AN EVALUATION OF PLUG LOADS & THEIR TRENDS IN A SINGAPORE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

In line with the goals of Smart Nation and the 3rd Green Building Masterplan, and the trends of the application of the Internet of Things and Big Data Analytics, this study evaluates the energy patterns of 159 individual plug loads of cubicles (electronics of which included desktops, laptops, monitors, task lights, hot flasks, and the like) collected in 2 floors of offices in Singapore over a 3-month period. An analysis of the data reveals that office cubicles can demonstrate a wide range of power consumption, and that occupants are very likely to turn equipment off before their daily lunch break and after office hours during the week.

This study ends off by computing the potential cost savings benefits forgone to give building owners, facilities managers and /or other relevant stakeholders a tangible sense of potential cost savings benefits forgone. This paper has contributed by measuring plug loads and in effect, provide insights on how energy is being consumed in an office environment in Singapore. It is in the hopes that this underlying information can be used in the design load considerations of future Smart Nation electrical developments, particularly towards ICT-related ones. Also, the underlying data on plug load trends found could prove useful for smart targeting of interventions, such that predictive measures can be derived by interventions targeted more accurately and timely at unwanted energy behaviours when certain unwanted plug load trends are spotted. For future works, it is also hoped that the findings of this dissertation can be generalized and applied to other facilities such as schools, hospitals and the like.