Role of user behavior and maintenance practices in operational performance of green buildings

The definition of green building is related to the design strategy and use of technology in buildings to create efficient energy utilization and minimize negative impacts on both the environment and the health of its users. User behavior is a significant determinant because to achieve green building parameters in the technical aspects alone is hard and, in the long term, must be supported by user behavior patterns with a responsive understanding of energy efficiency goals. This paper aims to conduct an initial study that focuses on the socio-cultural aspects of green building users’ behavior in Bali. This paper does not discuss quantitative matters on the green building parameters. Instead, it focuses on formulating a basic knowledge about the influence of user behavior with Balinese socio-cultural characteristics to become a reference at the building management level for the specific green building’s success. The method used in this paper is a qualitative descriptive method with literature review approach. The socio-cultural factor that affected Bali’s user behavior was influenced by green building principles’ technical issues and pro-environmental action in general. The more specific element is culture, local wisdom, and the religious value that leads to environmental awareness. The perspective of Bali’s green building user can be defined as the user’s local socio-culture views, the principles of green building perspectives and organization and management level perspective..

Abstract: “Sustainable Architecture and Green Building: Tools for Eco-Friendly Design” offers a rigorous, research-driven exploration of how the built environment can contribute to global sustainability and climate goals. Integrating architectural theory, building physics, material science, digital technologies, and socio-political analysis, the book positions green building as a transformative practice rather than a stylistic trend. The chapters examine the evolution of sustainable architecture, environmental performance and building physics, life-cycle assessment and green materials, digital design and smart technologies, and the governance, economic, and social frameworks that enable eco-friendly design to scale. Drawing on international standards, cutting-edge research, and global case studies—from mass timber offices and mycelium-based housing to AI-assisted energy modelling and urban heat mapping—the book provides an analytically rich foundation for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. It emphasises not only energy and carbon metrics but also health, equity, resilience, and cultural context, arguing for an integrated, justice-oriented approach to the design and retrofit of buildings and cities. By combining theoretical depth with practical tools and applications, this volume aspires to guide the next generation of sustainable architecture towards regenerative, climate-positive futures. Keywords: Sustainable architecture, Green building, Life-cycle assessment, Embodied carbon, Smart green buildings, Circular construction, Climate resilience, Environmental performance, Digital design tools, Urban sustainability

The urbanized built environment is expanding rapidly in developing nations, and there is an urgent need to implement green building principles to make design and construction methods there more sustainable. Cities have seen an increase in built-up areas, and new construction projects that use the green building idea can undoubtedly lessen the environmental impact of buildings. However, the region surrounding urban settlements was likely occupied prior to the second millennium BC, and there is proof that people have lived there continuously from at least the sixth century B.C. Therefore, in addition to new construction, there is a significant chance that existing structures could have a negative environmental impact if their maintenance and operation practices are not examined. Government regulations pertaining to energy and water use as well as CO2 emissions will need to include mandatory limitations. The performance of existing buildings can be enhanced by a number of important sustainability improvements, in addition to energy and water efficiency, such as structural evaluation, resource use, disaster resilience, waste reduction through recycling programs, sustainable procurement and purchasing practices, and continuing operations and maintenance practices. Employee comfort and indoor environmental quality are two "intangible" benefits of green buildings that are difficult to measure but just as crucial to consider as the tangible ones. "Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)" includes things like views, air quality, natural lighting, thermal and physical comfort, and the ability to manage one's surroundings, all of which have beneficial psychological and physical benefits and help make residents happier and healthier.

In 2004, Taiwan has passed the ‘Property Management’ of the ‘Guidelines and Action Plans for Service Industry Development’, which is a software that is used for building hardware that can serve the needs of the community and living environment, and give the buildings’ users a clean, healthy, comfortable and convenient environment in which to live. It also takes into account the conservation of the natural environment surrounding the living space. In 1999, the ‘Green Building Label’ was implemented. In 2003, the ‘Intelligent Building Label’ was implemented. In 2009, ‘Intelligent Taiwan’ implemented with ‘I-Taiwan 12 Projects’ is based on ‘Intelligent’ and integrated with green buildings. The intelligent building of the communication system uses people-oriented, energy-saving and environmentally-friendly sustainable development, and achieves a ‘smart green building’ living environment. This case study is based on the improvement of old buildings in an established community. The study concluded that the ‘Intelligent Green Building’ strategy, combined with the ‘Green Building’ and ‘Intelligent Building’ technologies, implements the use and maintenance of buildings, creates a good quality overall living environment, and can extend the life cycle of a building and increase the use of its assets. For the elderly, providing ‘aging at home’ homecare accessibility and a safe environment creates a humanized living space. The specific thinking regarding the quality of the overall living environment relates to the improvement of typical property management and the value engineering of property management. This is an innovative model of property management and a new interpretation of property management. This research is called ‘green property management’.

