Energy and Climate Change (EC)

Universitas Medan Area has already used some smart building features such as building design which provides natural day lighting and good ventilations. The buildings have been equipped with sensors for energy efficiency, this action is also augmented by the use of LED bulbs and other electricity efficient appliances i.e energy saving air conditioners which are 70% more efficient compared to ordinary air conditioners.

Universitas Medan Area also keeps making efforts to save electricity use by installing digital timer switches in lecture buildings and administrative office. It functions as a controller of electronic devices such as lights, air conditioners, projectors, computers, fans, microphones, etc. based on the time of use according to campus operating hours starting at 08.00 – 16.00 that leads energy efficiency for all devices that require electrical power. Later, the campus smart building development program will be upgraded to the stage of automation of the use of electronic devices through IoT (Internet of Things).

In addition, the buildings are also completed with UV lights for outdoor lighting. The buildings at the Universitas Medan Area also possess water recovery system for flushing which is extended by the utilization of water efficient appliances. For safety reason the buildings are equipped with fire fighter system, CCTV, earthquake alarm and intruder alarm as well. Air quality and temperature are monitored and examined regularly to keep comfortable indoor environment. Academic activities at the Universitas Medan Area are not only conducted at the faculty, laboratory, rectorate and administrative buildings but also the student dormitory and At- Taqwa mosque. The dormitory has a meeting room which is usually used for some presentation and discussion class, while the mosque is used for Islamic class. The outdoor air quality is regularly assessed by environmental services department of Deli Serdang Regency, North Sumatera. Another smart building feature is the installation of motion detection sensors for automatic faucets on water efficient appliances.

UMA continues to develop a smart building implementation program, one of which is developing an earthquake monitoring device that will be implemented for every building in UMA considering that UMA has 9 multi-storey buildings. The device is designed based on IoT which consists of two devices, namely hardware as vibration monitoring and software as a visualization of the user interface for earthquake monitoring as the realization of UMA services for the safety and security of the academic community. This device is the result of an innovative program in the form of student and lecturer research.