Energy Efficiency in a Commercial Office Building Case Study

Effective Measures to Reduce Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions

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Introduction: Energy Efficiency in a Commercial Office Building

Buildings are the critical elements for a significant amount of energy consumption and have a wide contribution to carbon emissions worldwide. As an energy consultant, this assignment is based on the energy performance of an existing building and proposes a feasible and efficient energy-saving system to improve it further. Multiple factors are responsible for determining the energy consumption of a building, such as the shape and size of the building, the function of the building, the number of dwellers or occupants residing or working there, the type of material used for constructing the building, and the energy efficiency of the building system.

Heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation are the key elements to evaluate the energy consumption of a building. In cold weather, a warm room is much needed, while in warm weather, a cold room is in high demand, both can be achieved by a heater and an air conditioner. The lighting demand is determined by the type of lights used, whether fluorescent, LED, or others and the number of occupants, and the timing of occupancy. The ventilation system depends on the air quality outside and the air quality required inside.

The energy consumption of a building can be affected drastically by implementing energy-efficient measures. Insulation such as Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is a technology that is currently used in skyscrapers and big buildings to deliver the required airflow and desired temperature of the work environment. HVAC can cool, heat, and can deliver improved air quality. Energy-efficient lighting, such as LED lighting, consumes less energy and has a longer lifespan over the traditional fluorescent bulbs.

LED lights are 20% to 50% more energy efficient than traditional Fluorescent bulbs and deliver much more intense light compared to traditional ones. HVAC system which includes variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology proved efficient in providing individual temperature control and consumes less energy than a central air conditioning system. Insulation plays a major role where restricting heat loss and heat gain which overall results in reduced demand for heating and cooling.

Data

For this portfolio I have selected a commercial building which is located in London, united states currently running as office space and it was constructed way back in 1995. It consists of a total of 10,000+ square meters of floor area and it is a 10-storey building. Concrete and steel were used for structure and construction, and glass was used for the facade.

My approach consists of:

1. Overview of the building attributes

2. Current energy performance and carbon emissions

3. Proposals for the energy system to improve the energy performance

3.1. Lightning system

3.2. HVAC System

3.3. Insulation

3.4. Renewable Energy System

3.5. Appliances used

Figure 1: Basic framework for portfolio

Overview of the building attributes

The selected building is a comercial office, it is a 10 storey building and has an area of 10,000 sq. mtrs. which is spread across all 10 floor The building was constructed way back in 1995 using concrete, steel, and glass. It has a wide front view known as a façade. The façade is made out of glass, which directs natural light and ventilation which adds with a beautiful look to the building.

Generally building can be classified into several categories depending upon its energy end-use categories, such as heaqting, cooling, lighting and appliances which accounts the majority of energy consumption. The building presently has a central air conditioning system. The HVAC system can be equipped in the building to maintain the desired temperature whether it is cold or hot, and to maintain the purity of indoor air. The HVAC is proven much more efficient than the traditional central air conditioning system since it has a high flow rate and it can travel a long distance without any fluctuation in temperature when compared with the HVAC system. The lighting system consists of traditional fluorescent tubes. The traditional fluorescent tube consumes much more energy in the form of electricity and also emits fewer lumens of visible light when compare it to a LED one. The building is occupied by different groups of dwellers and tenants and the occupancy level is around 80% and up on average. The tenants also is a significant reason for high energy usage, the more tenants the more energy consumption. The building is allocated in a busy commercial area of London and it is easily accessible by public transport. It has a wide entrance and a well-maintained roadway.

Current energy performance and carbon emissions

The energy performance of a particular building is been checked using the energy performance certificate (EPC) rating system. The energy performance certificate (EPC) of a particular building is checked and marked from A to G, A being the most effective in terms of energy consumption and G being the least effective in terms of energy consumption. This particular building has an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of “D”, which lies in the middle of the chart. That directly signifies that the building is inefficient in the terms of energy consumption and saving. The energy performance certificate (EPC) rating suggests various sectors where energy utilization should be controlled and reduced to an adequate level for the most effective utilization of energy or electricity, the sectors are lighting, HVAC, and insulation.

The building has an estimated total energy consumption of 1500 megawatts per year and a carbon footprint of 500 tonnes of CO2 per year. This high energy consumption can be significantly reduced by implementing energy-efficient measures. The fluorescent tubes could be replaced by the LED ones for 20% to 50% energy saving. It also has an increased lifespan of 4 to 5 years when compared to the traditional ones. The present building isn’t equipped with an HVAC system, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), or any other kind of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) which are proven efficient in ventilating, cooling, heating, and maintaining the interior air purity as desired.HVAC and VRF are better than central mount AC. Traditionally central air conditioning systems are inefficient to achieve a high coverage area when compared to an HVAC system, thus resulting in more number of installation of central air conditioning systems which eventually leads to high energy consumption and more carbon emission and carbon footprint. Further, proper ventilation could be done to the building for efficient airflow and to maintain the temperatures. A proper ventilation system should be installed for efficient air conditioning and to prevent leakage and the addition of heat.

