Commercial buildings account for approximately 18% of the total energy use in the United States, although only 7% of this consumption is... Show moreCommercial buildings account for approximately 18% of the total energy use in the United States, although only 7% of this consumption is currently supplied by renewable energy sources, including hydropower, biomass, geothermal, wind, and solar heat and photovoltaics. This is a low percentage and it is imperative to explore potentials for using a combination of renewable energy systems to increase this percentage, particularly for large establishments with large land areas and existing facilities that can support large amounts of renewable energy technologies, such as airports. O’Hare International Airport (ORD), located in Chicago (Illinois), has been selected for this research, with the main purpose of supplying the maximum possible amount of the airport energy demand by a proposed wind and solar hybrid system. The first part of this research includes a wind energy system design performed using wind speed data at ORD locations and determining a suitable number and type of turbines loacted within the airport premises. Special considerations are made for for height, turbine locations, and prevailing wind directions. The second part of the study involves design of solar photovoltaic panel arrays both for existing terminals as well as for a proposed new terminal. The design of the arrays includes considerations for optimal energy production with varying installation angles as well as the number of sunny days useful for sun energy harvesting. Finally, the total electricity output from the hybrid system is estimated and compared with the total and monthly electricity demand at ORD. Results show that a considerable percentage of the electricity demand at ORD can be obtained through the wind and solar hybrid system. Specifically, if the airport authority decides on a new terminal, the integration of PV panels with the new terminal structure can be optimized such that the pecentage of total electricty demand at ORD could be met by more than 50% on-site renewable energy sources. An analysis of potential return in investment reveals that economically such a design is viable and can result in sizeable annual savings over a 20-year investment period. M.S. in Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, December 2014 Show less
