Potential of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Measures in Residential Buildings in Ghana (Case Study of Student Hostel)

Over the years, global warming has become a major concern on both national and international fronts, leading to various efforts being directed towards addressing this challenge. One approach to combating this issue is the implementation of energy efficiency and conservation measures, which are both easy and cost-effective. By adopting this approach, the combustion of carbon compounds at power generation stations will be greatly reduced, consequently mitigating the emission of greenhouse gases. These gases are the primary drivers of global warming. Energy efficiency and conservation measures are being explored to achieve sustainability, economic growth, development, climate protection, and resource protection, including through proper energy management systems. Buildings are responsible for approximately 30% of the total global final energy demand and contribute to one-third of energy-related emissions ¹. The promotion of energy efficiency and conservation not only contributes to emissions reduction but also stimulates economic growth and fosters development ².

Due to factors such as industrialization, population growth, and economic expansion, the global demand for energy continues to increase in both developed and developing economies. Energy consumption in Ghana is estimated to be increasing by 10% annually due to the demand from a growing population and inefficient energy use ³. The government should take the lead in promoting efficient energy use at the national level by implementing energy efficiency legislation and devoting budgets to encourage energy efficiency programs and raise awareness². The energy commission in Ghana has launched several energy efficiency initiatives, such as distributing six million compact fluorescent lamps, a capacitor installation program, and a refrigerating efficiency and market transformation project ⁵. Despite these efforts, more intense public education and awareness in energy management programs is needed to achieve a sustainable energy industry.

Energy conservation and energy efficiency are two important ways of reducing energy consumption patterns. Energy-efficient practices lead to energy conservation, and conserving energy leads to effective energy use, hence ensuring energy efficiency. The two terms are often used interchangeably.

Research shows that Ghana's population is increasing annually, which in turn increases energy demands. However, Ghana's energy data is not encouraging due to its instability. Hydro power was the main source of energy in the country until thermal power was introduced due to electricity shortages and load shedding ². Despite having one of the highest rates of electricity accessibility in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 86% of the population having access in 2020⁴, ⁵, energy efficiency in Ghana remains poor in both domestic and commercial usage. Improper appliance usage in households, government and private offices, and enterprises leads to wastage of energy ⁴.

The energy crisis has raised many concerns, including the overlooked issue of energy management programs as an option to stabilize and sustain the energy sector through efficient energy use. This project aims to make available to the public measures that can be taken in residential buildings to ensure efficient and conservative energy use, reducing monthly energy bills and reducing pressure on the country's energy supply, thus ensuring sustainability of the sector.

In recent years, advancement in technology and equipment has greatly impacted on global energy consumption both positively and negatively. The advancement has seen to lots of improvements in the efficiency of various energy consuming equipment’s, but due to technological improvements in other sectors of life, high rating equipment to facilitate work and comfort also consumes lots of energy. Studies have advanced in this area with respect to energy efficiency and conservation and its effect by technology advancement. ⁶ presented an analysis of technical parameters on the use of gas and electricity for Dutch homes while also considering demographic characteristics of the residents. The findings indicated that systemic habitation features predominantly influence residential gas consumption, while electricity consumption is more closely associated with household composition, particularly factors such as income and family structure. The neutral network method of estimating energy consumption is more accurate than engineering models in predicting energy consumption in homes ⁷.

The stability of residential energy consumption is greatly affected by climate and weather changes. Thermal comfort is one major area that rule the sector of energy consumption with respect to climate changes in residential buildings. Seasonal changes come with different consumption patterns as different activities need to be taken care of. In a study conducted by ⁸, a method was developed to identify and assign weights to indicators used for evaluating the energy efficiency of residential buildings in China. The assessment of energy efficiency indicators was carried out for both summer and winter seasons. The study employed a questionnaire survey and employed the group analytic hierarchy process to determine the relative importance of the identified indicators. The findings suggest that different climate zones require distinct indicators.

