A New Dashboard Tool to Enhance Data Processing and Energy Efficiency Analysis in Modern Buildings

Abstract

In many buildings, energy tracking methods provide inadequate information regarding energy consumption, impeding the identification of economic and environmental waste in building operations and maintenance. M.C. Dean, an electrical design-build firm, recognized the importance of effective energy tracking methods in the large, complex buildings that it manages. Energy guidelines, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), are implemented to increase energy efficiency. Acquiring a LEED certification provides building owners with incentives, but it requires an in-depth documentation and understanding of energy usage prior to certification. Previously, M.C. Dean manually calculated average energy usage and created control charts that summarized annual statistics of their buildings. This method is sufficient for a single site but is an inefficient practice when applied manually across multiple sites. This project performed a requirements elicitation to determine the critical criteria for analyzing energy usage for M.C. Dean’s buildings. The results were used to develop a standardized Excel-based dashboard tool that instructs the user on importing and modifying raw energy data. Once the data is imported, the dashboard tool automatically tests for normality via probability plots and generates 3-sigma control charts. By automating this process, the dashboard tool enabled the user to gain detailed understanding of the energy usage of their site. Areas of potential improvement were identified through the implementation of three additional methods: analytic hierarchy process, cost simulation, and cost-benefit analysis. The manager’s preferences and energy guidelines generated a ranking of building usage factors, which can guide decisions on repurposing certain building elements. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed using parametric distribution analysis to predict future costs. Additionally, the dashboard increases awareness of energy usage by linking energy performance to the LEED Operations and Maintenance version 4.1 guidelines to estimate the current certification level and highlight areas for improvement. This research produced an energy performance tool that can be standardized to other complex buildings. It provides efficient energy tracking using standardized methods, allowing building owners to objectively assess the potential adoption of economical and sustainable practices.