*Article* **Benchmarking Energy Use at University of Almeria (Spain)**

#### **Mehdi Chihib 1, Esther Salmerón-Manzano 2 and Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro 1,\***


Received: 20 December 2019; Accepted: 5 February 2020; Published: 12 February 2020

**Abstract:** Several factors impact the energy use of university campus buildings. This study aims to benchmark the energy use in universities with Mediterranean climates. The University of Almeria campus was used as a case study, and different types of buildings were analyzed. The second goal was to model the electricity consumption and determinate which parameter correlate strongly with energy use. Macro-scale energy consumption data during a period of seven years were gathered alongside cross-sectional buildings information. Eight years of daily outdoor temperature data were recorded and stored for every half hour. This dataset was eventually used to calculate heating and cooling degree-days. The weather factor was recognized as the variable with the greatest impact on campus energy consumption, and as the coefficient indicated a strong correlation, a linear regression model was established to forecast future energy use. A threshold of 8 GWh has been estimated as the energy consumption limit to be achieved despite the growth of the university. Finally, it is based on the results to inform the recommendations for decision making in order to act effectively to optimize and achieve a return on investment.

**Keywords:** benchmark; campus energy consumption; heating and cooling degree-days; energy model; occupancy rate
