Making Sense of Energy-Saving Behaviour: A Theoretical Framework on Strategies for Behaviour Change Intervention

The global construction industry is expected to experience an average growth of 3.6% annually in construction outputs throughout 2018 to 2022. The surge of new building developments will create substantial demand for energy and therefore run the risk of higher carbon emissions. With the rising concern over climate change, it is imperative for buildings to have energy-saving strategies in place. Many research has discussed the use of energy efficient technologies as a solution, but overlook the role of energy-saving behaviour during the post-occupancy stage. Occupants’ energy-saving behaviour is important in ensuring the optimisation of building technologies. A large part of human behaviour is characterised by habit, which is learned sequences of an act that have become automatic responses to specific ques and are functional in meeting certain needs. The study aims to establish the link between the behaviour of building occupants and their underlying habits. Adopting the Habit Theory as a premise, the study formulates a framework on strategies for behaviour change interventions that captures the underlying motivations to exhibiting energy-saving behaviour. The Effective Theory-Building design process was applied, which engages an axiomatic system to purposefully generate theory, evaluate its utility, and provide an effective representation of the observed phenomena. The theoretical framework addresses how energy-saving behaviour is cultivated through conditions of habits. This shows that the building occupant’s behaviour is important for enabling energy efficiency and that it can be construed and explained by repetitive habitual actions of energy-saving practices. To have the greatest effect on a building’s energy performance, building managers must examine the nuanced ways that habitual actions may shape the occupants’ energy-saving behaviour and consider intervention strategies for changing habits. The paper provides a deeper understanding of building occupants’ energy-saving behaviour from a sociotechnical perspective and creates a paradigm for future studies of building energy management

Raising Energy-Saving Awareness with the Home Energy Report

Household electricity consumption per capita has been steadily increasing every year. Current literature on energy has largely focussed on energy efficient technologies. There has been little attention on consumer awareness of home energy use. In an effort to create awareness, Malaysia launched the Home Energy Report in 2015. However, it is not known whether the Home Energy Report has helped improve residents’ energy-saving awareness. This paper seeks to examine users’ feedback on the use of the Home Energy Report for improving energy-saving awareness. Thirty residents in Penang who received the Home Energy Report were interviewed. The findings showed that while the Home Energy Report is received by all participants, only 30 percent of respondents accessed it regularly at least once a month, whereas the remaining 70 percent accessed it intermittently. The study revealed mixed findings where about half of the participants shared a positive complete experience with using the Home Energy Report and the other half had a somewhat rewarding or unrewarding experience. The study concluded that the lack of user orientation to the Home Energy Report and the poor efficiency of its design operability were the underlying problems impacting the users’ experience. As a result, poor experience with the Home Energy Report has hindered its effectiveness in creating energy-saving awareness. The findings reveal the limitations of the existing Home Energy Report in raising energy-saving awareness and promote a new area for future energy management research

From analogue to digital for high voltage impulse generator

An impulse generator is an electrical apparatus which produces short high-voltage or high-current surges. These devices can be classified into two types : (1) impulse voltage generators and (2) impulse current generators. High impulse voltages are used to test the strength of electric power equipment against lightning and switching surges. High impulse currents are needed not only for tests on equipment such as lightning arresters and fuses but also for many other technical applications such as lasers, thermonuclear fusion, and plasma devices. This study focuses on the automation system of the High Voltage (HV) Impulse Generator, currently owned by University Putra Malaysia. The HV impulse generator is currently available in analogue form controlled device whereby it requires a try and error process in order to achieve the high voltage discharge value desired by the users. To ease the users with the process, it is beneficial to make an improvement i.e. transforming the analogue to a digital form of the HV impulse generator. The outcome of this study would enable users to simply key in the desired value and allow the system to do the rest based on the developed program in this study. A controller is developed to enable the system to intelligently adjust the suitable gap distance to discharge the desired high voltage. The programming using C language has been developed in this study followed by a simulation process. With the use of the programming developed in this study, it was found that the factor which affects the value of the voltage is the gap distance. The test carried out has also proven that having larger gap distance allows higher high voltage discharge value i.e. the relationship is proportional between "gap distance" and "voltage discharge value". In conclusion this study has successfully converted the process from analogue to digital for the High Voltage (HV) Impulse Generator owned by UPM

