Investigation of electrical energy saving potential in a university campus building

Today, the need for energy in the world is continuously increasing and it becomes necessary to provide energy effectively and efficiently. Energy efficiency has an important role in achieving sustainable development goals. The building sector is one of the most energy-intensive sectors. Energy efficiency activities to reduce energy consumption in areas with many and diverse buildings, such as university campuses, are important steps to reduce energy costs and transform universities into sustainable campuses. In this thesis study, an administrative building located in Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Istiklal Campus was selected as a sample site and efficiency analysis studies were carried out with measuring devices such as thermal camera, energy analyzer, lux meter, and energy consumption/loss points were detected by monitoring energy consumption values and energy saving potential were determined. Energy consumption data examined in 2020-2022 term showed that 20% of the energy consumed is electricity, 80% is natural gas, and 55% of the costs are due to electricity and 45% are natural gas. As a result of the energy analyzer analysis, no problem was detected in the electrical quality of the building. In the short term, replacing road lighting with LED fixtures has an energy saving potential of 400,392.0 kWh and replacing pump motors with efficient electric motors has an energy saving potential of 11,555.0 kWh. The calculations conducted using the energy unit prices of 2022 and EURO exchange rate of July 2023, the investment cost of replacing road lighting is 168,641 TL, the payback period (PP) is 2.42 years and the internal rate of return (IRR) is 72%; the investment cost of replacing pump motors with efficient electric motors was 2,852,408 TL, PP was 5,08 years and IRR was 44%. For medium-term measures, it has been found that 2503 MWh/year of energy production can be achieved with setting a photovoltaic solar power plant. The investment cost is 33,316,650 TL, PP is 4.53 years and IRR is 53%. In conclusion, it is evaluated that with energy efficiency investments, energy consumption on the campus can be reduced, significant contribution will be made towards becoming a sustainable university and it will serve as a model for other universities.