Youth Perception on Climate Change and Sustainable Consumption

This paper reviews the awareness level of youth on climate change issues by exploring how youth views climate change and their reaction to it. The paper also explores the social dimensions of climate change and how to promote energy-saving behaviour. This paper adopted the PRISMA systematic review methodology in selecting research articles from two scientific web databases: Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). 38 research papers were examined in-depth and categorised into three themes, youth and sustainable consumption; the impact of social media on youth’s awareness; and the role of support systems such as parents, educational institutions, and peers. From this review, we summarised that the youth have a relatively elevated level of knowledge regarding the climate change crisis due to the vast and readily available information from the internet and the increasingly popular social media platforms. Our findings suggest that future research should focus on surrounding support systems that can enhance youth motivation in combating climate change. Furthermore, providing knowledge and information on climate change alone is no longer sufficient; instead, the youth want to be informed of the actions they can immediately partake in

Youth Perception on Climate Change and Sustainable Consumption

This paper reviews the awareness level of youth on climate change issues by exploring how youth views climate change and their reaction to it. The paper also explores the social dimensions of climate change and how to promote energy-saving behaviour. This paper adopted the PRISMA systematic review methodology in selecting research articles from two scientific web databases: Scopus and Web of Science (WoS). 38 research papers were examined in-depth and categorised into three themes, youth and sustainable consumption; the impact of social media on youth’s awareness; and the role of support systems such as parents, educational institutions, and peers. From this review, we summarised that the youth have a relatively elevated level of knowledge regarding the climate change crisis due to the vast and readily available information from the internet and the increasingly popular social media platforms. Our findings suggest that future research should focus on surrounding support systems that can enhance youth motivation in combating climate change. Furthermore, providing knowledge and information on climate change alone is no longer sufficient; instead, the youth want to be informed of the actions they can immediately partake in

The impact of vertical greenery system on building thermal performance in tropical climates

The thermal benefits of Vertical Greenery System (VGS) in providing thermal comfort, reducing internal building temperature, and lowering operational energy consumption are not widely known. There is a lack of research and technical knowledge on the effects of vertical greenery systems related to thermal performance, especially in tropical climates, such as that of Malaysia. Therefore, this paper addresses this gap by investigating the effect of VGS on heat transfer and the thermal performance of hypothetical buildings. In this paper, a data prediction method is used to identify the overall thermal transfer value (OTTV) from several hypothetical case studies. A variety of combinations of variables have been used to identify the best design with the lowest OTTV reduction through VGS. From the calculation, Linear Greenery System achieved the highest OTTV reduction with an average of 6.87%, followed by Modular Green Wall (6.82%), Double-skin Green Facades (2.97%), and Direct Green Facades (1.32%). Therefore, this paper can conclude that Linear Green Wall is the best greenery system for reducing heat transfer for the tropical climate of Malaysia

Environmental assessment schemes for non-domestic building refurbishment in the Malaysian context

The increase in global warming, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions has gained attention in various regions. In Malaysia, the government announced a voluntary commitment to reduce 40% of CO 2 emissions by 2020 and to refurbish 100 government buildings. Existing buildings make a large contribution to energy consumption and CO 2 emissions, therefore refurbishing existing buildings is an essential strategy to achieve the commitment. There is no single assessment scheme for building refurbishment in Malaysia and hence, this study aims to develop a comprehensive list of assessment themes and sub-themes for building refurbishment purposes. It examines and compares 10 assessment schemes from various countries: BREEAM, LEED, CASBEE, BEAM Plus, GBLS, Green Star, HQE, Green Mark, GBI and MyCrest. The findings revealed fourteen themes that were considered for assessment: management, sustainable site, transport, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), water, waste, material, energy, pollution, innovation, economic, social, culture and quality of services. Energy and IEQ are dominant themes in all assessment schemes. Most of the schemes are considered relatively weak in evaluating economic and social aspects, in comparison to environmental aspects. The assessment of quality of services is overlooked in most of the schemes, including GBI and MyCrest in Malaysia. Outcomes from this paper will form the baseline for a new environmental assessment scheme that aimed at non-domestic building refurbishments in Malaysia. A new model is proposed for the development of an environmental assessment scheme in the further stage

