Every modern building uses electricity for lighting, air-conditioning, water pumping and many other applications. Of these, the major consumption would be by Air-conditioning, followed by Lighting. Thus it becomes very important to assess not just the present consumption and pattern of consumption, but also the energy requirement of the buildings.

LIGHTING –

The lighting for any building depends on the personal preference. Based on the present experience and the preference, the energy requirement for the required lighting can be worked out. It must be pointed out that the lighting levels vary considerably in many buildings. In some places, the lighting level would be much higher than required, and other places, the lighting levels could be lower. The assessment would be based on the agreed level of lighting, rather than looking at “reduction of energy” alone – and thus resulting in increased energy usage at some areas.

Air conditioning –

For most users, the air -conditioning is synonymous with Cooling. Nothing can be far from the truth. Surrounding temperatures, humidity, air movement, air circulation, CO2 levels, bacteria and mould growth – all are part of air-conditioning. Thus, to look at just the cooling is comparable to taking the temperature of a sick person, without any other investigation. A thorough study on what is the external heat gain, what is the internal heat gain, the required air change , the humidity of the fresh air, humidity addition from internal source, radiation perception from hot points inside the air-conditioning area – all these have to be taken into account. These are in addition to the conventional study of the blower efficiency, conventional efficiency etc.,

Other loads:

The other loads in a building such as water pumping, hot water, Cooling towers, generators etc., would be studied based on the usage and load levels. The UPS utilisation, the efficiency levels, the energy by computers and their reduction would be studied, wherever appropriate.