CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview of the Project

As there has been an increase in the demand of energy consumption, the technique of
implementing energy efficiency is increase of demand. The idea of energy consumption
appeared in reaction with the need of reducing the demand of energy in various building sectors.
The aim of this project is to increase the energy efficiency in the existing and new buildings and
determine other energy efficient requirements according to the building codes. Problems which
are around the energy performance of the buildings may be due to the lack of unorganized
framework and incorrect building designs and thus involves the analysis of their energy methods
in this research. To initiate the discussion regarding the standards of efficiency, this study will
elaborate how energy efficiency would be improvised through the certification of efficiency or
labelling. The project furthermore also suggests the policies which could be implemented to
show enormous and feasible potential of saving energy in the new building. The research also
involves calculating the amount of energy consumption of houses by the survey as the
knowledge of energy saving methods and equipment could be introduced accordingly. One of the
key objectives of the report is also to make an estimate in the sense of technical and economical
saving potential with the help of incorporation in the process of decision making by the
consumers that would ensure that the target is achieved in a most cost-effective way. Finally, the
paper also provides valuable information of Oman that is trying to develop the strategy of energy
efficiency which offers a range of measures through detailed analysis. As the overall energy
goals for most organizations are set at the highest level, implementation of this project most
probably needs to be driven at the unit of business level. Buildings form an overall part of the
scope which embeds the energy efficient roles that contribute towards an attractive and instant
payback. Challenges incurred due to the varying diversification in stock and functioning of the
buildings would highlight the description for encountering and tackling these problems. This
report has focused on EEB (Energy Efficiency in Buildings) scenario that concentrates on the
energy used in buildings during their life tenure which also includes the amount of CO2 released
by local generated power. The overall information provides a step to step guideline and helps the
companies to develop an investment and strategy in the energy efficiency field which becomes
an open source for everyone’s use. In order to develop an energy efficient outcome, building
sectors will have to be transformed through a number of actions that includes creating energy
awareness worldwide. The outcome of energy saving options could be obtained by overcoming
the barriers of finance, behavior and knowledge among individuals, governments and businesses.
As per the data from scientists there are variations in climate which would affect our community
and environment, so one solution is to minimize use of energy in buildings to protect the
surrounding environment from human carbon emissions. Through the description of basic
concept of energy; building characteristics of the design processes are elaborated, theories
related to load and energy calculation are revealed including the problems associated with the
simulation of building energy is also discussed in this project during the process of
implementation.

1.2 Problem Definition

This project has an approach based on the research review that determines the experience of
consumer with every aspect of energy efficient buildings having focus on the indoor climate,
technical operation, attitude of user interface and primary satisfaction. There are different
concerns involved when investigating the energy efficient buildings thoroughly. Understanding
and availability of information on the use and operation is important for the overall positive
building experience (Graeme Smith, 2010). The societal environment, steps of moving into
energy efficient buildings and keeping in mind the impacts of the environment have a major
concern on the building evaluation. The consumption of energy in buildings could be minimized
by improval of efficiency (Vee and Lik, 2005). Much of the previous and older studies have
prescribed the capacity of the built environment to save energy (Ranabov, 1980) which has
motivated the efforts internationally. The negative impacts due to environment are widely
accredited and before 4 decades improvement has been made for emerging the ways to reduce
this (Ralph, 2006). In one of the research articles by ( Aron , 2014) Architectural solutions and
some other aesthetic aspects were required during the evaluation of energy efficient buildings. In
this project there is a complete research and outline involved which explains the understanding
and development in the energy efficiency field. Moreover as the research and development (R
&D) would enhance the performance and produce greater economic boost, there is presence of
many technological renovation programs in order to utilize the advancement of the building
envelope which shows a pathway for deep energies conservation through smart public policies
(Alaina, 2008). As per the statistics, buildings today account 40% of the energy use so there is
now an ultimate need of reducing the carbon foot print by 70% in order to steady the CO2 levels
in the existing and new buildings (Thomson, 2013). A clear and detailed analysis in this desk
study would show a pathway for achieving the target of vital reductions so that by 2050 these
overall reductions would equal the combined energy consumed in sectors of transportation and
industries.

1.3 Objectives of the Report

This project is collaborated in such a way in order to give an overview of energy efficiency in
buildings which involves certain aims that would help the policy makers and concerned
authorities to get the knowledge about the potential benefits and the available opportunities to
improve efficiency in buildings. The project also delivers a key background on the issues to be
tackled in the course of development of policy and framework for application.

The key objectives of the project are:

1. To present the conception and the positivity of energy efficiency in buildings.

2. To provide an overview of methodology; this would help determine the energy efficiency in
buildings.

3. To propose the various opportunities and steps required for minimizing energy consumption
in building without sacrificing the level of comfort.

4. To familiarize with different procedures for funding energy efficiency measures and
techniques in the building.

5. To give an analysis of legislation and political tools which have been effective in the
promotion of energy efficiency in buildings.

1.4 Project Scope