The main purpose of Green Buildings (GBs) is to support environmental sustainability and improve occupants’ health and well-being. Many GBs fail to achieve their sustainability goals during the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase. The majority of existing studies focus on energy performance but there is limited research about the practical management of GBs especially in the Malaysian context. The study investigates these obstacles to enhance facility management effectiveness and sustainability of Green Office Buildings (GOBs). The main reason that GOBs are targeted is because they represent a key segment of commercial real estate with high operational demands, where the gap between design intentions and actual performance is often most visible. The research employed a qualitative method which included semi-structured interviews with eight professionals who work in GOB operations. The participants were chosen through purposive sampling because they managed certified green office buildings under different ownership models such as government, REITs and corporate sectors. The NVivo software was utilised to analyse interview data through thematic analysis. The research reveals multiple connected problems which affect building performance over time. The tropical climate of Malaysia combined with outdated green technologies results in rising energy consumption and maintenance expenses. The combination of specialized vendor dependency and limited in-house expertise and owner-tenant priority conflicts makes daily operations more complicated. The additional problems include high certification renewal expenses together with inadequate water conservation measures and decreased performance in buildings with low occupancy rates. The observed challenges demonstrate a major discrepancy between the intended certification standards and actual operational practices. The research provides essential knowledge about the real-world obstacles that facility managers encounter when maintaining green performance after certification. The research demonstrates the necessity for flexible management approaches together with technical capability development and better integration between green building regulations and operational field requirements.

Fast population growth and rapid development of our communities have exerted a huge impact on our natural environment. The design, fabrication, construction and operation of buildings in which we live and work are responsible for significant consumption of our natural resources. Taking the United States as an example, buildings account for 39% of total energy use, 68% of total electricity consumption, 30% of landfill waste, 38% of carbon dioxide emissions and 12% of total water consumption [1] and China is catching up. In order to alleviate the problem, smart green buildings development could well be considered as one of the viable choices. As its name suggests, smart green buildings combine ‘‘smart’’ and ‘‘green’’ concepts. Green buildings are about resources efficiency, lifecycle effects and building performance while keeping the lowest impact to the environment. Smart buildings, in which the core component is an integrated building technology system, are about construction and operational efficiencies, enhanced management and occupant functions. Therefore, the environment, economy and society can benefit from smart green buildings by enhancing and protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, improving air and water quality, reducing waste streams, conserving and restoring natural resources. Besides, smart green buildings can reduce operating costs, improve occupant productivity, enhance asset value and profits and optimize life-cycle economic performance. They can also enhance occupant health and comfort, improve indoor air quality, minimize strain on local utility infrastructure and improve overall quality of life. From another viewpoint, the minimum function of traditional buildings is to provide a shelter. Strength, durability, cost on selecting building materials, planning and construction are focused by civil engineering while aesthetics, comfort and attention to fulfilling psychological needs of the occupant are stressed by architecture. However, smart green buildings seek to conserve and utilize natural resources, emphasize eco-friendly construction and minimize carbon footprint on a global scale. The trend of the development is that smart green buildings should manage to cater more for the needs of humans, with increasing magnitude of personalization. People will be in control of the environment and be able to tune it to their needs. A lot of research activities are being carried out to make our buildings smarter and greener. Absorption, adsorption and various advanced thermodynamic cycles could be considered as renewed interest in thermally activated cooling and heating systems. Micro-channel systems could help improve heat and mass transfer, leading to reduction of fluid inventories, material utilization and environmental impact. Integrating micro-channel systems into smart green buildings could make those buildings more energy efficient. Apart from that, integrating novel heat transfer fluids (e.g. nanofluid) [2] as well as improved heat and mass transfer devices into heating and cooling systems can also further reduce the energy consumption and ecological footprint of some building systems. A trigeneration process is another option to increase the efficiency in thermal and electric generation. Recently, the tri-generation system has been used for power generation and also for air-conditioning systems. Comparing with the co-generation system, tri-generation refers to district energy which can achieve a higher efficiency with a smaller environmental impact. With a

