Net Zero Energy Buildings, NZEB, Energy Dashboards, Building Performance
As buildings have become more complex, interpreting building performance becomes challenging. A Building Automation System (BAS) has hundreds of data points that monitor performance but the data is frequently under-utilized. Over 20% of a building’s energy is wasted through energy inefficiencies that go undetected. Building controls are not going to get easier, but methods are being developed to simplify monitoring building performance. An Energy Dashboard is a graphic interface for a BAS that simplifies the monitoring and control of a building. An energy dashboard automatically tracks building energy use to help detect overconsumption patterns or malfunctioning equipment. Energy dashboards allow for building occupants to monitor energy usage easily in real-time, an effective way to engage occupant behavior changes. This study designed and evaluated a prototype energy dashboard that demonstrates how to monitor net zero energy commercial buildings of the future. The energy dashboard compared energy consumption and generation patterns for a variety of building systems and solar energy equipment in an HVAC laboratory. The energy dashboard was evaluated by university students with a background in HVAC to gather feedback and improve the energy dashboard’s diagnostic abilities. The result is an easy to deploy graphic interface that can help building professionals interpret and improve performance of complex buildings. The students were also asked questions to rank importance of performance indicators based off a previously done study. An analysis was done to determine where students aligned with building professionals. This study improved on current key performance indicators and how to simplify building performance metrics.