PROPOSED OCCUPANCY PROFILE INPUTS ON THE DIFFERENT PANDEMIC SAFE
MANAGEMENT PHASES FOR MEASUREMENT & VERIFICATION NON-ROUTINE
ADJUSTMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
WARREN SNG CHONG WEI
WARREN SNG CHONG WEI
Citations
Altmetric:
Alternative Title
Abstract
As with sustainability continually being a key discussion point today, one of the key
components towards that would be reducing our energy consumption. With the increasing need
for energy consumption as technology grows, it is all the more crucial for us to work towards
being lean in our energy usage and to develop methods to achieve energy savings where
possible. This is achieved via the implementations of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs).
ECMs describe the various methods taken in energy management to achieve energy savings
which includes control strategies like strategic zoning, setpoint strategies. Also, retrofitting or
designing energy efficient components i.e. LED lighting systems, change of component e.g.
VAV in a HVAC system or leveraging on natural lighting, natural ventilation with mechanical
cooling etc. These ECMs in theory are stated to achieve a certain value of energy savings but
in actual reality, external conditions can cause variations in expected performance of ECMs.
Measurement & Verification (M&V) is then done and performed to measure, verify and report
such savings to assess the efficacy of proposed ECM and to assess variation, if any, from the
projected energy savings. The M&V process also accounts for external conditions as
independent variables to capture any possible external factors that might influence the
behaviour or alter the energy consumption pattern. This would be done via adjustments to the
baseline to ensure an accurate energy savings calculation i.e. adjusted baseline – reporting
period energy readings = achieved savings. There would be routine and non-routine
adjustments where routine adjustments are factors that are expected to change and are usually
done when forecasting while non-routine adjustments (NRA) are only done if it happens in
actuality. NRA is done for changes in static factors like occupancy schedules, change in GFA
etc. With the pandemic and its associated quarantine and different safe reopening measures.
Occupants patterns have changed drastically towards the new normal warranting a need for
NRA to be done.
This dissertation focuses on buildings situated within educational institutions, the two greatest
sectors affect by the pandemic being schools and offices. The changes in occupancy are
significant and varies throughout the different the different stages. Occupant data from the
different buildings within NUS are collected to observe possible occupancy count patterns in
the different phases through these pandemic driven years of 2020 and 2022.
Different occupant patterns over the months were observed and captured. With the pandemic
having caused a structural change in occupancy schedules, the various variables impacted by
this change have indirectly and directly affected energy consumption with certain variables
having a stronger effect on energy consumption than some others.
There are recommendations provided for future studies going ahead as this study serves to
provide a starting point on this topic. The limitations are also discussed to serve as input for
improving the accuracy in future studies so that better occupancy profiles can be defined to
describe such occupancy schedules in educational buildings during the different pandemic
phases. The motivation behind this project could possibly extend towards future studies being
able to define and provide more occupancy profiles on other building types for the same
purpose of capturing the different profiles throughout the different phases, ultimately serving
as inputs for the factor of occupancy changes during adjustments in M&V.
Keywords
ECM, M&V, routine & non-routine adjustments, occupancy schedules/profiles
Source Title
Publisher
Series/Report No.
Collections
Rights
Date
2021-12-05
DOI
Type
Dissertation