The impact of energy conservation on the management and administration of buildings

Abstract

Rapidly rising energy prices have focussed attention on the operating costs of commercial buildings. In order to minimise energy use in new and existing buildings, an effective Energy Management Programme must be implemented .Any Energy Management Prograrme should not conserve energy at the expense of a lowering of comfort standards and subsequent complaints· from occupants. The comfort conditions are determined largely by the lighting and air conditioning systems, which are the two main users of energy in buildings. A hypothetical model building was chosen as the base against which to evaluate measures to conserve energy. This building was based upon a typical modern South African commercial building. As the services systems on buildings are usually quite complex, the performance of each sub-system as well as the interaction between them was analysed using a systems approach.