Assessment of energy conservation practices in Africa and Mary Stuart halls of residences at Makerere University

Abstract

The study was about assessment of energy conservation practices in Africa and Mary Stuart halls of residence at Makerere University. The study was guided by the following objectives; to identify energy sources used in halls for cooking, to compare costs of energy used in Africa and Mary Stuart halls and to evaluate the level of energy efficiency awareness and preparedness among the kitchen department staff of Mary Stuart and Africa halls. Data was collected through guide interviews using a questionnaire. The study findings indicated that firewood was the commonly used source of energy for cooking in Africa while charcoal was commonly used in Mary Stuart Hall of residence. Fire wood was the mostly used energy source for cooking in the two halls of residence because it was cheap and readily available. The study findings indicated that Mary Stuart Hall uses much money in gas refilling and buying Charcoal with the respective mean values of UGX 478900 and UGX 6000667 as compared to Africa Hall that spends a higher amount of money on firewood and charcoal with the respective mean values of UGX 835,452 and UGX 482,864. The study recommended that both Mary Stuart and Africa Halls of residence should consider use of briquettes instead of wood logs and charcoal, as they are cheaper.