“According to the scheduling data from the Banner database, buildings are only 15% utilized on average. NE01’s utilization was calculated as 31%. Based on these utilization rates, it is estimated that NE-1 alone wastes 494,875 kWh of Electricity and 5,458 GJ of Natural Gas annually lighting and heating unscheduled rooms.”
Andrew Quong, Billy Samra and Mandy Yand; BCIT School of Business Operation Management Students
Energy demand-side management within Factor 4 is not only about making hardwired changes (infrastructure) to make our buildings less wasteful/more efficient. It is also about adopting new behaviors and adopting new business practices that lead to a lower consumption of energy.
What if we were changing the way we use space? Would we save energy? According to our business students: YES! The numbers will need to be further studied. How to lower consumption when space is empty needs to be understood. The cost of solutions needs to be researched. But one thing is certain: we could save energy by not lighting or ventilating an empty space and by applying the proper temperature setbacks. This concept has therefore been added to the Factor IV action items list.
Energy conservation: Up to 7,000 GJ or 2,000,000 ekWh
More Information: N/A
Hi,
yes, NE1 has lots of idle space. Something that always had bothered me were the rooms with no windows. This impacts negatively the learning environment, as the lights had always to be on, no natural ventilation on shoulder season, dark colors on some walls.
Also the commons were always with lights on, even in sunny days, (it has nice skylights!).
Great comment Regina. A change we are hoping to implement soon is the addition of daylight sensors in the NE atrium. Thanks for visiting the Factor 4 website.
Cheers,
Alex