Examining the perception of tenants in sustainable office buildings

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address two major challenges faced by sustainable building owners: first, address the gap between an occupant’s expectations of sustainable building outcomes and what the building actually provides and second, overcome the lack of user knowledge about sustainability design and operation for a particular with regards to performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a focus group approach to investigate the gap between: user expectations and sustainable building performance. The study surveyed occupants of sustainable office buildings in Melbourne, Australia. Findings – There is no significant relationship between users’ expectations and users’ experience of sustainable building performance and users’ knowledge about sustainability and the building they were worked in. Research limitations/implications – The research was limited to sustainable office buildings. New office buildings seeking to incorporate sustainability which need to focus on the needs of tenants in order to maximise value. Practical implications – There is an urgent need to ensure sustainable office buildings meet the needs of present and future occupiers without compromising short and long-term occupier satisfaction levels with regards to sustainability and operation of the building. Social implications – Increasing the level of sustainability in office buildings has been a major trend over the past decade however the tenants need to be consulted in the post-occupancy phase. Originality/value – Little attention has been given in the property management literature to sustainable office buildings and value drivers. This is an original and innovative study, partly due to the recent developments in sustainable buildings

User satisfaction in sustainable office buildings : a preliminary study

Energy efficiency was first mandated for commercial buildings in 2006 in Part J of The Building Code of Australia (BCA) and regulators are already implementing increased measures in 2010 (ABCB 2010). Further increases will follow as part of the co-ordinated effort to reduce building related greenhouse gas emissions. The introduction of the Energy Efficiency Disclosure Bill 2010 will establish a national scheme to promote the disclosure of information about the energy efficiency of office buildings as well as further highlighting the need for efficiency. Increased energy efficiency in the form of insulation, energy efficient light fittings, sophisticated Building Management Systems (BMS), micro-generation such as solar and wind turbines all result in measurable quantifiable reductions in operating costs for owners and tenants. However convincing all building owners about the sound business case for adopting sustainability measures has not been fully realised. To-date the adoption of cutting edge sustainable buildings in Australia is restricted to a few industry leaders, such as Investa and ISPT in Victoria for example. Sustainable building owners and tenants often benefit from reduced operating costs during the building lifecycle although the &lsquo;intangible&rsquo; effect on businesses (e.g. employee productivity) is uncertain. This aspect has not been accurately quantified and has not been included as part of the measurement of sustainability in buildings.This study will allow property stakeholders, including government policy-makers and investors/developers, to better understand the optimal type and level of sustainability to be incorporated into the built environment. In addition this knowledge will enable policymakers to make more informed decisions with regards to the likely impact of the legislative measures they propose in respect of sustainability and buildings in The Building Code of Australia (BCA) and other relevant legislation.<br /

Form versus function : a study into interactive learning process affecting the implementation of sustainability in commercial buildings

Owners and tenants of sustainable buildings are now realising the sustainable building that they own or occupy and also how they use the building have a significant impact on their work practices. These stakeholders are demanding sustainability outcomes such as improved occupant health and performance, lower energy and material consumption use as well as encouraging healthy ecosystem in their sustainable building. Clearly the level of user knowledge about a sustainable building and its technologies makes a difference about the actual behaviour towards sustainable buildings (Knott 2007, Stenberg 2007) There remains two major challenge faced by sustainable building occupants: (i) addressing the gap between an occupant\u27s expectations of sustainable building outcomes and what the building actually provides and (ii) overcoming the lack of user knowledge about sustainability design and operation for a particular with regards to performance (Jailani et. al, 2011). This is an innovative study designed to address these challenges. It uses a focus group approach to investigate the gap between (a) user expectations and (b) sustainable building performance, with reference to the relationship between interactive learning process and the level of implementation of sustainability in commercial buildings. The outcome from the study will provide a post-occupancy evaluation of the perception of occupants in sustainable buildings. Most importantly, this information can then assist architects and designers in private and government organisations to successfully develop future sustainable design and policy which can fully capitalise on the original intention when delivering sustainable buildings, as well as providing an innovative feedback mechanism between occupiers and architects

Energy Consumption Pattern of Residential Buildings: Case Study of Residential Area in Batu Pahat, Johor

