Building energy efficiency using system dynamics approach - A case study in an academic block

The electricity consumption in commercial buildings and educational institutions is increasing rapidly over the last few year. It is imperative to study this consumption pattern and adopt techniques and technologies to reduce the consumption. The aim of this study is to identify the variables that directly or indirectly affect the energy consumption in a building. For this study a building infrastructure of a leading educational institution was considered. A model has been developed using the concept of system dynamics to analyze the dynamics of electricity consumption and to illustrate the relationship between the identified variables. A system dynamics modeling tool, Vensim, has been used for this purpose. The results revealed that there is a scope for change in the lighting system. Two solutions are proposed- to replace all present CFLs with LEDs; and to reduce the number of working days and increasing the number of operating hours. This results showed that there is a significant reduction in the energy consumption and an increase in the savings.