Survey of Fuel Loads in Contemporary Office Buildings.
Survey of Fuel Loads in Contemporary Office Buildings.
(1460 K)
Caro, T. C.; Milke, J. A.
NIST GCR 96-697; 32 p. September 1996.
Sponsor:
National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Gaithersburg, MD
Available from:
National Technical Information Service
Order number: PB97-114235
Keywords:
office buildings; fuel loads; surveys; chairs;
computers; furniture; interior furnishings; office
furniture; occupants
Abstract:
The method, used in the latest study performed in 1975,
for surveying offices to determine fuel load estimates
is presented. The frequency distribution for the
estimates of the fuel load found in the study are
presented. Two methods for determining movable fuel
load are utilized in this study. Moveable fuel load is
considered to be the furniture, equipment, and other
items brought in for the service of the occupants after
construction of the building. Direct weighing
techniques are utilized in both methods. In one method,
the office contents are taken from their operational
location and weighed. The second method, weighs the
office contents when packaged for either relocation or
remodeling purposes. Two types of offices were
surveyed, open plan design and the traditional
compartmented layout. Current offices are composed of
large open plan spaces which are subdivided into office
space or workstations by partitions. Also contributing
to the fuel load are desktop computers which are common
accessories. Surveys were conducted in buildings at the
University of Maryland College Park and at the General
Services Administration (GSA) Headquarters Building in
Washington, D.C. Statistical results are presented for
the two survey methods, each office type and each
material category. The results of the study present the
impact of open plan designs on the fuel load and also
present the partition and computer accessory fuel load
contributions. In addition, a comparison is made for
the fuel load found at the University of Maryland,
College Park and that found at GSA. The fuel load
estimates for each office are separated into the
following categories in order to group items of similar
material composition: papers/books, computer equipment,
furniture, partitions, and miscellaneous.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899