December, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday 0.00 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.30 0.40 0.40 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.30 0.40 0.40 0.30 0.30 0.20 0.10

Saturday 0.00 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.30 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.30 0.30 0.20 0.10

Sunday 0.00 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.30 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.30 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.10 0.00

Table C–3 Infiltration Schedule, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday, Saturday 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

Sunday 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.00

Table C–4 Heating and Cooling Set Point Schedule, Degrees Fahrenheit

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Heating Weekday, 

Saturday 60.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0

Heating Sunday 60.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 70.0 60.0

Cooling Weekday, 

Saturday 86.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0

Cooling Sunday 86.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 75.0 86.0

This report is available at no cost from the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 

at www.nrel.gov/publications.
104 

Table C–5 Baseline Lighting Schedule, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday, Saturday 0.10 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.50 0.10

Sunday 0.10 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.10

Table C–6 Baseline Electric Equipment Schedule, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday, Saturday 0.40 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.60 0.60

Sunday 0.40 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.40

Table C–7 Low-Energy Lighting Schedule, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday, Saturday 0.00 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.16 0.16

Sunday 0.00 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.16 0.00

Table C–8 Low-Energy Electric Equipment Schedule, Fraction of Peak

Schedule 1-6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23-24

Weekday, Saturday 0.10 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.60 0.60

Sunday 0.10 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.10

This report is available at no cost from the 

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at www.nrel.gov/publications.
105 

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Appendix D. Energy Management System Code

The EnergyPlus EMS code in this section uses the following variables:

• CleanSystemName: this refers to the name of the air system serving the zone. This is the 

same as the system name, except all illegal characters (spaces, etc.) are removed so that 

the system name can be used as a variable

• SystemName: this refers to the name of the air system serving the zone

• ZoneName: the name of the zone being served by the system 

D.1 VAV Supply Air Temperature Reset

This EMS code determined the supply air temperature of the VAV system.

!- Sensors

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_OA_Enth,

 Environment,

 Outdoor Enthalpy;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_OA_Tdb,

 Environment,

 Outdoor Dry Bulb;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Pb,

 Environment,

 Outdoor Barometric Pressure;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_RA_Enth,

 #(SystemName) Supply Equipment Inlet Node,

 System Node Enthalpy;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Heat_Load,

 #(ZoneName), 

 Zone/Sys Sensible Load to Heating Setpoint Predicted;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_FanFraction,

 #(ZoneName) VAV Box Component,

 VAV Terminal Damper Position;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_MinFlowFraction,

 #(ZoneName) VAV Box Component,

 VAV Terminal Minimum Air Flow Fraction;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanZoneName)_RH,

 #(ZoneName), 

 Zone Air Relative Humidity;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanZoneName)_Tdb,
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 #(ZoneName), 

 Zone/Sys Air Temperature;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_ClgSetP,

 ClgSetP_Sch,

 Schedule Value;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_SAT,

 VAV_SAT_Schedule,

 Schedule Value;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Econ,

 VAV_Econ_SAT_Schedule,

 Schedule Value;

!- Trend Variables

EnergyManagementSystem:TrendVariable,

 #(CleanSystemName)_FanFractionLog,

 #(CleanSystemName)_FanFraction,

 4;

!- Global Variables

EnergyManagementSystem:GlobalVariable,

#(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value;

!- Actuators

EnergyManagementSystem:Actuator,

 #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act,

 #(SystemName)_SAT_Sch,

 Schedule:Compact,

 Schedule Value;

EnergyManagementSystem:Actuator,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Fan_Sch_Act,

 #(SystemName)_Fan_Sch,

 Schedule:Compact,

 Schedule Value;

EnergyManagementSystem:Actuator,

 #(CleanZoneName)_PTAC_Fan_Sch_Act,

 #(ZoneName)_PTAC_Fan_Sch,

 Schedule:Compact,

 Schedule Value;

!- Calling Managers

EnergyManagementSystem:ProgramCallingManager,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Initialize_Globals_Call,

 BeginNewEnvironment,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Initialize_Globals;

EnergyManagementSystem:ProgramCallingManager,

 #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Reset_Call,

 AfterPredictorBeforeHVACManagers,

 #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Reset;
107 

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!- Programs

EnergyManagementSystem:Program,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Initialize_Globals,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT;

