Energy-Aware WLAN Deployment for Operational Energy and Carbon Reduction in Multi-Story Public Buildings

The energy consumption of digital communication infrastructures is increasingly recognized as a component of operational building energy use. In multi-story public buildings, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are typically deployed under static, always-on configurations, leading to avoidable energy overhead caused by spatial interference and inefficient access point placement. This study proposes an energy-aware WLAN deployment framework that integrates user-weighted spatial placement with deterministic three-dimensional vertical interference coordination. The framework is evaluated using 50 independent Monte Carlo simulations on a representative three-story public building model. Results indicate a reduction in annual operational energy consumption from 1892.71 kWh to 1333.71 kWh (-29.5%), with a proportional decrease in carbon emissions, while maintaining a 97% coverage requirement. Furthermore, worst-case signal quality improves, with Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) P10 increasing from 17.66 dB to 25.53 dB and median network capacity rising by 30.6%. These findings suggest that interference-aware spatial coordination can function as an effective energy optimization layer within building-integrated digital infrastructures.