Empirical and modelled energy performance in Kuwaiti villas: Understanding the social and physical factors that influence energy use

Abstract

This paper investigates the physical and social determinants of energy use in four case study villas in Kuwait. The investigation consisted of a 12 month mixed-method longitudinal monitoring and surveying study followed by building energy modelling. Monitoring and surveying provided empirical data about household energy use, internal temperatures, building and system characteristics and occupant energy-use behaviours. This data was used to ground models to better predict energy use. Models grounded with empirical data show that space cooling accounts for 50% to 75% of total energy use in villas. Results suggest that drivers of cooling energy are varied, with 30% of cooling energy in some villas attributable to heat gains from appliances. Furthermore, while the study found no distinct reduction in measured and modelled annual energy use intensities of villas with improved levels of efficiency (insulation and double glazing), such measures did contribute to more uniform internal temperatures. The study also identified key occupant energy-consuming behaviours including a tendency not to adjust air conditioning (AC) thermostat settings during periods of summer travel and lack of regular AC maintenance. The approach and findings of the study can inform future studies in Kuwait seeking to understand energy use in a nationally representative sample.

Integrated Multi-Income Stream Performance Dashboard: a Japanese Corporate Banking Case

“…The diagram illustrates a data modeling workflow within a business intelligence environment. Initially, data is sourced from various banking systems represented by FUNDING, LOAN, Trade Finance, FOREX, an Outsystem, and an old existing MIS (Management Information System) Data Mart [25], [26]. This data undergoes a transformation and consolidation process.…”

Determinants of Long-Term Water and Energy Conservation Behavior: An Integrated Review

“…Even though the price elasticity of drinking water and energy usage is debated [35][36][37][38], the behavioral control that comes with household income is found to be significantly correlated with higher usage in the long term in several studies [39][40][41][42][43][44][45]. This might also be due to little efficiency behavior by occupying bigger dwellings [43,[45][46][47] and owning and using more energy-using devices [39,45,46,48]. Moreover, household size also contributes to higher water and energy usage [41,43,46,47,49].…”

“…This might also be due to little efficiency behavior by occupying bigger dwellings [43,[45][46][47] and owning and using more energy-using devices [39,45,46,48]. Moreover, household size also contributes to higher water and energy usage [41,43,46,47,49]. In addition to these factors, there are also more external factors that increase water and energy usage.…”

Development of Thermal Comfort-Based Controller and Potential Reduction of the Cooling Energy Consumption of a Residential Building in Kuwait

“…The objective of automatic control is to reduce energy consumption while maintaining the occupants' Residential homes in Kuwait use large amounts of energy for cooling because Kuwait has the hottest weather in the Arabian Peninsula with its tropical desert climate. Moreover, residents receive a subsidy on electricity rates, use air-conditioning throughout the year, with few variations in the temperature during the year [5].…”