Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research
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Browsing Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research by Subject "Awutu Senya East"
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Item The shift from traditional window systems to new window designs in Ghana: sociological and energy efficiency issues in Ga East and Awutu Senya East municipalities(University of Ghana, 2015-04-17) Bawakyillenuo, S.; Agbelie, I.S.K.The challenge of reducing carbon emissions for the purpose of climate change mitigation requires both supply-side and demand-side energy efficiency measures and conservation. On the demand side, buildings worldwide account for about 30-40% of the total energy demand, thereby forming the largest sectoral consumer of electricity. Hence, the building sector offers a great opportunity for energy conservation and energy efficiency drives if certain behavioural patterns were to change. An important element of the building, which often influences energy consumption, is the window. Window types used in Ghana have evolved over time from traditional wooden to modern louvre blades and glazed (sliding-glass) windows. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the economic and energy efficiency dimensions of the shift from traditional to new window designs in Ghana as well as the sociological underpinnings of this shift. Evidence abounds from the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data gathered for the 2014 Energy Surveys in the Ga East and Awutu Senya East Municipalities in Ghana that most people use new window designs mainly due to comfort and aesthetic reasons. The analyses reveal that, while more wooden and louvre blade windows users depend mostly on natural ventilation systems and to a little extent fans, glazed window users depend mostly on fans and air conditioners. In consequence, glazed windows users spend more on electricity compared to users of other windows types. These findings have implications regarding the current architectural designs in Ghana taking into account the need for efficient energy consumption and climate change mitigation