Conference Papers

The increasing penetration and diversity of plug loads and their ubiquitous nature in work environments in India means that they are potentially significant consumers of electricity. End-use energy efficiency measures in buildings have largely ignored plug loads which might be attributed to a dearth of India-specific studies which

quantify plug-load energy consumption and their usage characteristics through end-use measurements. Field studies in 30 typical offices covering a total floor space of 8000 m2 and 1160 plug loads were carried out to find plug load consumption characteristics. The study shows plug loads as significant consumers of electricity and reveals wide gaps in design and actual on-site provision for these loads that need to be addressed. The study also quantifies the contribution of standby power from major plug loads found in offices.