Energy consumption of building 39

Abstract

The MIT community has embarked on an initiative to the reduce energy consumption and in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. This thesis seeks to further expand our understanding of how the MIT campus consumes energy and with that knowledge be able to recommend methods of reducing energy consumption by minimizing and even eliminating careless energy use. The largest energy consuming building per square foot, Building 39, was selected and analyzed in detail. This thesis proves the unnecessarily high airflows and irresponsible fan use are the source of Building 39's wasteful consumption of energy. Research revealed that the recirculating fans drew the most energy and were continuously running on full power. If the fans were turned down during off peak times the consumption of electricity could be decreased by as much as approximately 26% and save the Institute $250,000 a year in electrical costs.