Energy Audit for Building
Avinash Kumar R
1807RY03
PSG College of Technology
Coimbatore
Introduction
Buildings are responsible for 20-25% of the total primary
energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions in
India
The standards such as
Energy Conservation and Building Code (ECBC)
National Building Code (NBC), and
other energy efficiency programmes are aimed at improving the
energy performance of existing buildings
Net or Nearly Zero Energy Building
Energy studies in several office buildings, hotels, and hospitals
indicate an energy savings potential of up to 20% in
heating,
ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC),
Lighting
Pumping
building services such as lifts etc
In modern commercial buildings, HVAC system which comprises
chiller
chilled water pumps
condenser pumps
cooling tower fans
air handling unit (AHU) fans
fan coil unit (FCUs) takes the major energy load
Energy Performance Index (EPI) is a measuring tool used to
evaluate the performance of a building in terms of total energy
consumption and total built up area
BEE Star Rating Programme for Buildings (Office buildings &
BPO)
GRIHA Green Rating System
LEED Rating System
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council
(USGBC) to evaluate environmental performance of a building and
encourage market transformation towards sustainable design.
Energy Mapping of Building
Building Envelope
Building envelope- --walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors—
has a significant impact on the HVAC energy used to condition the
air inside the facility
Some of the commonly recommended energy conservation
measures to improve thermal performance of building envelope are
as follows:
Addition of thermal insulation
Replacement of windows
Reduction of air leakage
Where to concentrate………..
Lighting
Electrical systems
Transformers
Motors
Office Equipment
Lifts and Elevetors
ENERGY AUDITING APPROACH FOR BUILDINGS
Data and information
Collect site layout and general building characteristics such as
floor areas, numbers of end-users, construction details, building
orientation, building façade
Collect historical energy of electricity (grid/captive) and thermal
consumption bills for previous three years month wise to identify a
historical energy use pattern
Collect total built up area of the building
Identify the fuel types used (electricity, natural gas, diesel, fuel oil,
etc.) to determine the fuel type that accounts for the largest energy
use
Obtain maximum demand readings.
Collect details of electrical installations such as numbers of
transformers and low voltage main switchboards and their locations
and size or ratings of main distribution cables/bus ducts
Collect electrical and lighting schedules
Collect details of HVAC installations for different areas
Systems connected to central building energy management system
(BEMS) if available
Collect lift and escalator installation details such as capacity,
zoning, quantity, floors/areas served, and types of control, types of
drive, etc.
Collect details of ENCON measures already implemented or being
proposed.
Instruments and Measurements
Power analyser, ultrasonic flow meter, anemometer, vane
anemometer, thermocouple
Field Audit
Identify the client's concerns and needs
Determine existing operating conditions of major energy use
equipment (lighting, HVAC systems, motors, pumps etc.)
Obtain equipment/system operation records, including data logs
of metered parameters on temperature, pressure, current,
operational hours
Determine the patterns of fuel use by fuel type to identify the
peak demand for energy use by fuel type
Obtain details of building envelope (levels of insulation of walls,
floors, roofs) and the area
Type and number of panes for windows
Estimate the occupancy, equipment, and lighting (lighting power
density and hours of operation)
Understand utility rate structure (energy and demand rates) to
evaluate if the building is penalised for peak demand and if cheaper
fuel can be purchased
Obtain occupancy details and operating schedules for equipment
(including lighting, chiller, and HVAC systems)
Obtain details such as type of chillers, their capacities and
operational characteristics (refrigeration pressure/temperature,
water flow rate/temperature/pressure, etc.)
Collect operational characteristics of lift and escalator installation
(zoning, type of motor drive, control mechanism, etc.)
Obtain power distribution system characteristics
Analysis
Analyse energy performance index (EPI)
Analyse the effect of weather on fuel consumption
Perform utility energy use analysis by building type to compare
against typical indices
Analyse the effect of weather on energy consumption
Determine operational characteristics against design or
corresponding general engineering practices and analyse for
deviations
Report
Prepare a comprehensive list of energy conservation measures
(using the information collected in a walk-through survey)
Estimate the initial costs required to implement the energy
conservation measures
Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of each energy conservation
measure using an economic analysis method (simple payback or
life-cycle cost analysis)
ENERGY CONSERVATION (ENCON) Opportunities in Buildings
Operational and Housekeeping Measures
Set the air conditioning area temperature within a range of 24-26°C to
have better human comfort and hence to save power
Increase the evaporator chilled water temperature setting in the chiller
from 6.5-10°C to achieve a 10% reduction in power consumption in
chillers
Optimise evaporator temperature to
Avoid use of heating appliances in cool spaces
Turn off lights in unoccupied spaces
Avoid running the pumps during peak period
Reduce operating time or switching off motors when not required
Low Cost Measures
Apply thermal insulation
Improve air tightness
Reduce ventilation losses
Install efficient barriers to avoid hot air leakage into cool spaces
Insulate damaged/uninsulated chilled waterlines
Select office equipment with reduced heat output
Install motion sensors in conference rooms, closets, restrooms and
break rooms. Motion sensors can reduce lighting costs up to 40% in
areas where lights are generally left on all the time
Use energy-efficient lighting lamps and ballasts: replace 40 W
'tubes with ordinary chokes by LED lamps
Provide electronic energy meters and run-hour meters for each
pump
Use water-saving equipment instead of the conventional fixtures
for toilets, faucets. showerheads, etc
Install sub-metering to monitor power consumption in various
sections
Retrofit Measures
Use heat recovery technologies such as rotary heat wheels and heat
pipes that can recover 50-80 % of the energy used to heat or cool
ventilation air supplied to the building
Apply thermal energy storage systems (ice storage or ice bank) that
offer a mean of using less-expensive off-peak power to produce cooling or
heating to condition the building during on-peak periods
Replace glass panes with laminated insulation boards as glass panes
result in large solar heat
Replace old reciprocating compressors with energy efficient screw
compressors
Optimise air conditioning requirements by measures such as use of false
ceiling and segregation of critical areas for air conditioning by providing
partitions.
Use day lighting controls
Install energy-efficient motors
Apply building integrated photovoltaic panels that can generate
electricity while absorbing solar radiation and reducing heat gain
through the building envelope (typically roofs)
Provide solar hot air generation system for laundry dryers
Install solar hot water system.
ENCON Opportunities in Elevator Systems
Switch off light and ventilation fans when not in use
Shut down one of the lifts in the lift bank during off-peak period
Adopt elevator control system to schedule turning on or off of all
or some elevators during low usage periods
Adopt regenerative mode in elevators which can feed regenerative
power back into electrical distribution system, particularly for high
speed and high capacity elevators
Adopt energy efficient lighting system for elevator cars
Adopt traction elevators for new installations and when replacing
old hydraulic elevators
Consider variable voltage variable frequency (VVVF) system for
motors which matches with load for new installations and retrofits
High efficiency permanent magnet synchronous motors, when used
along with the drive, can improve overall efficiency and contributes
significantly to energy conservation
Reduce capacity of elevator with smaller capacity or by reducing
the counterweight if capacity of existing elevator is higher.
Thank You
