Continuous assessment of energy efficiency in commercial buildings using energy rating factors

Engineers often conduct energy audits in buildings in use with the aim of improving the energy consumption of the facilities. The problem with this traditional approach is that the audits take place at a given instant in time. Subsequently, it is necessary to track the amount of energy continuously consumed in buildings in order to deal with an energy efficiency problem. This paper proposes the continuous assessment of energy efficiency in buildings using different energy rating factors. These factors have already been presented in other works by the authors, and the usefulness of these factors for assessing the energy performance of buildings and identifying wasted energy has been proven. This article presents the results of applying the methodology in 55 buildings located on the Universitat Politècnica de València campus during an entire year.

► An energy audit is a study aimed at improving energy efficiency in buildings in use.
► Problems arise because energy audits are performed at a certain point in time and are not continuous.
► A methodology for the continuous assessment of energy efficiency in building in operation is proposed.
► Energy rating indices, proposed in a previous work, to perform energy characterisation are used.
► Results are obtained for 55 buildings of the Universitat Politècnica de València, and for an entire year.