ADVANCED LOW-COST SMART POWER SAVING SYSTEM FOR BUBLIC BUILDINGS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

DEpt. electrical power and machines, Faculty of Engineering, Kafr Elshiekh University.

Abstract

This study reviews the problem of energy consumption reduction in public buildings in Egypt in the period 2005 up to 2016.The public buildings in Egypt consume around 30% of the total electrical energy. A considerable portion of consumed power is wasted unnecessarily by continuous operation of electrical loads such as fans and lights even without imperative need for these loads especially in public buildings(e.g. Auditoriums, Shopping malls and Theatres). The wasted amount of electrical energy necessitates searching for possible means to save operating cost. In this study, a proposed framework
based on a low cost smart controlled power saving system is implemented to control the usage of electrical energy. The idea is to use a low cost smart system to control the power input to the lighting and non-emergency equipment in governmental buildings during unworking hours started at 4 PM till 8 AM. The proposed power saving system is designed
with efficient controllers to regulate the on-off operation of electrical devices during the un-work shift from 4 PM to 8 AM "night guard work-shift". Two measures are carried out in this shift, which are the total accumulation times during OFF periods and the total accumulation times during ON periods of electrical equipment. The assessment of the proposed system is based on the savings ratios for certain energy consumption. The main advantages of proposed power saving system in comparison with the existing methods are the low cost of its implementation and the highest power consumption level achieved. The outcome of this study is to increase the energy saving from the minimum value, i.e.
about 125.84 GWh (0.08% of total consumed energy) to the largest possible value, i.e. 3523.52 GWh (2.268% of total consumed energy) which can save money between 90.6048 million pounds, as a minimum value, to about 2536.9 million pounds yearly.

Keywords