The occupants of buildings play an important role in the energy consumption of the building, in fact, they determine the appliances that need to be “ON” and for how long. As such, a building’s efficiency level is so dependent on resident’s behaviour, which is characterized by their knowledge in the concept of energy efficiency and conservation. Informing the public, homes, and individuals on energy appliance selection is critical in assisting in making the best decision when acquiring an electrical appliance, which will result in economic and environmental benefits ⁹. In a separate study conducted by ¹⁰, a systematic procedure was employed to investigate the influence of occupant behaviour on building energy consumption. The results demonstrated that this method improved the assessment of building energy-saving potential by addressing occupant behaviour. Furthermore, it provided comprehensive insights into the various aspects of building energy end-use patterns associated with occupant behaviour. Furthermore, a research study conducted by ¹¹ aimed to recommend a range of efficient and economically viable energy conservation techniques. These techniques were proposed to reduce the overall energy consumption of typical residential buildings in Jordan. The researchers utilized DesignBuilder software to assess and analyse the impact of these recommended measures. The findings demonstrated that the implementation of these measures resulted in a considerable decrease in yearly electricity usage. Furthermore, the implementation of the retrofit program yielded significant reductions in both peak demand and carbon emissions. In the initial stage of the program, which required minimal costs, a total of 1955 GWh of electricity was saved annually, along with a reduction of 489 MW in peak demand and a decrease of 1321 kilotons of CO₂ emissions on an annual basis. The installation of an automated temperature control system, insulation of the building's roof, and improved lighting have been determined to be the most efficient energy-saving techniques. The most important plan for public buildings in Egypt that Ingy El-Darwish and Mohamed Gomaa examined by ¹². A Kuwaiti residential structure could benefit from an energy-efficient renovation effort, according to a study by Moncef Krarti. The program's goal was to reduce Kuwait's high energy usage over the course of three stages. The outcomes of the simulation demonstrated that significant economic and environmental gains are possible ¹³. ¹⁴ proposed an energy retrofitting program for Oman's fleet of buildings. The scheme reduced peak demand by 214 MW and yearly power usage by 957 GWh A similar retrofit study by ¹⁵ for Saudi Arabian saved 62,839 GWH of power annually. Also, ¹⁶ conducted a thorough analysis of Ghana's public and commercial offices’ energy efficiency. They focused their investigation on how much electricity air conditioners use. The results showed that Ghana uses air conditioners at an energy consumption of between 3000 and 5400 kWh annually depending on their brand and cooling capacity. Low energy efficiency rating of air conditioners of a major contributing factor to their high electricity consumption. The studies concluded that 480MW of power generation will be required by 2030 if the nation continues its path of using low-energy efficient rating air conditioners. Study ¹⁷ investigated potential opportunities for cost-saving in public tertiary institutions by exploring energy efficiency approaches and the adoption of solar energy. The research aimed to identify strategies that could effectively reduce energy costs in these institutions.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the topics of energy efficiency and conservation in various types of buildings, including residential, public, and commercial structures. However, most studies have suggested an economically efficient approach of retrofitting as a measure to significantly reduce energy wastage and decrease the levels of CO₂. Although there is an increasing awareness of energy efficiency and conservation measures in residential and commercial buildings in Ghana, there is no study focusing on the potential of these measures in student hostels. This study gap needs to be addressed as students’ hostels play a significant part in energy consumption in the country and a better understanding of their energy-saving potential can contribute to overall energy conservation efforts in Ghana.

It is possible to learn important lessons from the UENR case study that may be applied to other university residence halls not just in Ghana but also in other sub-Saharan African countries with comparable climatic and energy-use characteristics. The methodology employed in this study is an energy audit approach.

To accomplish the aforementioned goal, the following objectives were taken into account:

· Conduct a study on the current electricity consumption pattern in the GETFUND hostel of the UENR in Ghana.

· Identify instances of energy misuse and recommend potential measures to save energy.

· Determine the economic advantages of adopting energy management practices.

The aim of this study is to make the GETFUND hostel more energy efficient. It is undeniable that hostels of various institutions consume a significant amount of energy, and it is also undeniable that we squander a significant portion of it. The hostel's monthly energy consumption is roughly 64,929.458kWh, which equates to $5667.20. This sum is enormous, and it naturally draws our attention when we consider that a significant amount of energy is being spent, implying that a significant number of financial resources is being wasted.

The paper is structured into five sections. The introduction, presented in Section 1, provides an overview of the study. Section 2 offers a comprehensive description of the study area. The materials and methods employed in the research are outlined in Section 3. The findings of the study are presented and analysed in Section 4. Finally, Section 5 concludes the paper and provides recommendations based on the study's findings.

