Toward a resilient campus: Analysis of university buildings to evaluate fast implementing strategies to reduce the energy consumption

The present energy crisis together with the evolving climate have raised awareness on the need of improving the energy performance of existing buildings and their resilience. Actions implementable within a short time and without the need of large retrofit interventions should be prioritized. In this research, the effect of easy to implement control strategies promoted by the enrgy manager on the buildings of a university campus were investigated. The energy performance models of seven buildings composing the Ca´Foscari University Scientific Campus in Venice (Italy) were constructed using EnergyPlus energy modeling software and calibrated by means of monitoring data, with the scope of defining a baseline for the simulation of control strategies adjustments. Different actions applied to all the buildings were simulated and analysed: during the heating season the set point temperature was lowered first by 1 °C and then by 2 °C, whereas during the cooling period the upper temperature limit of 26 °C was raised at 27 °C and 28 °C. Such adjustments in the setpoints should couple with user adaptation, mainly for what concern clothing and the use of low-energy personal devices (e.g. small desk fans). Results show a positive trend in lowering energy consumption levels, and additional scenarios are tested in order to assess their benefits. Results of these analyses are meant to inform the energy management department of the university on the impact that such strategies may have on operational costs, and can be of inspiration for other universities seeking for fast and low-cost strategies to contain building consumptions without compromising thermal comfort.