Short-term load forecasting for non-residential buildings contrasting artificial occupancy attributes

Due to the relevance of the occupancy indicator in the model, this paper provides a complete study of the methods and data sources employed in the creation of the artificial occupancy attributes. Several occupancy indicators are defined, from the simplest one, using general information, to the most complex one, based on very detailed information. Then, a load forecasting performance discrimination between the artificial occupancy attributes is realized demonstrating that using the most complex indicator increases the workload and complexity while not improving the load prediction significantly. A real case study, applying the forecasting method to several non-residential buildings in the University of Girona, serve as a demonstration.