Energy awareness and energy-use behaviour of students in Malaysian university

Abstract

The Malaysia Ministry of Education has urged all education centres to conserve energy. Energy wastage tends to happen in Malaysian university due to lack of energy awareness and inefficient use of energy among the students. Raising appropriate energy awareness and improving energy-use behaviour among students can improve the energy performance of university. However, we only can manage what we have measured. Therefore, without knowing the level of energy awareness and energy-use behaviour, it is difficult for the implementer to plan and to provide a better energy conservation programme. This research has three objectives. Firstly is to assess energy awareness among students in Malaysian University. Secondly is to assess energy-use behaviour of students in Malaysian University. Thirdly is to determine the relationship between energy awareness and energy-use behaviour. Questionnaire was developed based on previous related research, and submitted for expert verification. The refined questionnaires were distributed among five research universities, namely Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, and Universiti Malaya. The total numbers of respondents are 2,000. The analysis was carried out by using frequency analysis, cross tabulation analysis and ANOVA. This study has established a sample of comprehensive energy awareness and energy-use behaviour survey questionnaire for students in Malaysian University. The results reveal that energy awareness and energy-use behaviour among students in Malaysian University are moderate. Also, the results indicate that higher level of energy awareness can be associated with better energy-use behaviour. It is suggested that in future research, a wider scope of respondents are needed, including academic staff and supporting staff.