Work

Relatively few “dominant” zones drive energy savings in setpoint adjustment experiments: Implications for energy efficiency

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: In this work, we report on cooling setpoint adjustment experiments conducted in the Summer of 2022 in seven office buildings and three lab buildings on Stanford University’s campus, spanning ~88,000 m2 and ~1,600 zones in total. We find significant energy savings, up to 51% depending on the building, but driven by relatively few responding zones: 23% of zones across the testbed. We explain why few zones responded to setpoint changes, discussing connections to overcooling – an inefficiency endemic to US commercial buildings – and “zonal heterogeneity” – the idea that zones have innately different cooling needs. In light of observed zonal heterogeneity, we highlight some practical solutions to reduce consumption in high-demanding “dominant” zones and overcooling in low-demanding “dominated” zones. Our results suggest that solutions can be prioritized in relatively few zones to attain significant energy savings with a fraction of the time and cost.

Source: Energy and Buildings

DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116579

Authors: Joshua Neutel, Caitlin McMahon, Alexis Bonnafont, Tim Troxell, Sally M. Benson, Jacques de Chalendar

Institution: Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Building Energy and Comfort Optimization

Subfield: Building and Construction

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Affordable and clean energy, Climate action

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,260