Energy benchmarking for office buildings in Putrajaya

Abstract

Energy consumption in the building sector is one of the major categories of energy consumption in Malaysia, which is rising from year to year in line with the country's economic and social growth. Based on the National Energy Balance (NEB) 2018 released by the Energy Commission, the level of annual electricity consumption in 2018 indicates that the building sector, including domestic and commercial electricity, contributes 49.5% (75.679 GWh) which is the second-highest electricity consumption after the industry sector which indicates 49.8% (76,088 GWh). Energy consumption can be minimised by embracing an efficient energy management as well as investment in terms of technology, systems, or processes. Nevertheless, prior to proceed with all those activities, the first step that need to be done is benchmarking to determine the energy performance of the building. Benchmarking is a method for measuring a building’s energy efficiency or performance by comparing its energy use to building with reference building that performs a similar function. A rational and reliable energy benchmark is very useful and informative to give understanding and enhancing building energy performance. Buildings in Putrajaya were chosen in this study case. This study provides a review on the current buildings’ energy performance based on the Building Energy Intensity (BEI) where it is used as an indicator. In the meantime, in this study clearly indicates and proved that the significant variable which affected to the energy consumption in office building was the floor area. Analysis on the data of buildings in Putrajaya resulted in an average annual BEI of 125kWh/m²/year. This energy intensity can be using a good energy reference for offices. Besides, it provides recommendation on a new set of office’s Building Energy Intensity (BEI) rating.