Preferred Communication Channels to Foster Energy Conservation Behaviour among Public Office Building Users: A Study in Kota Iskandar

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yee Ying Lee ◽  
Weng Wai Choong ◽  
Abdul Hakim Mohammed ◽  
Fatin Aliah Phang Abdullah

Energy is an important source for a nation to achieve development and urbanisation. In Malaysia, the need for energy efficiency was explicitly addressed in the Ninth and Tenth Malaysia Plans. The Malaysian government has directed all government office buildings to reduce their energy usage by 10%. However, the lack of awareness and inappropriate behaviour among building users are barriers. It is believed that the successful use of appropriate communication channels can improve commitment and behaviour among building users to conserve energy. Hence, this research examines which communication channels are preferred by government office users to foster energy conservation behaviour. This research focuses on government staff working in public office building at Kota Iskandar, which is located in a new developing township of Nusajaya, one of the largest property development projects in Southeast Asia. The town is newly constructed and therefore wastage due to obsolescence factors can be minimised. Questionnaires were distributed to the staff at the State Government Department Complexes. This survey indicated that respondents highly appreciate visual communication when receiving information, while posters emerged as the most effective and preferable information-delivering channel for respondents.

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (13/14) ◽  
pp. 1066-1081
Author(s):  
Low Sheau-Ting ◽  
Mastura Mohd Basri Baharan ◽  
Choong Weng-Wai ◽  
Wee Siaw-Chui

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the preferred communication channels to foster energy conservation behaviour among office building users. Energy demand from the commercial sector in Malaysia is, at 33.2 per cent, the highest after the industry sector, at 45.1 per cent. The country’s progress in actively practising energy conservation is lacking, despite various energy conservation programmes having been launched in recent years. A large amount of energy is wasted by users’ poor energy conservation behaviour. To market voluntary energy conservation behaviour, the delivery of energy conservation messages using the appropriate communication channels remains an important strategy. Design/methodology/approach This paper involves two-stage data collection. The communication categories associated with a set of channels identified from expert interview serve as the basis for the second stage of empirical data gathering using conjoint analysis. A choice-based conjoint analysis assisted by Sawtooth Software is used to analyse the 525 usable empirical data gathered from a final questionnaire survey among the office building users in Malaysia. Findings This paper has identified five communication categories associated with a total of 19 channels. The mass media is acknowledged as the most preferred communication channel among office building users in the marketing of energy conservation behaviour, while the least preferred channel to communicate energy conservation information is audio-visual media. Originality/value This study contributes to existing literature with a novel case in Malaysia office building by identifying the preferred combination of communication channels in fostering energy conservation behaviour. The findings could benefit the building managers in marketing energy conservation behaviour among office building users to effectively achieve the desired change for sustainable development.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1849
Author(s):  
Alexandre F. Santos ◽  
Pedro D. Gaspar ◽  
Heraldo J. L. de Souza

This article considers the ideal storage conditions for multiple vaccine brands, such as Pfizer, Moderna, CoronaVac, Oxford–AstraZeneca, Janssen COVID-19 and Sputnik V. Refrigerant fluid options for each storage condition, thermal load to cool each type of vaccine and environmental impacts of refrigerants are compared. An energy simulation using the EUED (energy usage effectiveness design) index was developed. The Oxford–AstraZeneca, Janssen COVID-19 and CoronaVac vaccines show 9.34-times higher energy efficiency than Pfizer. In addition, a TEWI (total equivalent warming impact) simulation was developed that prioritizes direct environmental impacts and indirect in refrigeration. From this analysis, it is concluded that the cold storage of Oxford–AstraZeneca, Janssen COVID-19 and CoronaVac vaccines in Brazil generates 35-times less environmental impact than the Pfizer vaccine.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4209
Author(s):  
Rita Remeikienė ◽  
Ligita Gasparėnienė ◽  
Aleksandra Fedajev ◽  
Marek Szarucki ◽  
Marija Đekić ◽  
...  

The main goal of setting energy efficiency priorities is to find ways to reduce energy consumption without harming consumers and the environment. The renovation of buildings can be considered one of the main aspects of energy efficiency in the European Union (EU). In the EU, only 5% of the renovation projects have been able to yield energy-saving at the deep renovation level. No other study has thus far ranked the EU member states according to achieved results in terms of increased usage in renewable sources, a decrease in energy usage and import, and reduction in harmful gas emissions due to energy usage. The main purpose of this article is to perform a comparative analysis of EU economies according to selected indicators related to the usage of renewable resources, energy efficiency, and emissions of harmful gasses as a result of energy usage. The methodological contribution of our study is related to developing a complex and robust research method for investment efficiency assessment allowing the study of three groups of indicators related to the usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and ecological aspects of energy. It was based on the PROMETHEE II method and allows testing it in other time periods, as well as modifying it for research purposes. The EU member states were categorized by such criteria as energy from renewables and biofuels, final energy consumption from renewables and biofuels, gross electricity generation from renewables and biofuels and import dependency, and usage of renewables and biofuels for heating and cooling. The results of energy per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions per million inhabitants (ECO2), energy per capita, the share of CO2 emissions from public electricity, and heat production from total CO2 emissions revealed that Latvia, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, and Finland are the nine most advanced countries in the area under consideration. In the group of the most advanced countries, energy consumption from renewables and biofuels is higher than the EU average.


2013 ◽  
Vol 415 ◽  
pp. 734-740
Author(s):  
Yun Long Ma ◽  
Xiao Hua Chen ◽  
Bo Liu ◽  
Guo Feng Zhang

This paper analyzes the characteristics and composition of the energy consumption system of the building from the perspective of systematic energy conservation and presents the systematic framework of the consumption model. Based on the framework, the paper focuses on how to establish a building energy consumption assessment system, find the energy efficiency index system and assessment approaches, and apply the results directly into building energy conservation and emission reduction. It not only facilitates greatly the overall and efficient management of the energy consumption system of the building, but also serves as another new approach to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction.


2012 ◽  
Vol 575 ◽  
pp. 122-125
Author(s):  
Juan Wang

Inner Mongolia mostly belongs to the rural residence building, no any relevant construction standard and building energy efficiency standards. Most of the farmers in build houses without considering building energy problems. This article through to a rural residential energy conservation calculation and analysis, and obtain the energy-saving index.


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