Promoting employee participation in operation and maintenance of green office building by adopting the total productive maintenance (TPM) concept

Released green building evaluation standards for operation stage include a huge number of indicators, which are very comprehensive and systematic. However, the indicators of these standards are very complicated and a large amount of time and manpower are consumed for their evaluation. To evaluate the operational performance of green buildings more practically and efficiently, some studies collect the operational data for part of the indicators (mainly focusing on building energy performance, indoor environmental quality or occupant satisfaction), which are too rough to evaluate the performance of green building. This paper proposed a total of 27 key performance indicators (KPIs) for green building operations monitoring. The number of proposed indicators is much fewer than the evaluation standards, as well as suitable for long-term monitoring, which can dramatically reduce evaluation time and cost. On the other hand, the indicators involving Outdoor environmental quality, Indoor environmental quality, HVAC system, P&D system, Renewable energy system, Total resource consumption and User behavior, which are more comprehensive and systematic than the conventional monitoring studies for operational performance of green building. Firstly, an indicators library for operations monitoring of green building was established based on relevant standards and literature review in this field. Secondly, “SMART” principle and Delphi method were adopted to select the key performance indicators for green building operations monitoring. Different background experts regarding green building industry were chosen to screen the most relevant, accessible and measurable indicators. Subsequently, two projects in China were selected for case study of key performance indicators proposed in this paper for green building operations monitoring to validate the feasibility and advancement.

This paper reviews the integration of green building practices and smart technologies in developing countries, focusing on the challenges and opportunities these regions face. While developed nations have advanced significantly in sustainability through green building certifications and smart systems, developing countries encounter barriers such as financial constraints, limited technical expertise, and insufficient policy frameworks. This research employs a systematic literature review to examine case studies from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, exploring how these regions can adapt sustainable practices to their unique socio-economic and environmental conditions. The findings reveal that despite significant challenges, green building and smart technologies offer long-term benefits, including improved energy efficiency, reduced operational costs, and enhanced quality of life. Successful adaptations, such as using locally sourced materials and implementing low-cost smart systems, demonstrate the feasibility of sustainable development even in regions with limited resources. Case studies from Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya showcase promising examples where sustainable construction has been successfully integrated. This paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing an in-depth analysis of the factors enabling or hindering the adoption of green building and smart technologies in developing nations. The research concludes that stronger governmental support, enhanced technical training, and broader awareness campaigns are essential to overcoming these barriers. Key recommendations include implementing financial incentives for developers, scaling successful green building projects, and fostering public-private partnerships to promote innovation. Additionally, the study calls for policy reforms that align with international sustainability goals while considering local challenges. In conclusion, the integration of green building practices and smart technologies presents a viable solution for sustainable urbanization in developing countries, offering a path toward environmental and economic resilience.

This study examines the convergence between green technology and building construction in Korea using both input-output and network analysis from 1990 to 2015. The industry type of the input-output tables used in the Bank of Korea is reclassified into 20 categories. The analytical results are summarized as follows: First, the construction industry is expanding its production area by adopting green technologies (KRW 2245 billion → KRW 7842 billion). Second, the impact of green technologies on the growth rate of the construction industry is greater than that of traditional construction technologies (technical coefficient 0.5410 → 0.5831). Third, the results of the analysis show that smart green technology enhances efficiency in the construction industry (multiplier coefficient 2.3673 → 2.4972). Our input-output model reveals that the smart green technology coefficient input to construction is relatively small, but the output is bigger in effects. Also, the results of the input-output analysis show that both hardware and software smart technologies continuously increase energy demand. Finally, the network analysis demonstrates the rapid convergence of smart technologies in the construction industry (pathway 13 → 22). These results demonstrate that smart green technology leads to a high value-added output in the construction industry.

