ENERGY AUDITING ASSESSMENT BY ISO 50001 ENERGY MANAGEMENT STANDARD IN UNIVERSITY BUILDING

Abstract

This research focuses on studying energy auditing potential in university buildings following the ISO 50001 Energy Management standard. The sample area is the Faculty of Animal Science and Technology Building, Maejo University. The area's scope is a lecture building (building A) and conference building (building B). For energy indicators analysis is divided into three levels: organization level, system level, and equipment level. The results found that the sample building used 100% electricity or about 166,041.66 kWh/year. The significant energy use (SEU) area was the air conditioning system that consumed the highest energy use approximately 38.33%, following by the lighting system, other systems, lift system, ventilation system and pump system which their proportion are 30.76%, 28.32%, 1.43%, 0.95%, and 0.21, respectively. The energy utilization index (EUI) before the study is equal to 5.49 kWh/m2•year higher than after the study assessment that is equal to 3.75 kWh/m2•year from four recommended measures for example; lighting bulb reducing in the brighter area than standard, changing the fluorescent bulb to LED bulb, changing air conditioning to use a high-efficiency air conditioner, and reducing time ventilation fans in the air-conditioned room. If the sample building will improve following recommended measures, the expected result is a great saving than the current situation. The energy performance index (EPI) of will be decreased by about 31.63%. The electricity will be saved of 32,239.38 kWh/year or equivalent to 125,088.78 Baht/year which the investment cost is about 682,075.00 Baht and get a payback period of 5.45 years. INTRODUCTION At present, the demand for energy in Thailand is increasing steadily. Especially in the industrial and service sectors due to the expansion of business and many factory buildings, as a result, the need to use more energy as well. Therefore, the government has the Department of Energy formulate an Energy Efficiency Plan (EEP 2015) (Ministry of Energy, 2015), which aims to reduce energy intensity by 30% by 2036. The ISO 50001 Energy Management System is used to promote energy conservation to propel Thailand's energy management. The ISO 50001 is an energy management standard approved by the International Organization for Standardization released on 15 June 2011 (Ministry of Energy, 2016). The objective of ISO 50001 proposes to enable the improvement of energy performance in organizations (ISO, 2018). Comply with standards framework of ISO 50001 bases on the Plan Do Check Action (P-D-C-A) and can be integrated with other energy management standards such as energy management eight steps of Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency and green building certification. For the related research, Pornchai & Wuttikon (2016) studied the sustainable energy conservation of Siam University following ISO 50001: 2011 to set a model building of community institutions. The building's significant energy use (SEU) was an electric power and energy baseline (EnBs) of the organization was 306,166.67 kWh/month. The energy reduction target would be reduced by about 5% compared with the energy consumption of the year 2015. Pelser et al. (2018) and Narciso & Martins (2020) studied the improvement method of energy management in the cement industry. The energy costs had increased in the year 2008 to 78% and improve continually in the future. When using the ISO 50001 standard for one year, it was found that the energy consumption could be reduced by about 22%, or equivalent to 8.61 ZAR/t. Yacout et al. (2014) and Ozturk (2005) studied the energy management for the textile industry according to ISO 50001:2011. They found that efficient lighting systems, identifying and arresting compressed air leaks, and recovery steam condensate. The monthly reduction of power consumption was 3.9% by applying the measures, which achieved a saving of 919,500 EGP/year. Al-Saadi et al. (2017) and Al-Mulla et al. (2013) studied the reduction of energy in a library building with a total floor area of 2,756 m2 in Oman's hot climate. To offer opportunities to reduce energy consumption, it was found that the average energy-user-intensity (EUI) was 507 kWh/m2/year. Several energy management opportunities (EMOs) were explored using the calibrated model. The top four significant recommendations for EMOs were 1) switch off the HVAC systems outside the occupancy hours 2) increase the thermostat setpoint 3) reduce the air infiltration by using sealant around the window frames and doors, and 4) reduce the lighting intensity and use LED lights instead of the current fluorescent lights. When the EMOs proceed, the energy consumption could be reduced as much as 38.5% (Sudhakara Reddy, 2013). From the above, it is obvious that ISO 50001 is widely used in both industries and buildings; however, there is less of an educational building that attends ISO 50001 standard such as Maejo University. Many years ago, Maejo University needed to enhance a green university; therefore, it is appropriate to establish an energy management system following ISO 50001 to upgrade energy conservation. This research aims to study the potential of energy management in university buildings by ISO 50001 Energy Management System application.