Rescheduling Air Handling Units to Match Occupancy Patterns
- Location
- Riyadh
- Period
- 2026
- Status
- In progress
- Role
- Leading the operational study, schedule design, and verification
Overview
Operational studies to redesign air handling unit schedules based on classroom occupancy patterns, aiming to cut unnecessary runtime hours while maintaining indoor environmental quality.
Legacy operating schedules are typically built around official working hours rather than the actual occupancy of the spaces. The gap between the two represents full operating hours with no beneficiary — waste that can be addressed through scheduling without any modification to the equipment.
Scheduling is the least costly energy-efficiency measure and the most prone to erosion. The value lies not in designing the schedule, but in locking it in and preventing it from reverting to what it was.
Responsibility
My role
- Leading the operational study and analyzing actual occupancy patterns.
- Designing an independent operating schedule for each zone instead of a unified schedule.
- Defining pre-conditioning periods that preserve comfort at the start of occupancy.
- Verifying air quality and comfort indicators after implementation.
Handling
Challenges & actions
Each challenge is linked directly to the action taken and its operational impact.
Challenge
A unified operating schedule that does not reflect the varying occupancy across facilities and classrooms.
Action
Building an independent schedule for each zone based on its actual occupancy pattern.
Impact
Reduced runtime hours in low-occupancy spaces.
Challenge
Events outside working hours that require exceptional operation.
Action
Adding a time-limited exceptional-operation mechanism that automatically reverts to the base schedule.
Impact
Accommodating exceptional demand without reverting to continuous operation.
Challenge
Manual adjustments that gradually erode the effect of scheduling.
Action
Locking the schedules within the control system and restricting edit privileges.
Impact
Stable settings after approval.
Summary
Lessons learned
01
Scheduling is the cheapest energy-efficiency measure: no equipment and no contractor, just tuning within an existing system.
02
Any measure not locked into the system erodes within months through manual adjustments.