Research on sustainability evaluation of green building engineering based on artificial intelligence and energy consumption

Quality performance in construction is the degree of compliance with the specifications against which the work was executed. Green buildings extend the compliance to sustainability-related aspects to ensure that the energy and water consumption is conserved, promote a healthy indoor environmental quality and reducing the detrimental impacts of the construction activities on the environment. The operational stage reflects the construction workmanship and the effectiveness of the design solution to achieve the sustainability requirements through the overall building performance. Procedures for maintenance and overhauling extend the longevity of buildings. Green buildings exhibit underperformance caused by inadequate construction practices and a lack of understanding of the operations and maintenance practices. This research serves to tackle this problem through a comprehensive and forward-looking framework to depict construction- and operation-related quality activities through an integrated definition for the function modeling (IDEF0) process model. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group validate the framework’s suitability and its implementation offered revelations from industry practitioners on the factors affecting quality procedures from assigned metrics, liaison of staff from different project lifecycle stages, green building technologies, commissioning and retro-commissioning and impact of project delivery systems adopted especially in isolating operational liaison. The contributions of this work reinforce the impact of quality on the sustainability objectives that a green building is envisioned to serve, and through capturing the pre-, during, and post-construction lifecycle, the compliance and performance quality aspects are combined in a more integrated manner.

The hotel industry is beginning to implement green design and construction practices, saving energy, water, and resources and thus helping to preserve the environment. In addition, green building practices also can provide healthy and comfortable indoor environments to hotel occupants including guests and employees. However, there is the potential for conflict between green building practices and hotel guests' satisfaction and comfort, as the conservation of resources could detract from the quality of a guest's visitor experience. This study adopted a case study approach to identify and analyze green design and construction practices that create a green and luxurious environment without damaging the hotels' financial position. An in-depth literature review was conducted to identify green design and construction practices, design features of premium hotels, and major design conflicts between the twin goals of green building and a luxurious hotel environment. Two LEED platinum hotels (the Proximity Hotel and the Bardessono Hotel, both in the United States) were selected and data collected on their green design and construction practices, luxurious design features, and operation and maintenance practices from multiple sources, including the owner, designer, contractor, engineer, and LEED consultant. From the perspective of the entire lifecycle of the building, this data was analyzed to identify green design and construction practices that not only provide a green, luxurious environment but also enhance the hotels' financial strength.

This chapter deals with the selection and formulation of asset maintenance strategies for operations-intensive organizations. Many of the organizations’ choice of a maintenance strategy are selecting suitable maintenance tactics/methods such as corrective maintenance, preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, reliability-based maintenance, and Total Productive Maintenance. There is a need to view maintenance strategy selection in a holistic manner considering all the processes related to asset maintenance strategy and practices.The key elements of asset maintenance strategy selection are maintenance personnel experience, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommendations, maintenance policy guidelines, asset criticality and availability, and process severity and complexity. These are the major deciding elements in selecting a particular maintenance strategy for a specific equipment/process. The insights provided in this chapter are based on the knowledge captured from industry experts and professionals of operations-intensive organizations through semi-structured interviews.The Maintenance Decision Support System is beneficial in selecting a maintenance strategy for multiple equipment systems discussed in this chapter. The interlinking roles of asset maintenance contributing factors with asset maintenance strategy and the importance of alignment of maintenance strategy with business and operation strategies are also deliberated.The organizations must follow best asset maintenance practices while implementing the chosen maintenance strategy. The mission for best maintenance practices leads to contemporary asset maintenance management, which captures technical and operational datasets from the ecosystem and manufacturers’ data to effectively implement the selected maintenance strategy considering the condition of the asset/equipment and the system’s overall life cycle. A typical contemporary maintenance program attempts to optimize old-style maintenance practices and incorporate condition assessment of the asset, historical information, and other best practices. It is recommended to follow a nine-step process of the organization’s asset maintenance practices to implement the selected maintenance strategy effectively. This chapter also describes the applications of OR and MS concepts in spare parts management and maintenance decision-making.

In today's modern era, infrastructure development should take into account environmental considerations, such as the use of green materials and eco-labeling. This approach is vital for ensuring the long-term well-being of humanity and preventing further increases in global warming caused by construction practices that disregard safe and environmentally friendly materials. This study is focused on evaluating the selection of green materials in the PGSD Laboratory at Universitas Samudra. The assessment is based on the standards set by the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI) for Material Sources and Cycles. Data collection involved interviews with the technical team responsible for construction, on-site observations to assess material usage, and a review of various building documentation files. The interviews revealed that the PGSD Laboratory at Universitas Samudra was designed with a 'green campus' or 'green building' concept, emphasizing the use of environmentally friendly materials. Analysis of the materials used in both the structural and architectural aspects of the PGSD Laboratory found that it met 8 out of 10 green building requirements, achieving an overall percentage of 80% in accordance with the Material Sources and Cycle assessment for Greenship GBCI. The use of such materials has had a positive impact, contributing to energy conservation, the preservation of natural resources, environmental health, user comfort, and waste reduction.