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Energy Consumption in Public Buildings: The Determinants of Occupants’ Behavior

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  • Akvile Cibinskiene

    (School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, LT-44239 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Daiva Dumciuviene

    (School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, LT-44239 Kaunas, Lithuania)

  • Meda Andrijauskiene

    (School of Economics and Business, Kaunas University of Technology, LT-44239 Kaunas, Lithuania)

Abstract

Considering the critical amount of power consumption in public buildings, sustainable energy use in the workplace can present an opportunity to tackle the worldwide problem of climate change. A systematic literature review revealed that, though the majority of scientific papers emphasize the importance of appliances and new technologies, human behavior in this area is not less significant. It can contribute to the reduction of energy use and CO 2 emissions and address a number of environmental issues. The main purpose of this work is to analyze and compare the research performed on the topic of the determinants of sustainable energy consumption and investigate their impacts on the behavior of employees in three public buildings in Greece. The questionnaire survey discloses that, despite the organizations paying the bill, the employees believe that saving energy at work is important. The results also show that female employees feel more responsible for energy problems, such as the exhaustion of energy sources or global warming. Finally, a regression analysis affirms that the willingness to save a substantial amount of energy at the workplace is greater when employees have higher personal norms, that is, they feel morally obliged to consider the environment and nature in their daily behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Akvile Cibinskiene & Daiva Dumciuviene & Meda Andrijauskiene, 2020. "Energy Consumption in Public Buildings: The Determinants of Occupants’ Behavior," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-23, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:14:p:3586-:d:383349
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Paulius Šūmakaris & Renata Korsakienė & Deniss Ščeulovs, 2021. "Determinants of Energy Efficient Innovation: A Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Dervishi, Sokol & Baçi, Nerina, 2023. "Early design evaluation of low-rise school building morphology on energy performance: Climatic contexts of Southeast Europe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).

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