International. A group of researchers from the University of Valladolid has developed a statistical model capable of detecting anomalies and proposing improvements in the energy efficiency of non-residential buildings. The ultimate goal of this methodology, which has been successfully tested in 14 public hospitals in Castilla y León, is to provide building managers with objective information to support decisions around the control of energy consumption.
The designed model measures two types of parameters related to energy consumption, some of a constructive nature and others referring to the hospital's own activity, variables to which temperature is joined.
Based on these data and with statistical techniques, the researchers have developed a model of electricity consumption. They have also defined an efficiency index that allows the administrator to control and monitor the evolution of the facilities and detect possible deviations.
Those responsible for the research have explained that knowing the consumption in a systematized way, useful knowledge is generated when determining where to invest to improve energy efficiency, especially in systems related to air conditioning and air circulation in hospitals, which must comply with strict regulations and are those that have a greater energy expenditure, especially in summer.
An application monitors the parameters in real time
The study has been carried out by the departments of Electrical Engineering and Statistics and Operations Research, in collaboration with the Regional Health Management of Castilla y León and the EREN (Regional Energy Entity). Currently, the researchers are still working on this model and have created an application in which these parameters are monitored in real time.
The origin of this line of research lies in the collaboration established more than ten years ago between the Regional Health Management of Castilla y León and the Department of Electrical Engineering of the UVa, through an agreement and different contracts for the realization of studies. In this time, the researchers have carried out various works related to energy consumption in public hospitals, supporting the regional administration in the technical aspect.
Although the model has been applied to the 14 public hospitals in Castilla y León, the researchers stress that the methodology designed is generic and that, therefore, it could be applied to other sets of non-residential buildings to objectively compare the energy performance of all facilities under the responsibility of the same manager and take measures if necessary.
The methodology implemented by the UVa researchers is especially relevant because no other model of these characteristics has been located in the literature.
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