Identification building energy saving using Energy Efficiency Index approach

Energy can be reused or saved instead of simply wasted by implementing strategic planning. In commercial building, energy consumption varies due to various factors such as building design, climate, load usage, type of electrical appliances, and management. Since each room in a building is designed to accommodate certain number of occupant, the room capacity is also considered as one of the factors that affect energy consumption. However, by placing inappropriate number of occupants in a room, the optimum use of energy cannot be achieved. For an example, energy may be wasted if the room that is designed for 200 occupants is only occupied by 98 people. In response to this concern, energy saving can be made by shifting or reconfiguring the number of occupant to make more suitable room. This strategy is called as a class shifting method. It can minimize electricity usage by simply shifting occupants into an appropriate room which is design nearly for that amount of capacity. This paper presents evaluation on class shifting strategy in term of its ability in reducing energy consumption. The study was conducted on selected building in Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) by using Energy Efficiency Index (EEI) reading as a baseline in determining how much energy is being wasted as well as being saved. The result from the application of shifting method showed a significant number of energy saving that can be made.