Modeling Creates Potential For 45% Early-Stage Energy Savings

Two Facilities Division departments, Energy Management and Design & Construction, are collaborating to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in building construction and renovations through energy modeling. Using building energy modeling tools allow for informed decisions that will achieve significant early-stage energy reduction on major campus projects. With sophisticated software, including SketchUp/Revit, OpenStudio, and EnergyPlus, Energy Management can predict and assess the energy performance of a proposed building prior to construction or configure existing buildings to optimize energy.

This intuitive approach presents an opportunity for a 45% average energy reduction potential as compared to a baseline building. It also provides potential energy performance information for utility planning and a continual approach for future energy modeling to optimize building performance as technology changes.

The benefits of early-stage energy modeling cannot be over-emphasized as the campus continues to grow. Energy Management welcomes ideas from the campus community about potential projects to reduce energy and emissions on campus. Learn more at go.ncsu.edu/EnergyManagement.