Investigating Energy Cost Impact on Private Residential Buildings in the West Midlands Region of the UK

Abstract

AbstractWith the housing sector accounting for a huge share of the overall energy consumption rate globally, it is imperative to ascertain the energy efficiency of residential buildings and its cost implication on dwellers. This paper focuses on investigating the types of residential buildings available in the West Midlands region of United Kingdom, the level of comfort derived by dwellers from energy provisions on their buildings during different times of the year and the impact of energy cost on dwellers. The paper also explores factors influencing energy consumption patterns in residential buildings within the study area. The methodology adopted in this paper are secondary and primary data sources. The secondary data is based on updated literature from existing scholarly publications, while the primary data is based on semi-structured interview conducted with residents or dwellers of private residential buildings within the West Midlands region of United Kingdom. Qualitative analytical approach was used to synthesize the data obtained. Findings reveal that the energy efficiency or the sustainable rating of a building is a major determinant of a residential building energy consumption. Other findings are housing technical, socioeconomic status of dwellers, demography, dwellers preference and behaviour, climatic condition, and geographic factor. Further on, the outcome of the interviews reveals an upward increase in the cost of energy with its effect impacting residents negatively because of living wage in the presence of inflation and global economic meltdown.