Building Professional Practices Knowledge and Integration Levels of Energy Efficiency Design Features in Selected Office Buildings in Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which building professional practices in Abuja, Nigeria are knowledgeable and integrate 29 energy efficiency design features in selected office buildings in the study area, with a view to making contributions on how to enhance users' comfort and satisfaction within office environments. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 80 participants drawn from architectural and engineering design firms in the study area. The survey data were analysed by descriptive statistics, and the key finding is that the knowledge and integration levels of the energy efficiency design features in the selected office buildings by the sampled firms, are high. Appreciably, 71% of the respondents declared that they are aware of the energy efficiency design features in question, while only 29% of them acknowledged having little or no knowledge of any of the features investigated. On the level of integration of the features in office buildings, 64% of the firms stated that they have integrated some of the features, while 35% of them declared not to have integrated any of the features under investigation in this study. One of the recommendations of the study is that relevant professional bodies of the building industry should provide forums such as seminars and training workshops towards promoting the benefits of energy efficiency design features in communities, thereby fostering better understanding and wider deployment of the features by more building design and construction professional practices. This will ultimately help in reducing global warming and the adverse effects of buildings on the environment, both locally and globally in the long run.