JISC

The project will monitor and trend energy usage and occupancy levels in learning environments (computer labs) and server rooms, before developing an application to reduce overshoot of energy usage. Heating and cooling can then be implemented in accordance with usage, reducing the amount of energy consumption and carbon emitted overall. Currently, it is only once an environment has reached a threshold temperature (hot or cold) that the appropriate action is activated (cooling or heating), resulting in excess energy being consumed. Outcomes will feed into strategies for optimising building usage and will inform ongoing mobile application development, whereby students are informed of the closest available PC within a lab environment. Specifically the project will: 1) Establish benchmark energy consumption levels and room occupancy levels, before and after technical development; 2) Conduct interval metering of all appropriate system parameters to ensure adequate control / output monitoring; and 3) Develop a software application in line with requirements identified with a view to reducing overall energy consumption and maximising building usage, in line with occupancy requirements and user satisfaction.