Universities, schools consume energy 24/7 for more than 300 days. As a result, costs associated with lighting, heating and cooling, powering electronics, and other necessary equipment add up quickly. These buildings consume electricity even at night to ensure that it is ready for the next day. A school or a university administrator, looking to cut energy costs, could find the following steps useful. It can help in the energy conservation efforts inside the building.

Replacement of the inefficient lighting fixtures with LED light fixtures

Switching from the fluorescent tube lighting to new LED light fixtures can save up to 30% of the electric energy consumption inside of the building. Along with cutting the energy costs, LED lights have a longer lifespan, which means you do not need to change them regularly, and can save money on maintenance costs. At the same time, these buildings can save up to 10% of the electricity bill by switching off the lights outside official hours.

Installation of the occupancy sensors

Installing occupancy sensors cuts back on energy consumption. They turn on when a person movement is detected and shut off during the periods no-inactivity. So, authorities need not worry about frequently turning the lights on and off, and they eliminate one of the biggest on energy consumption source, lights left on when they are unneeded.

Use of natural sunlight

Adding blinds or other window fixtures in classrooms of the schools or university can let the faculty or school teachers to reduce glare with the trade-off of electrical light for natural sunlight. The addition of the skylights in the hall, bathrooms, and other common areas reduce the need for artificial lighting as they allow the filtered light to enter from above.

Investment in the energy management system (EMS)

With the installation of the energy management system (EMS), such as a thermostat control and timer, the university or school buildings can effectively control the heating and cooling systems. During the holidays and weekends, these systems are left running because it's such a hassle to turn them on and off manually. An energy management system let you program operating times and eliminate unwanted power consumption, thus avoiding the wastage of any money due to the heating or cooling unoccupied buildings or rooms.

Ensuring the best Heating, Ventilation, and Air conditioning (HVAC) design

Heating, Ventilation, and Air conditioning (HVAC) systems make up 50% of the energy consumed in schools/universities. An HVAC system has a significant impact on the health of teachers and students, comfort, productivity, and even the academic performance of the students. The issues due to poor HVAC design includes noise control problems, lack of adequate ventilation, physical security issues, poor indoor air quality, comfort issues, and below-standard lighting conditions. Addressing indoor air quality, energy consumption, and environmental benefit and considering all the interrelated building systems. Hence performing an energy analysis early in the design process ensures optimization in the selection of efficient, cost-effective mechanical and ventilation systems.

How Minionlabs can help the university/school buildings?

We at Minionlabs can help educational institutions reduce electricity costs and improve productivity by providing real-time device-level electricity consumption, using a smart energy device delivered through our analytical platform. The platform is available as Single-Phase Energy Monitor and Triple Phase Energy Monitor. Our Energy Management System has helped businesses save 10-30% of their annual savings.