The present building doesn’t even use any kind of renewable energy. Renewable energy is generally a one-time investment and it can be harvested from nature with the help of different devices and it continued to replenish itself over time. Having solar energy harvesters at buildings can be a smart investment decision in both financially and in the terms of environment. Sunlight could be harvested in many forms such as solar panels, solar water heater, energy-efficient lighting. Sunlight could be proven best type of renewable energy source, it can be harvested in broad day light and depending upon the geolocation of the building allocation. During the day time, the energy from the sun could be harvested with the help of solar panels and later it should be used to manage the energy consumption of the building.

Figure 2: Five Basic steps

Proposals for the energy systems to improve the energy performance

To improve the energy efficiency of the building, the organisation should take these mentioned steps:

Lightining system

The installed lightning systems should be replaced with the LEDs since the previous one are fluorescent and consume 40% to 50% more energy than the LED, and LED bulb has a longer lifespan when compared it with the traditional bulb. Further the lighting system can be coupled with smart day sensors which can monitor the day light and can save energy. The replaced lighting system could coust an estimate of £150,000, and the lighting system could repay its initial cost in the form of saving by 3 year.

HVAC System

The current air condentioning system in the particular building is a central air conditioning system which consume much more energy and is proven less effective than Variable Refrigent Flow or VRF. T he VRF system is much more efficient as its delivers different temperatures of heat in each floor as per required. The VRF system can be controlled by the Building Management System, which will be proven effective in energy saving of the HVAC system. The estimated cost of replacing the previous HVAC system with a new one will be around £500,000, and could repay itself in an etimate of 5 years.

Insulation

The current building has an inadequate insulation system which directly results in significant heat loss in cold climates and experience heat gain during hot climates, by this the air conditioning unit has to run on higher capacity to maintain the desired temperature and thus a huge portion of electricity is been consumed by the air conditioning system. To tackle this situation management could add a additional layer of insulation to the roof and the walls. The estimated cost for improving the insulation will be around £200,000, and it could repay itself after 4 years in the form of savings.

Renewable Energy Systems

Renewable energy sould be installed to add another layer of efficient energy consumption and reduce the carbon foot print emission. The building has a flat roof, which is going to be preferable for installation of solar panel. The solar panel could harvest much energy to run atleaxst lighting system and HVAC system. The estimate cost for installing solar panel will going to be £100,000 and the estimated payback period will be 3 years.

Appliances used

The electrical appliances used also contributes significantly to ineffective electric consumption. Computer, printer and kitchen appliances contributes to overall energy consumption. A number of variables, including the quantity of appliances, their efficiency, and their operating hours, affect how much energy is consumed by appliances. Utilising energy-efficient equipment and putting energy-saving measures in place, such as shutting off appliances when not in use, can reduce the energy required by appliances.

In conclusion, a building’s total energy efficiency is significantly influenced by the distribution of its energy use. Property managers and energy experts may create plans to cut back on energy use and increase the sustainability of the buildings by determining the areas that use the most energy. In addition to lowering energy use and related expenses, increasing a building energy efficiency also contributes to lowering carbon emissions, which is crucial in the fight against climate change. It is crucial to use a holistic strategy that takes into account all facets of an establishment, especially the layout, construction, and operation, so as to achieve energy efficiency. The approach requires coordination between architects, engineers, constructors, and building inhabitants to identify areas that might be improved. Building owners can further minimise their carbon footprint by investigating in renewable energy resources in addition to effective and a well maintained energy use. Solar and wind energy systems are the prime example, deliver electricity from renewable resources that may be utilised to meet the building's consumption of energy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, increasing a building's energy efficiency is a crucial step achieving a more environmentally friendly future. Owners of facilities and electricity consultants can create plans to cut energy use and enhance the sustainability of the facility by allocating the use of electricity and identifying locations where consumption of energy is highest. Enhancing the efficiency of energy use not only lowers energy prices and consumption, but it also contributes to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, which is crucial for reducing the effects of climate change.

References

Journels

Belussi, L., Barozzi, B., Bellazzi, A., Danza, L., Devitofrancesco, A., Fanciulli, C., Ghellere, M., Guazzi, G., Meroni, I., Salamone, F. and Scamoni, F., 2019. A review of performance of zero energy buildings and energy efficiency solutions.Journal of building engineering,25, p.100772.

Mason, K. and Grijalva, S., 2019. A review of reinforcement learning for autonomous building energy management.Computers & Electrical Engineering,78, pp.300-312.

Rameshwar, R., Solanki, A., Nayyar, A. and Mahapatra, B., 2020. Green and smart buildings: A key to sustainable global solutions. InGreen Building Management and Smart Automation(pp. 146-163). IGI Global.