Strategies for improving energy saving behaviour in commercial buildings in Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of energy saving behaviour between green and conventional office buildings in Malaysia to determine if people in green buildings perform better energy saving behaviour than people in conventional buildings. The paper specifically focused on use of technology, computer usage and potential energy savings from that use. The paper then examines what strategies are used to encourage energy saving behaviour for building occupants. Design/methodology/approach -Questionnaires were distributed to occupants in the buildings to evaluate the extent of energy saving behaviour practiced, and identify potential strategies to encourage energy saving behaviour. Findings -The findings show better energy saving behaviour practice in green buildings and the paper show why this is the case. The recommended strategies to encourage energy saving behaviour are discussed, and include means of raising education awareness on energy efficiency among the occupants. This can be done through distribution of guidelines, posters, pamphlets and e-mails. Occupants can also be given live updates on the energy usage of the building. Briefing on the objectives and goals of the organisation's commitment to energy efficiency can be given to newly employed staff. As seen in this paper, these multiple strategies have shown to be successful in encouraging energy saving behaviours. Originality/value -To date, energy saving behaviour has been given less focus in improving green building performance. There is limited research that compares energy saving behaviour between green and conventional commercial buildings in Malaysia. The findings provide a better understanding on occupants' behaviour in energy conservation and suggest strategies for future recommendation.

Green real estate development in China: State of art and prospect agenda—A review

“…On the other hand, the problems might arise from the occupants' behaviour in energy conservation in the LEED buildings. Possible solutions such as by means of raising education awareness (through distribution of guidelines, posters, pamphlets and e-mails) on energy efficiency among the occupants [155].…”

A preliminary study on the relevancy of sustainable building design to commercial property depreciation

“…Firstly, passive design strategy consists the use of green construction materials [5,30]; low emissivity (Low-E) glass [1,31] and, double glazing glass [31][32][33]; wall insulation from natural resources [4,32,34], low VOC paint or flooring [1,[4][5]; sustainable shape, orientation and envelope [35][36]; substantial use of day-lighting [37][38]; eco-void wall system, vertical pillars and external louvers [39]. In addition, for site and soil passive strategy, sustainable building has proper orientation to reduce solar penetration and glare [33,[40][41][42]; located near to mass transit, bicycle and pedestrian-friendly site [4-5, 19, 43]; consideration of seasonal and daily pattern of sun, wind-flow, shade pattern and water [4,32]; sited in sedimentary rock and low noise level site or using soundproofing materials for high noise level site [32].…”

“…Furthermore, the sustainable building uses drought resistance grasses and native plants [4][5]32]; specialised paving materials [5,37]; water retaining pavements [39]; green roofs [19,33,41,[44][45]and green walls [41,[46][47]. Sustainable building also maximises the use of daylighting and natural ventilation through Atrium or Atria [5,27,31,42]. Finally, sustainable building status such as green label and green ratings [19,[48][49][50] are also considered in the passive design strategy as it influenced the depreciation of property assets.…”

“…The Active design paradigm on the other hand, consists of Building Automation System (BAS) [33,[51][52]; Energy Management System (EMS) [37,39]; Individual control for HVAC [4], Intelligent building control for HVAC [32]; Energy efficient and properly designed air conditioning systems and chiller plant system [1, 4-5, 34, 36,51]; Variable Air Volume (VAV) system [31,36,[53][54]; Hybrid ventilation system [4,42];…”

“…Daylight-responsive control and motion sensors lighting [1,31,33,51]; Energy efficient tubes or LED light and high frequency or dimming ballasts [33,37,39,51,55].…”