A Rational Plan of Energy Performance Contracting in an Educational Building: A Case Study

Abstract

Energy performance contracting (EPC) is the best solution for an educational building to implement energy conservation measures (ECMs) because of its high capital expenditure and operational expenditure needed for retrofit and maintenance. It is also considered a win–win mechanism for organising building energy efficiency retrofit projects. It aims to assist educational buildings in acquiring new high-efficiency equipment and maximising energy use reduction, as guaranteed by energy service company (ESCO). This study developed an EPC model using regression analysis, in which the inputs are based on the data collected during the preliminary energy audit in University A. As a result, with a quantum sharing ratio of 0.95/0.5 for ESCO/University A, the forecasted energy savings from the proposed ECMs, chiller optimisation and replacement, lighting retrofit, and energy management system are estimated to save 25.6% energy use, which reduces 5,672,057 kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity consumption; saves RM 2,762,291.76/year; carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation equal to 3,771,061.22 kgCO2/year; return of investment of 4.2 years with a 5% interest rate; and building energy intensity of 93.55 kWh/m2/year. A sensitivity analysis of various quantum sharing ratios found that the saving value of ESCO is inversely proportional to that of University A as the client when the quantum sharing ratio for the former is increasing.