Efficacy of Energy Conservation Measures and Building Energy Intensity of a Multi-Building Complex in Malaysia

As Malaysia continues to develop at a fast pace, the number of buildings in this country rapidly increases. Commercial buildings which include office buildings are one of the three major energy consuming sectors, which includes industrial and transportation sectors. Most Malaysian government office buildings tend to consume energy inefficiently due to lack of energy optimization. This study aims to analyse the energy performance as well as the factors that influence energy consumption in government office buildings. The chosen buildings for this case study are six government office buildings located in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. In this study, literature review has been conducted on the common factors affecting energy consumption in office buildings. The energy consumption data of the buildings were collected and analysed by comparison among the buildings and the SketchUp software. The Building Energy Intensity (BEI) of each building was also calculated using the formula in MS 1525:2019. Literature review and results from the case study show that air-conditioning system is the major energy consumer in office buildings, followed by lighting system while other office equipment consumed the least energy. The findings also highlight that energy consumption in office buildings is affected by non-design factors such as building occupants’ behaviour, number of building occupants, outdoor temperature as well as passive design factors such as building orientation and window-to-wall ratio. Recommendations were derived based on the findings from literature review and the case study for best practices to optimize energy consumption in government office buildings in Malaysia

Investigating the indoor environment quality parameters on occupants’ satisfaction and well-being: a review

Occupants’ comfort is a critical area of research which has a lot of aspects; however, when it comes to building the indoor environment quality is a highlighted fact with a strong influence on occupants’ comfort and well-being. In this regard, this study tried to go through the science world and document the parameters of the indoor environment quality which has a massive effect on occupants’ comfort and well-being. Following parameters have shaped the body of knowledge for this study as a thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting quality, acoustic quality. The importance of these parameters is not only because of their critical influence but they have a complex relationship with each other as well as their relationship with energy saving and their effect on occupants’ productivity. According to the finding of post occupancy researchers, the designers and any one whose has a role in building construction should consider the effect of IEQ on occupants’ comfort at the very first stage of the design while it should be considered in the life cycle of the building as well to provide satisfaction for occupants. Therefore, this paper has brought the effort to investigate how the IEQ parameters affect occupants and document the information for those who want to understand IEQ relationship with occupants’ comfort, well-being and health

The environmental study on ageing in place: the design practice compliance to accessibility legislation and standards in Malaysia for elderly home environment

Malaysia has been actively providing accessibility in the environmental built since the country signed the ‘Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of People with Disabilities in the Asia-Pacific Region’ in 1994. The aim of this research is to evaluate design practice compliances to accessibility legislation and design requirements in Malaysia. With regards of the increasing disability rates with age, ageing population have a significant impact on the needs of housing to be designed for future. The government regulation concerning housing design for ageing and disabled set to ensure a degree of access to their home. The role and relevance of the legislation and design requirements addressing the issue is to be practiced in the housing projects in Malaysia. On the strength of the legislations and design requirements, the analysis examines how Malaysia are practicing design solutions for housing accessibility, which encourages ageing in place. The results further reveal that such requirements was not used in the design practice and construction of housing projects in Malaysia. The outcomes are discussed considering the design requirements and concepts which can partly clarify competent design for the ageing population

