Assessment of Energy–Saving Behaviours Among Occupants of Selected Office Buildings in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

Abstract

Universities office buildings in Nigeria have significant energy consumption rate due to its constant use of electrical appliances and equipment. The high cost of energy consumption in Nigerian tertiary institutions' buildings is also a concern, as it puts strain on the finances of the institutions. This is why this study assessed the energy-saving behaviour among occupants of selected office buildings in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The study assessed the awareness and knowledge of office occupants’ on building energy consumption; examined energy saving behaviour of occupants in these buildings; examined socio-demographic and situational factors affecting energy saving behaviour with a view to determining strategies for enhancing their energy saving habits. The study adopts a convenience sampling from 113 offices for selected buildings through self-administered questionnaires. The data obtained was analyzed using IBM SPSS package. The results shows that majority of occupants have a positive perception of energy saving concepts (MS=3.61, SD=1.84), have a good understanding of energy-saving behaviour but somewhat having lesser understanding of their impact in energy cost reduction (MS=3.51, SD=1.60), the results of examination of energy saving behaviour and wasteful energy habits of occupants suggest that there may be some relationships between roles, energy conservation behaviour. The results of socio-demographical and situational factor influencing energy saving behaviour show that office occupants believes that situational factor such as the layout of their office can impact on their energy saving behaviour (MS=3.53, SD=1.23), agree that level of income influence on their energy saving behaviour (MS=3.22, SD=1.36). The study recommended that office occupants in the institution should be educated on the importance of energy saving behaviour in reducing energy cost. Management should also formulate policies that will enhance energy saving practices among office occupants of building energy users.