A literature survey on measuring energy usage for miscellaneous electric loads in offices and commercial buildings

This paper presents the current state of the art regarding work performed related to the electric energy consumption for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Miscellaneous Electric Loads (MELs), in office and commercial buildings. Techniques used for measuring the energy consumption of office plug loads, and efforts for saving energy by using this equipment more rationally and efficiently are identified and categorized. Popular methods and techniques for energy metering are discussed, together with efforts to classify and benchmark office equipment. Our study reveals that many issues are still open in this domain, including more accurate, diverse and meaningful energy audits for longer time periods, taking into account device profiles, occupant behavior and environmental context. Finally, there is a need for a global consensus on benchmarking and performance metrics, as well as a need for a coordinated worldwide activity for gathering, sharing, analyzing, visualizing and exposing all the silos of information relating to plug loads in offices and commercial buildings.