Energy Savings in University Buildings: The Potential Role of Smart Monitoring and IoT Technologies

Alessandro Franco (), Emanuele Crisostomi, Francesco Leccese, Antonio Mugnani and Stefano Suin
Additional contact information
Alessandro Franco: Department of Energy Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Emanuele Crisostomi: Department of Energy Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Francesco Leccese: Department of Energy Systems, Territory and Construction Engineering (DESTEC), University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Antonio Mugnani: Green Data Center, University of Pisa, San Piero a Grado, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Stefano Suin: Green Data Center, University of Pisa, San Piero a Grado, 56122 Pisa, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-26

Abstract: Environmental monitoring systems integrated with IoT networks have rapidly evolved, enabling the collection of vast amounts of data accessible to facility managers and authorized users via smartphone apps. This paper presents a system developed to monitor environmental parameters across multiple buildings at the University of Pisa, with a focus on its potential for improving energy efficiency. Efficient energy management has become increasingly important, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, which introduced legal requirements for mechanical ventilation. These measures have significantly increased energy consumption during both winter and summer seasons. Our system, built using low-cost components and a secure IoT network, demonstrates how CO 2 monitoring and smart controls can reduce energy waste in buildings. In a case study conducted on selected buildings, the system achieved up to 34% energy savings. The paper highlights both the benefits and the limitations of current technology in this context, emphasizing the role of IoT in enhancing sustainability while ensuring safety and security within academic institutions.

Keywords: efficiency; environmental monitoring; energy management; CO 2 monitoring; Internet of Things (IoT); cybersecurity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/1/111/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/1/111/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2024:i:1:p:111-:d:1554388

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().