Relationship between Cooling Methods and Energy Consumption for the Development of Low-Carbon Collective Housing in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesian urban population increase has led to increased energy demands and housing inventory shortages. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) supplies collective housing for low-income communities (MBR). The development of low-carbon collective housing has been thought to suppress the abrupt increase in household-sector energy demand and lead to mitigated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In tropical climates, it is essential to reduce the dependence on air conditioners (AC) to suppress energy consumption. Therefore, to investigate the relationship between cooling methods and energy consumption, this study surveyed the energy consumption per household and classified the existing cooling patterns of ACs, fans, and window openings in collective housing with different income groups in Indonesia. The results confirmed that the use of AC increases household energy consumption. Meanwhile, the implementation of natural ventilation (NV) showed significantly lower energy consumption with a high thermal satisfaction of more than 80% during the day and 90% at night; thus, both energy consumption reduction and indoor thermal comfort improvement could be achieved through these methods. The findings of this study serve as a starting point for verifying the energy saving effects of air conditioning habits with the consideration of socio-demographic changes for the purpose of decarbonizing collective housing, including future predictions and energy simulations.