Application of sustainable building design to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings
Abstract
Energy is essential for all human actions. However, the link between the rising energy demand
and consumption coupled with greenhouse gas emission and global warming has attracted
increasingly significant attention worldwide. This study aims to investigate the applicability of
Sustainable Building Design (SBD) that improve energy efficiency in residential buildings in
Uganda. The study aims to explore the SBD that promote energy efficiency, determine the
extent of use of the SBD. In addition, the study will highlight the drivers and barriers to
implementation of SDB in residential buildings from the designer’s perspective. The study
followed a quantitative research approach where a survey was conducted to gather the data
with the use of questionnaire as the research data collection tool. The research discovered that
the SBD practices are occasionally incorporated into the building design with the passive
design strategies being the most applied compared to use of natural energies and use of energy
efficient appliances and use of alternative energy sources like solar energy. Limited awareness
among the local masses was the greatest barrier to use of SBD in the UCI whereas the most
influencing driver that has promoted the use of SBD was discovered as environmental
stewardship. Lastly, the most effective way of promoting and increasing the use of SBD in
residential building designs so as to achieve energy efficiency is proposed as sensitization of
the local masses about the benefits of using energy efficient designs while emphasizing benefits
that are directly beneficial to the energy users such as reduced energy bills.