The goal of sustainable building is to create energy efficient abodes through creating building features that will support in delivering excellent energy performance. Some buildings though do not perform the way they are expected due to several factors.
The biggest factor that affects the downfall of energy performance in buildings is due to poor occupant habits. There is great importance in improving occupant education on energy savings and proper use of sustainable features of buildings so that the expected performance is reached. Occupant behavior is seen to increase energy use by significantly larger amounts as compared to poor maintenance and building operations.
The success of the energy-efficient features of a sustainable building relies hugely on the way the occupant manages the energy use. Although insulations, windows and HVAC systems are being controlled, there is no guarantee that it will deliver expected results unless occupants are educated enough on proper usage of sustainable building features and proper energy usage.
With this as the premier focus for sustainable building, there should be changes in design practices and energy codes, or else the post-construction energy usage and maintenance will not meet the expected ideal performance of the building design.
Occupants, owners and operators should know their specific roles in maintaining sustainable buildings and get informed with the trends and ordinances applied to enhance the success in green building energy-efficiency performance.
