Energy use of buildings in relation to occupancy rates

Abstract

This paper presents basic data of the energy demand for district heating and plug loads logged by a building management system of an energy-efficient academic building located in Lund, Sweden. The data refers to the years 2019 and 2020 when occupancy varied significantly due to the Corona pandemic. The data shows that the building energy demand adapts poorly to fluctuating occupancy rates. With a possible increase of smart working in the future, building codes should account for more fluctuating occupancy rates in the modelling of the energy demand of buildings.