According to the National Energy Balance report released by the Energy Commission of Malaysia in 2016, the residential sector uses 21.6% of the total energy in Malaysia. Residents waste energy through inefficient energy consumption and a lack of awareness. Building occupants are considered the main factor that influences energy consumption in buildings, and to change energy consumption on an overall scale, it is crucial to change individual behaviour. Therefore, this study focused on analysing the energy consumption pattern and the behaviour of consumers towards energy consumption in their homes in the residential area of Batu Pahat, Johor. A self-administrated questionnaire approach was employed in this study. The findings of this study showed that the excessive use of air conditioners was a significant factor in the increasing electricity bills of homeowners as well as the inefficient use of electrical appliances. Also, this study determined the effect of awareness on consumer behaviour. This study recommends ways to help minimise energy consumption in the residential area

Stabilization of peat soil using fly ash, bottom ash and portland cement: soil improvement and coal ash waste reduction approach

Peat soil is very compressible, which leads to an excessive settlement. Stabilization of peat soil is the way to improve the engineering properties of peat soil through mixing peat with supplementary cementation materials. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the stabilization of peat soil using fly ash, bottom ash and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to improve the engineering properties of peat soil. Also to examine the possibility of fly ash and bottom ash waste reduction through using them as a binder of the mixture in soil improvement application. In this study, fly ash and bottom ash were collected from generation wastes at coalfired electric power and stabilization of peat soil was done by mixing peat soil with fly ash, bottom ash and OPC. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and Fourier transform scanning electron microscope (FESEM) was conducted before and after the stabilization of peat soil. Also, some essential physicochemical properties of a mixture have identified before the mixing process. The findings of the compressive strength of peat soil were equal to 5 kPa at its natural state and after stabilization strength of peat soil was equal to 47 kPa. FESEM micrographs have shown ultrastructure of peat stabilization appears as inherent and coherent while the ultrastructure of original peat appears as incoherent and sporadic. The findings have revealed the effectiveness of fly ash and bottom ash to improve the strength of peat and the applicability of the utilization of coal ash waste as binder materials

The Application of RFID System in Water Level Monitoring

In tropical country like Malaysia water tank is very common in every buildings and houses. Water from tank will be used when there is a problem with the direct water supply. It is so important where at some government buildings the water level in the tank is being inspected daily to ensure the water level is above the required threshold. However this task consumes time and energy as the tank is located at the top of the building that cannot be easily accessible. Therefore there is need to implement automatic system that can monitor the level of the water in the tank. If the level is decreasing below the required threshold, the intended personnel will be informed immediately via a smartphone for example. The decrease could indicate a failure in the mechanical system to pump the water into the tank. Results from the experiments show that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has the potential to be used in monitoring the tank water level although there is drawback such implementation cost due to hardware requirements

The application of RFID system in water level monitoring

In a tropical country like Malaysia water tank is very common in every buildings and houses. Water from the tank will be used when there is a problem with the direct water supply. It is so important where at some government buildings the water level in the tank is being inspected daily to ensure the water level is above the required threshold. However, this task consumes time and energy as the tank is located at the top of the building that cannot be easily accessible. Therefore, there is need to implement an automatic system that can monitor the level of the water in the tank. If the level is decreasing below the required threshold, the intended personnel will be informed immediately via a smartphone for example. The decrease could indicate a failure in the mechanical system to pump the water into the tank. Results from the experiments show that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has the potential to be used in monitoring the tank water level although there is drawback such implementation cost due to hardware requirements

An investigation into human barriers to the implementation of sustainability in commercial office buildings

This study investigated the gap between an occupant&rsquo;s expectations of sustainable building outcomes and what the building actually provides. It examined the role of occupant knowledge about sustainable building design and operation for a rated sustainable building and how this knowledge may affect the occupant&rsquo;s understanding and interaction with buildings and also their commitment towards an organisation

An integrated framework for sustainable and efficient building maintenance operations aligning with climate change, SDGs, and emerging technology

While existing literature offers various frameworks, they primarily focus on traditional building maintenance procedures and overlook the importance of integrating sustainability, climate change, environmental factors, and emerging technologies. To address this gap, this research has developed a comprehensive framework that caters to current needs, challenges, and future priorities. The integrated framework for building maintenance operations aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change mitigation and adaptation, the adoption of emerging technology, energy conservation, as well as safety, resilience, and effectiveness. The development of the framework encompassed four phases: pre-development phases 1 and 2, development phase 3, and validation phase 4. During this process, current issues and challenges were identified, impacts were assessed, and strategies were developed. The framework serves as a roadmap to address these challenges and requirements in future building maintenance operations, making significant contributions to all three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. In summary, this study offers a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the current issues, challenges, and potential improvements and benefits in building maintenance operations, providing a practical guide for industry stakeholders and making a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge.Validerad;2024;Nivå 1;2024-04-09 (marisr);Funder: Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia;Full text license: CC BY 4.0; </p