Abstract
Building energy systems are designed to handle both permanent and temporary occupants. Permanent occupants are considered the base energy load while temporary occupants are considered a temporary or additional load. Temporary occupancy is potentially the most difficult to design as the number of temporary occupants varies more significantly than permanent occupants. This case study was designed to investigate the effect of occupancy on energy loads, i.e. the relationship between occupancy and building energy loads. This study estimated the building occupancy by using existing network infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet based on the assumption that the number of Wi-Fi connections and the wired Ethernet traffic were used as a proxy for total and stationary occupancy. The relationships were then examined using correlations and regression analyses. The results showed the following: 1. Stationary occupancy was successfully estimated using the network infrastructure; 2. There was a linear relationship between electricity use and total occupancy (and, thus, the use of network infrastructure); 3. Permanent occupants generated a higher impact on the electricity load than the temporary occupants; 4. There was a logarithmic relationship between electricity use and the Ethernet data traffic (a proxy of permanent occupants); and 5. The statistical and qualitative analyses indicated that there was no significant relationship between occupancy and thermal loads, such as cooling and heating loads.
Highlights
Energy consumption increases exponentially as the global population continues to grow
The building sector accounts for approximately 20% of worldwide energy consumption, and estimates highlight that it will increase by an average of 1.5% annually from 2012 to 2040 [3]
This case study investigated the relationship between building occupancy and building energy loads such as electricity, cooling, and heating loads, using correlation and multiple regression analyses
Summary
Energy consumption increases exponentially as the global population continues to grow. Fossil fuel is still the main source of raw material used by most countries to generate electricity, though the use of renewable energy has increased over the past decades. In the United States, approximately 80% of primary energy is provided by fossil fuel, but the portion of renewable energy is only 11% [1]. The use of fossil fuel increases the amount of greenhouse gases in the environment and is associated with global climate change [2]. The building sector accounts for approximately 20% of worldwide energy consumption, and estimates highlight that it will increase by an average of 1.5% annually from 2012 to 2040 [3]. In the United States, the building sector is responsible for 40% of energy use, 75% of electricity consumption, and 38% of related carbon dioxide emissions [4]. The optimization and reduction of building energy consumption are critical to the national economy as it cuts business operation cost and increases corporate profitability [2]
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