Preliminary Study of Changes in Work Practices of Quantity Surveyors in Building Information Modelling (BIM) Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a game changer for the construction industry in transforming how design and construction is delivered. While its introduction aims to increase efficiency in construction, it is unclear what practical changes are affected in the individual work practices of construction players. Many studies have explored the changes in design related work practices, but limited studies have explored the practical changes for quantity surveying (QS) work practices when working in BIM projects.  This paper aims to examine the changes in QS work practices according to the RIBA plan of work.  The objectives of this paper include i) to identify the positive changes in QS work practices and, ii) to identify the negative changes in QS work practices.  Qualitative data were analyzed from the interviews of five Quantity Surveyors with BIM work experience. The analysis revealed that there are six positive changes and four negative changes in QS work practices when involved in BIM projects. The findings from this research can be used to understand the implications of BIM on QS work practices at a practical level and to elucidate the adjustments needed to cope with BIM-related changes

Preliminary Study of Changes in Work Practices of Quantity Surveyors in Building Information Modelling (BIM) Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a game changer for the construction industry in transforming how design and construction is delivered. While its introduction aims to increase efficiency in construction, it is unclear what practical changes are affected in the individual work practices of construction players. Many studies have explored the changes in design related work practices, but limited studies have explored the practical changes for quantity surveying (QS) work practices when working in BIM projects. This paper aims to examine the changes in QS work practices according to the RIBA plan of work. The objectives of this paper include i) to identify the positive changes in QS work practices and, ii) to identify the negative changes in QS work practices. Qualitative data were analyzed from the interviews of five Quantity Surveyors with BIM work experience. The analysis revealed that there are six positive changes and four negative changes in QS work practices when involved in BIM projects. The findings from this research can be used to understand the implications of BIM on QS work practices at a practical level and to elucidate the adjustments needed to cope with BIM-related changes

Identification Of Factors Influencing Costs In Green Projects

Cost has always been the leading concern in green building development. The perception that construction cost for green building is higher than conventional buildings has only made the discussion of green building cost more difficult. Understanding the factors that will influence the cost of greenconstruction is expected to shed light into what makes green construction more or at par with conventional projects, or perhaps, where cost can be optimised. This paper identifies the elements of cost before shifting the attention to the influencing factors. Findings from past studies uncovered various factors related to cost which are grouped into five focal themes i.e. awareness, knowledge, financial, technical, and government support. A conceptual framework is produced in a form of a flower diagram indicating the cost influencing factors of green building development. These factors were found to be both physical and non-physical aspects of a project. The framework provides ground for the next stage of research that is to further explore how these factors influence the project cost and decision making

Unlocking Construction Digital Future: assessing the affordance of remote working in construction

The advancement of digital technology within the construction industry has created greater flexibility that goes beyond simply working from home. As remote working becomes increasingly popular, it could potentially unlock the construction’s digital future with new ways of working and operating. However, the sector has been slow to adopt digitisation in its processes, making it difficult to assess whether this affordance may be well received and the current capabilities of digitisation to achieve this practically. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interest in remote working among construction professionals and to examine the factors affecting remote working. Data were collected from 125 construction professionals in a questionnaire survey. The findings show that there is a general appetite for remote working on a flexible basis where a mix of “on-site” and “off-site” arrangement was deemed practical. This could potentially unlock significant time and cost savings as well as productivity gains. The main factors affecting remote working were the availability of interconnected systems allowing efficient communication and digital infrastructure that enable automated processes. The findings may benefit organisations to evaluate the practical needs of ensuring effective remote working in the construction industry and unlocking efficiencies

Soft Element – Decision Reasoning Framework For Green Development Projects

Soft element (SE) relates to administrative aspects that are responsible for effective project mobilization. Although SEs are comparatively smaller in monetary percentage than hard elements, their role is critical to the management and control of project implementation and ensures the effective delivery of construction on site. As the nature of SE is elusive, relating elements of this nature directly to project decision is difficult. This research aims to develop a framework providing holistic representation of SE and explain how they affect project decisions. In developing this framework, the Resource Mobilization Theory and Rational Choice Theory are used as the underlying theories

Identification of Soft Cost Elements in Green Projects: Exploring Experts’ Experience

AbstractThe most commonly cited green building barrier is the high development costs of construction. Many developers share the common perception that green building construction incurs expensive additional costs. A preliminary study was conducted with four industry experts via semi-structured interviews to investigate the soft cost elements (SCEs) in the project. Eighteen SCEs were identified and categorized into three groups namely Professionals, Procedures, and Legal Requirements. Three of the SCEs were found to be unique to green building and contributed a financial concern. The study rendered that these SCEs may influence a developer's decision to invest in green building development