Using Display Energy Certificates to quantify schools' energy consumption

Abstract

The UK non-domestic sector accounts for 2 million buildings and 19% of national CO 2 emissions, representing a significant opportunity for emission reductions. However, substantial improvement of the stock requires a greater understanding of current energy performance characteristics. This paper explores energy consumption in English schools, using data from the Display Energy Certificates (DECs) database. DECs are a key step in understanding the non-domestic stock, incorporating national-scale statistical data, covering bottom-up details of the individual buildings. Significant variations in emissions between primary and secondary schools and academies exist, primarily caused by large differences in electricity consumption. Considering pupil numbers is shown to accentuate the differences, revealing a 47% rise in CO 2 emissions per pupil from primary to secondary schools, and a further increase between secondary schools and academies. The extent to which building characteristics, including location, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) and size, influence performance has also been evaluated. Location, HVAC and school density are shown to correlate with variations in energy use. Finally, a comparison of current school performance against past data reveals considerable reductions in fossil-thermal energy consumption over the last decade. However, this has been offset by a significant increase in electricity consumption, resulting in rising typical emissions across the school types.Le secteur non domestique britannique représente 2 millions de bâ timents et 19% des émissions de CO 2 du pays, ce qui constitue une importante opportunité de réduction des émissions. Cependant, une amélioration substantielle du parc exige une plus grande compréhension des caractéristiques actuelles des performances énergétiques. Cet article examine la consommation d'énergie dans les écoles anglaises, en utilisant les données provenant de la base de données des Display Energy Certificates (DEC -Certificats de Performance Energétique à afficher). Les certificats DEC sont une étape clé pour mieux connaître le parc non domestique, intégrant des données statistiques à l'échelle nationale et couvrant en détail selon une approche ascendante les différents bâ timents. D'importantes variations des émissions entre les écoles primaires, les écoles secondaires et les académies existent, principalement dues à de grandes différences dans la consommation électrique. Il est démontré que la prise en compte du nombre d'élèves accentue les différences, révélant une hausse de 47% des émissions de CO 2 par élève entre les écoles primaires et secondaires, une hausse supplémentaire intervenant entre les écoles secondaires et les académies. A également été évalué le degré d'influence sur les performances des caractéristiques des bâ timents, au nombre desquelles l'emplacement, le chauffage, la ventilation mécanique et la climatisation (CVCA), ainsi que la taille. Il est démontré que l'emplacement, la CVCA et la densité des écoles sont en corrélation ...

Improved benchmarking comparability for energy consumption in schools

“…Godoy-Shimizu, Armitage, Steemers, & Chenvidyakarn (2011) showed possibilities for applying various statistical techniques to characterize the energy use of schools using DEC data. In the United States, Sharp (1996Sharp ( , 1998 has used multiple linear regression models to assess the impacts of various building and operational characteristics on the energy use of offices and schools as part of a benchmarking process.…”

Minimising Excessive Energy Consumption in Schools While Maintaining Optimal Air Quality

“…An initial survey of Display Energy Certificates, which Godoy-Shimizu et al [28] confirm are key to understanding energy use in UK schools, would provide a good sample of those which are using excessive energy for their building type. Within this group, energy delivery and indoor air quality could then be assessed.…”

Energy use Intensities for Non-Residential Buildings

“…In this context, one valuable resource to extract relevant data is from the energy performance certificates (EPC) that are being issued throughout Europe in compliance with EPBD. Along these lines, several studies have emerged that exploit this information to map the characteristics of NR buildings in several European countries [7][8][9].…”