The research used an energy audit technique, which enables us to better understand how energy is utilized in a building and identifies potential energy wasting areas as well as areas for improvement. The various process are as follows:

1. Preparation/ Pre-audit phase: This involves collecting data on the hostel facility, including its physical characteristics, energy consumption history, and any existing energy management systems or programs.

2. Physical Inspection: it involves a walk-through audit of the hostel facilities, observing the students' behaviors and consumption patterns to obtain a clear understanding of the energy consumption pattern.

3. Data Collection: Data was collected by physically counting lighting and electrical items, as well as determining the average usage time, number of rooms, and number of students in each room. Structured questionnaires were administered to a sample of students to obtain information regarding their awareness of energy conservation, energy consumption patterns, and energy-saving practices. The hostel population was divided into two main strata: male and female. The questionnaires were administered using a combination of simple random sampling and stratified sampling techniques. A total of 80 rooms were included in the study, which accounted for more than 45% of the entire hostel population.

4. Data Analysis: Microsoft excel was used to analysed the data. Based on the end-use, the connected loads were classified into different categories (e.g., lighting, refrigeration, cooling, cooking, heating, and others) and estimate the electricity usage using load reducing factors such as diversity factor and duty cycle.

The data presented in Figure 1 and Figure 2 of the study indicate that a substantial proportion of the electricity consumed in the hostel is credited to the male and female hostel blocks. These two blocks constitute the majority of the residents in the hostel, and collectively they account for 93% of the total electricity used in the building. The remaining 7% of electricity consumption is attributed to the management offices and the commercial activities within the hostel building, which accounts for 3% and 4% respectively. Further analysis of the data reveals that out of the 93% of electricity consumed by the two blocks, the male block contributes about 56%, while the female block accounts for 37% of the total electricity usage. This information indicates that addressing energy efficiency and conservation measures within the male and female blocks would be a significant step towards reducing overall electricity consumption in the hostel.

The study analysed the energy consumption of the student hostel and found that there were significant differences in electricity usage among different categories of loads. Results from Figure 3 and Figure 4 show that cooking is the biggest energy consumer, accounting for 50% of the total electricity consumed by the hostel on a monthly basis. This finding confirms that the male and female blocks, who are the only contributors to cooking, are the major consumers of energy in the hostel. Lighting is also a major contributor to electricity consumption, representing about 16% of the total energy used. Refrigeration, heating, cooling, and other categories of loads also contribute to electricity consumption, with refrigeration accounting for 10%, heating for 8%, cooling for 5%, and others contributing about 11% of the consumed electricity in a month.

The various categories, their consumption and contributions to the electricity bills are further discussed in details below.

In conclusion, an electrical energy audit was conducted on the UENR GETFUND hostel to evaluate its energy consumption patterns. The study analysed various energy load categories, including lighting, cooking, refrigeration, heating, cooling, and others. The findings indicated significant energy wastage in the cooking and lighting categories.

Based on the results, recommendations have been proposed to mitigate energy consumption and improve energy efficiency. These recommendations target all six load categories and aim to maximize energy savings. The study revealed a potential energy savings of 29%, which translates to a monthly cost reduction of $1637.80. This emphasizes the importance of implementing these recommendations to minimize energy waste and decrease the financial burden associated with energy consumption.

This present study is in line with ¹⁹ where top energy-consuming loads in the hostels were electric cooking elements followed by lighting and as observed in both cases, the high consumption of electrical energy was attributed to the use of unregulated hot plates and poor user habits. The paper also estimated the electricity bill based on the connected load and highlighted possible energy-saving options. By implementing these options, a 38% reduction in electricity bills could be achieved. Findings from this present study can collaborated by ²⁰ which include demonstrating the potential for energy development plans in institutions and recommending approaches to enhance energy efficiency. They found that energy consumption in student hostels can be reduced by 15-37% through adequate energy-saving measures.

The study recognizes a limitation in addressing the practical challenges of implementing energy efficiency and conservation measures in student hostels and residential buildings. Factors such as financial constraints, lack of awareness, technical expertise, regulatory constraints, and behavioural/cultural factors can hinder the successful adoption of these measures. Further research is needed to better understand and overcome these challenges to ensure the effective and sustainable implementation of energy efficiency practices.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

There is no funding received for the project.

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