Measuring electricity-related GHG emissions and the affordability of electricity in Malaysian low-cost housing: A case study of low-cost housing projects in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia is yet to establish any mandatory energy efficiency or energy performance building code. In the absence of such legislation, the Malaysian residential sector is likely locking-in inefficiency for decades into the future. This research focuses on the public low-cost housing typology (PPR), as the least environmentally researched typology, and has high potential for policy improvements as it is nationally administrated and is a required provision for all new housing developments. A project-specific baseline was developed for the first time in Malaysia using the UNEP-SCIs Common Carbon Metric (CCM). The CCM tool provides an internationally comparable baseline that is consistent with the measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) framework for GHG emisssions reporting, therefore was adopted for this research. A case study was conducted to investigate energy performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from building operation of two PPR in Kuala Lumpur. The CCM converted utilized electricity bills collected from the National Energy Provider Company (Tenaga Nasional Berhad) and presented GHG emissions of the sample (383 units) using a bottom-up approach, and the PPR building stock in Kuala Lumpur (27,102 units) using a top-down approach. Findings suggest that the average households electricity consumption was relatively higher than benchmarks set by World Energy Council and the International Energy Agency. The importance of this research lies in generating a measured baseline of electricity consumption and GHG emissions of low-cost urban housing in Malaysia. This research also provided an indicative report on the affordability of electricity for low-income households, as Malaysian low-cost housing is defined solely on sale price and/or monthly rental. Affordability of electricity is important due to issues such as energy poverty, access to energy and the rebound effect. Therefore, investigating percentage of monthly household income spent on electricity and other utilities helps measure operational and long term affordability of PPRs. A survey questionnaire was conducted in two PPR to investigate operational costs of rent, electricity and water, and to measure end-use electricity consumption patterns in terms of average operating time of electrical appliances. Examining end-use electricity consumption patterns was helpful in identifying the typologys energy profile and determining its energy savings potential. The research findings determined which characteristics of the building design can be improved based on electricity consumption data for thermal comfort, lighting and appliances. This research presents for the first time building energy performance data for this typology that is consistent with measurable, reportable and verifiable requirements. Its focus on a developing country experiencing rapid urbanisation gives broader relevance to both research design and methodology, and recommendations for policy makers in Malaysia and South East Asia

Vertical Greenery System in urban tropical climate and its carbon sequestration potential: A review

This article presents a comprehensive literature review of Vertical Greenery System (VGS) in tropical areas, its benefits, its carbon sequestration potential and its calculation methodologies, and its potential for urban heat island (UHI) and climate change mitigation. The contemporary VGS has evolved from the seventh-century beginnings of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the vertical urban farms of today in Singapore and Japan. The VGS has demonstrated a significant role in mitigating urban climate change impacts by the potential use of carbon sequestration from vegetation. However, studies on carbon sequestration rate and the methodologies used for calculation are still rather vague. Therefore, this paper reviews existing methodologies for evaluating carbon sequestration rates in tropical climate plants and makes suggestions of potential plants for optimum carbon sequestering

A Field Study on Thermal Comfort and Cooling Load Demand Optimization in a Tropical Climate

Energy consumption to cool an indoor environment is a substantial part of total energy end-use, particularly in a tropical climate with high energy demand for cooling. To improve energy efficiency, cooling systems can be optimized using a variety of neutral indoor temperatures to maintain a balance between an occupant’s thermal comfort and cooling energy demand. This explanatory study investigated the thermal quality and cooling energy demand of a Platinum-certified office building in the tropical climate of Malaysia. The investigation aimed to suggest a balance between occupant thermal comfort and cooling energy demand. The thermal investigation includes an objective field measurement that implements environmental equipment to monitor thermal quality and a subjective occupant’s thermal feedback using a questionnaire survey. To calculate cooling energy demand, the total equivalent temperature difference method (TETD) is applied. The results suggested an occupant’s cooling sensation of around 24 °C, with no significant difference concerning age and gender. Cooling load calculation indicated a 36% energy reduction by increasing air temperature to 26 °C, for occupants to feel thermally comfortable in a tropical climate. These findings contribute to improving sustainable energy policies, sustainable construction, and thermal comfort improvement for a tropical climate.Building Service