A Review of Energy Management Applicationina Commercial Office Environment in the GCC
Keywords:
Energy Management, CO2 Emissions, Commercial Office Buildings, Energy Consumption.Abstract
The commercial sector is responsible for a large proportion of the consumed energy in the built environment.
Increasing levels of CO2 emissions is one of the main environmental concerns of governments across the world today
leading to strict governance, regulation and guidance for the management of energy consumption and efficiency in
commercial buildings. This paper provides an understanding of the application of energy management in commercial office
buildings in the UAE. It identifies tools, techniques, challenges, benefits and barriers that organizations come across when
applying energy management. Literature review, case studies, fieldwork studies were carried out with key stakeholders
within an FM organization in the UAE to analyze the current application of an energy management system. A survey was
conducted to investigate awareness level and motivation within the workplace environment with regard to energy savings.
79% of the 121 employees participated in the survey. Energy management is present in the facility management industry
where costs are driven down and businesses priorities the delivery of their services, forcing gaps in their own organizations
and reducing investment and time to manage important activities such as energy management. Low cost and no cost
initiatives are success drivers to reduce energy consumption.
