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Submetering to Evaluate Energy Use in Office Buildings
Abstract
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) has
been collecting energy and demand data on its 75,000
square foot, five-floor Shapiro office building in
Austin, Texas since June 1982. The building
provides an ideal laboratory for studying energy-saving
modifications because the major loads are
metered individually. Sixteen submeters are used to
monitor the computer mainframe, computer room HVAC,
lighting, elevators, appliances, heating, and air
conditioning.
The only way to accurately test the effectiveness
of an energy savings modification is to isolate
the associated energy consumption. Typically.
energy conservation evaluations are based on energy
(or demand) data from the metered total building,
and changes in a specific load are obscured by
unidentifiable load fluctuations within the
building. Accurate knowledge of the energy
consumption of individual loads (verified by
measurement rather than predicted by theoretical
calculations) can provide valuable insight into the
design of more energy-efficient buildings.
Citation
Larkam, P. (1988). Submetering to Evaluate Energy Use in Office Buildings. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6559.