Full Length Research Paper
ABSTRACT
The study investigated Energy Efficiency (EE) measures and practices from the perspectives of Ghana's manufacturing sector. A mixed methods approach that applied both qualitative and quantitative methodologies guided the study. The quantitative approach was relevant to establish statistical inferences and the qualitative methods used to provide further in-depth understanding to statistic(s) provided by the quantitative analysis. A total of 774 respondents (636- food processing Industry, 138- Cement Industry) provided the population for the study. A sample size of 260 informed the study. Various sampling frames including purposive, cluster and simple random were adopted to select respondents. The study concluded that knowledge on EE awareness and practices occurring at the departmental levels was mixed but clear on servicing and cleaning of air-conditioning since the manufacturing industries placed premium on regularity of servicing ACs in their places of work. Also, the findings identified that failure to clean the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, failure to close doors and windows while ACs were on and avoidance of the use of efficient refrigerants and new ACs as key factors that negatively impacted EE for the manufacturing industries. The contribution of single speed ACs to energy efficiency was minimal compared to the other energy wasting activities associated with the use of air-conditioning.
Key words: Air-conditioning, energy, management, efficiency, wastage
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Battery sizing
The battery size was determined using the equation in order to determine how much storage the battery bank should provide
The system voltage chosen was 12 V and the days of autonomy was chosen as 5 days (Thus, the PV system should be capable of providing power continuously for 5 days without recharging).
Sustainability of renewable energy to the environment
To estimate the amount of CO2 emissions mitigated due to the chosen renewable energy (solar PV system), 25 years lifetime of the PV system was used, and the CO2 emission was estimated using the following equation
Total C02 mitigated = CO2 emission intensity factor × Energy use per × Lifetime of PV system (years)
CO2 emission intensity for electricity generation from a coal-based thermal power plant is approximately 0.98 kg of CO2/kWh.
Total CO2 emission = 0.98 × 4046124 × 25
= 99,130,038 kg
= 99 ktons
RESULTS
ANOVA test scores was significant for Department of Works under the activity “checking the energy consumption of appliances before making a purchase” (F=4.401, sig=0.037).
DISCUSSION
Energy efficiency awareness in the use of air-conditioning
The study assessed perceptions on energy awareness in the use of air-conditioning, but from the perspective of departments of work of respondents. Discussions on the study were clear on disparities in EE awareness and practices occurring at the departmental levels and, therefore, a good prop for further discussion. For example, the findings of the study showed consistency with Ahmad’s (2015)' study on Green human resource management: Policies and practices that identified EE awareness disparities on departmental fronts of green focused human resources management departments. On the regularity of servicing/ cleaning air-conditioning system, all respondents were of the view that ACs at their places of work were regularly serviced since they attached greater importance to EE in their respective organizations. More so, a test of significance was positive for regularity of servicing ACs by department of work of respondents.
On the issue of energy wastage activities, majority of respondents (from both engineering and non-engineering) agreed to the following as activities that lead to energy wastage; not cleaning heating, ventilating and air-conditioning system, leaving doors and windows open while ACs were on and, not using very efficient refrigerants, but using very old ACs. Although the study agreed to the use of single speed ACs as contributing to energy wastage, the margin was slim compared to the other variables. Many of these findings were consistent with Oh et al. (2016) in Forecasting long-term electricity demand for cooling of Singapore’s buildings incorporating an innovative air-conditioning technology where they argued for the need to integrate absorbent dehumidifier and evaporative cooler as EE activities to reduce energy wastage in AC use. The variable, 'use of single speed air-conditioners' incidentally was the only variable that did not test significant to the mediating roles of the department of work. Generally, respondents opined that single speed ACs are not frequent features in their organizations.
Respondents in GHACEM and Nestle Ghana Ltd. agreed to the following as basic EE practices applied by their organizations in the course of acquiring ACs; checking the energy consumption of appliances before making purchases, purchasing appliances with energy star labels, purchasing appliances with the highest number of energy stars and purchasing new appliances. In these scores, the engineering sectors of the organizations performed better than the non-engineering sectors. Meanwhile, the department of work tested significant against assessing the energy consumption of appliances before making purchases.
CONCLUSIONS
The study investigated knowledge and understanding of energy management and efficiency awareness and practices in the use of ACs from the perspective of the manufacturing industrial sector of Ghana. The study results also covered an exploration of perceptions on what constitutes energy wastage in the use of ACs at the manufacturing sector.
Perceptions regarding knowledge on EE awareness and practices occurring at the departmental levels were mixed but clear on servicing and cleaning of air-conditioning since the manufacturing industries placed higher premium on regularity of servicing ACs in their places of work.
On the issue of energy wastage associated with AC usage, it was quite clear that failure to clean heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems, failure to close doors and windows while ACs were on and avoidance of the use of efficient refrigerants and new ACs were key factors that negatively impacted on EE for usage of ACs. The contribution of single speed ACs to energy was minimal compared to the other energy wasting activities associated with the use of air conditioners.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.
