Improving present-day energy savings among green building sector in Malaysia using benefit transfer approach: Cooling and lighting loads

Abstract

The Government of Malaysia has shifted from increasing energy supply to meet the demand, towards reducing energy consumption through the promotion of green building practices. The Eleventh Malaysian Plan has included three indicators in monitoring green building performance, including electricity consumption. Therefore, this study is motivated to monitor the progress of energy savings among green building sectors in Malaysia by reviewing the current energy saving performance and quantifying the economic prospect of future energy saving improvements. This study provides analytical suggestions to improve cooling and lighting loads of existing green buildings using a benefit transfer approach. Vegetated green envelope components are promising in providing the highest energy savings. Green residential buildings have the potential to improve annual cooling loads and lighting loads by 18%–25%, and 5% respectively. The improvements would save household electricity bills by approximately USD13 to USD171 annually. Green commercial buildings have the potential to improve annual cooling loads by 4%, leading to savings in annual electricity bills by around USD37. This study is significant in developing a benchmark for Malaysia's building sector in moving towards becoming a sustainable nation through creating insights for the formulation of future sustainability roadmaps and strategies on green building implementations and development. Henceforth, there is huge potential in maximizing energy savings for residential and industrial buildings in Malaysia, and it is highly recommended to implement vegetated green envelopes for green buildings in Malaysia.