Methodology for estimating energy and water consumption patterns in university buildings: case study, Federal University of Roraima (UFRR)

Alissandra Pessoa Almeida; Vitor Sousa; Cristina Matos Silva

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08642

Methodology for estimating energy and water consumption patterns in university buildings: case study, Federal University of Roraima (UFRR)

Heliyon. 2021 Dec 21;7(12):e08642. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08642. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Authors

Alissandra Pessoa Almeida^{1

2}, Vitor Sousa³, Cristina Matos Silva³

Affiliations

¹ CERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal.
² Federal University of Roraima, Av. Cap. Ene Garcez, 69304-000, Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil.
³ CERIS, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisbon, Portugal.

Abstract

Knowing water and energy consumption patterns sets the baseline for understanding their drivers and assessing the performance of potential measures to increase efficiency and/or reliability. These patterns can vary substantially depending on the building characteristics, on the building users and use, on the cultural, social, economic, environmental context in which the building is located, among many other factors. This article presents a general methodological framework for characterizing water and energy consumption patterns in buildings based on the evaluation of the characteristics of the equipments and appliances, as well as the type of users and the activities developed in each type of room. This allows estimating water and energy use, by end use per square meter and by roomtype. The methodological framework proposed was applied to the buildings of the Paricarana Campus of Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), Brazil, providing one of the few examples in the literature reporting water and energy consumption in university buildings in tropical climates. Universities, in most cases, represent large water and energy consumers with distinctive consumption drivers and patterns which have received limited attention when compared to other types of buildings (e.g., residential). The findings have shown that teaching rooms and administration rooms are the main consumers, representing 48% and 49% of the institution's energy and water consumption, respectively. Air conditioning is the biggest energy consumption (63%), while personal use represents 72% of the total water consumption in a building. The toilets represent a large water consumption in a university building (46.40%). Comparing different building uses, the central library is the highest consumer, due to the longest operating time and the highest occupational density. The methodological proposal intends to be a useful tool to support managers and decision-makers to understand the dynamics of consumption and then propose effective practices to reduce water and energy uses, as well as providing reference data for comparison with other educational institutions.

Keywords: End use of water and energy; University building; Water and energy consumption.