REFERENCES
Ahmadi-Karvigh S, Ghahramani A, Becerik-Gerber B, Soibelman L (2018). Real-time activity recognition for energy efficiency in buildings. Applied Energy 211:146-160. |
|
Ahmad S (2015). Green human resource management: Policies and practices. Cogent Business and Management 2(1):1030817. |
|
Allouhi A, El Fouih Y, Kousksou T, Jamil A, Zeraouli Y, Mourad Y (2015). Energy consumption and efficiency in buildings: current status and future trends. Journal of Cleaner Production 109:118-130. |
|
Bertram D (2006) Likert Scales: CPSC 681-Topic Report. Poincare, 1-11. |
|
Calvillo CF, Sánchez-Miralles A, Villar J (2016). Energy management and planning in smart cities. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 55:273-287. |
|
Cao X, Dai X, Liu J (2016). Building energy-consumption status worldwide and the state-of-the-art technologies for zero-energy buildings during the past decade. Energy and Buildings 128:198-213. |
|
Chel A, Kaushik G (2011). Renewable energy for sustainable agriculture. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 31(1):91-118. |
|
Cole JC, McDonald JB, Wen X, Kramer RA (2018). Marketing energy efficiency: perceived benefits and barriers to home energy efficiency. Energy Efficiency 11(7):1811-1824. |
|
Finnerty N, Sterling R, Contreras S, Coakley D, Keane MM (2018). Defining corporate energy policy and strategy to achieve carbon emissions reduction targets via energy management in non-energy intensive multi-site manufacturing organizations. Energy 151:913-929. |
|
Fowlie M, Greenstone M, Wolfram C (2018). Do energy efficiency investments deliver? Evidence from the weatherization assistance program. The Quarterly Journal of Economics 133(3):1597-1644. |
|
Gellings CW (2009). The smart grid: enabling energy efficiency and demand response. The Fairmont Press, Inc. |
|
Goetzler W, Guernsey M, Young J, Fuhrman J, Abdelaziz O (2016). The future of air conditioning for buildings. US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office. |
|
Gyamfi S, Modjinou M, Djordjevic S (2015). Improving electricity supply security in Ghana-The potential of renewable energy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 43:1035-1045. |
|
Hejase AJ, Hejase HJ (2013). Research Methods: A Practical Approach for Business Students (2nd edition). Philadelphia, PA, Masadir Inc. |
|
International Energy Agency (2013). Transition to Sustainable Buildings: Strategies and Opportunities to 2050. OECD/IEA. |
|
International Energy Agency (2017). Market Report Series: Energy Efficiency 2017'. P 135. |
|
Johansson MT, Thollander P (2018). A review of barriers to and driving forces for improved energy efficiency in Swedish industry-recommendations for successful in-house energy manage-ment. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 82:618-628. |
|
Joshi A, Kale S, Chandel S, Pal DK. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and explained. British Journal of Applied Science and Technology 7(4):396. |
|
Kambule N (2014). A survey on the state of energy efficiency adoption and related challenges amongst selected manufacturing SMMEs in the Booysens area of Johannesburg (Doctoral dissertation, University of Johannesburg). |
|
Kemausuor F, Obeng GY, Brew-Hammond A, Duker A (2011). A review of trends, policies and plans for increasing energy access in Ghana. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15(9):5143-5154. |
|
Koizumi S (2007). Energy Efficiency of air conditioners in developing countries and the role of CDM. Paris: International Energy Agency. |
|
Krejcie RV, Morgan DW (1970). Determining Sample Size for Research Activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement 30(3):607-610. |
|
Kumi EN (2017). The Electricity Situation in Ghana: Challenges and Opportunities. Center for Global Development. |
|
Laitner JAS (2015). The energy efficiency benefits and the economic imperative of ICT-enabled systems. In: ICT Innovations for Sustainability. Springer, Chem. pp. 37-48. |
|
Loe DL. (2003). Quantifying lighting energy efficiency: a discussion document. Lighting Research and Technology 35(4):319-326. |
|
Maclean R, Jagannathan S, Panth B (2018). Overview. In Education and Skills for Inclusive Growth, Green Jobs and the Greening of Economies in Asia . Springer, Singapore. pp. 1-18. |
|
Oh SJ, Ng KC, Thu K, Chun W, and Chua K JE (2016). Forecasting long-term electricity demand for cooling of Singapore's buildings incorporating an innovative air-conditioning technology. Energy and Buildings 127:183-193. |
|
Owusu A (2010). Towards a reliable and sustainable source of electricity for micro and small scale light industries in the Kumasi Metropolis (Doctoral dissertation). |
|
Raj KB. (2018). Smart Grid Technology for Smart Homes-Risks and Benefits. In: ICRTEMMS Conference Proceedings 634(640):634-640. Swarna Bharathilnstitute of Science and Technology. |
|
Åžahin M, OÄŸuz Y, Büyüktümtürk F (2016). ANN-based estimation of time-dependent energy loss in lighting systems. Energy and Buildings 116:455-467. |
|
Shanker R, Bhanugopan R, Van der Heijden BI, Farrell M (2017). Organizational climate for innovation and organizational performance: The mediating effect of innovative work behavior. Journal of Vocational Behavior 100:67-77. |
|
Worrell E, Kermeli K, Galitsky C (2013). Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for Cement Making an ENERGY STAR® Guide for Energy and Plant Managers. |
|
Xu L, Pan Y, Yao Y, CAI D, Huang Z, Linder N (2017). Lighting energy efficiency in offices under different control strategies. Energy and Buildings 138:127-139. |
Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0