EnergyManagementSystem:Program,

 #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Reset,

 !- Check for heating mode

 IF #(CleanSystemName)_Heat_Load > 0,

 !- System is in heating mode; turn off VAV and turn on PTAC

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_Fan_Sch_Act = 0,

 SET #(CleanZoneName)_PTAC_Fan_Sch_Act = 1,

 ELSE,

 !- Not in heating mode; turn on VAV and turn off PTAC

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_Fan_Sch_Act = 1,

 SET #(CleanZoneName)_PTAC_Fan_Sch_Act = 0,

 !- Check for extended economizing conditions

 IF (#(CleanSystemName)_OA_Tdb > #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value),

 IF #(CleanSystemName)_OA_Enth < #(CleanSystemName)_RA_Enth,

 !- Economizing Conditions

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Econ,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Econ,

 ENDIF,

 ELSE,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value,

 ENDIF,

 !- Check for low load case; min flow stop indicates low load 

 IF (@TrendSum #(CleanSystemName)_FanFractionLog 

3)<3*(#(CleanSystemName)_MinFlowFraction + 0.01),

 !- Low load case; incrase SAT 5 F as per 90.1-2010

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT + 2.78,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT + 2.78,

 ELSE,

 !- Not low load case

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value,

 ENDIF,

 !- Check if near top of deadband

 IF #(CleanZoneName)_Tdb > (#(CleanSystemName)_ClgSetP - 1.0),

 !- Near cooling set point; revert to original SAT

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT,

 ELSE,

 !- Not near cooling set point

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value,

 ENDIF,

 ENDIF,

 !- Humidity check

 !- Determine dewpoint at 75 F, 60% RH

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_W = @WFnTdbRhPb 23.89 0.6 #(CleanSystemName)_Pb,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_Tdp = @TdpFnWPb #(CleanSystemName)_W 

#(CleanSystemName)_Pb,

 !- Compare zone conditions to threshold value

 SET #(CleanZoneName)_W = @WFnTdbRhPb #(CleanZoneName)_Tdb 

#(CleanZoneName)_RH/100 #(CleanSystemName)_Pb,

 SET #(CleanZoneName)_Tdp = @TdpFnWPb #(CleanZoneName)_W 

#(CleanSystemName)_Pb,
108 

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 IF #(CleanZoneName)_Tdp > #(CleanSystemName)_Tdp,

 !- High humidity case; set SAT to default

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT,

 ELSE,

 !- Not high humidity

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Sch_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_SAT_Value,

 ENDIF;

D.2 Energy Recovery Ventilator/Evaporative Cooler Selector 

This EMS code switched between an ERV and an evaporative cooler to model using an 

evaporative cooler and a sensible heat exchanger. 

!- Sensors

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Warm_Season,

 Warm_Season_Sch,

 Schedule Value;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,

 #(CleanSystemName)_Cold_Season,

 Cold_Season_Sch, 

 Schedule Value;

!- Internal Variables

EnergyManagementSystem:InternalVariable,

 #(CleanSystemName)_FanSP,

 #(SystemName)_Fan,

 Fan Nominal Pressure Rise;

!- Actuators

EnergyManagementSystem:Actuator,

 #(CleanSystemName)_FanSP_Act,

 #(SystemName)_Fan,

 Fan,

 Fan Pressure Rise;

!- Calling Manager

EnergyManagementSystem:ProgramCallingManager,

 #(CleanSystemName)_ERV_IDEC_Control_Call,

 AfterPredictorBeforeHVACManagers,

 #(CleanSystemName)_ERV_IDEC_Control;

!- Program

EnergyManagementSystem:Program,

 #(CleanSystemName)_ERV_IDEC_Control, !- Name

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_ERV_SP = #(CleanSystemName)_Cold_Season * 253,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_IDEC_SP = #(CleanSystemName)_Warm_Season * 295,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_FanSP_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_FanSP + 

#(CleanSystemName)_ERV_SP,

 SET #(CleanSystemName)_FanSP_Act = #(CleanSystemName)_FanSP_Act + 

#(CleanSystemName)_IDEC_SP;