Abstract
Energy efficiency has an important role to play in response to climate change mitigation and the drive towards sustainable development at the household and institutional levels. Responding to growing concerns on global warming, higher educational institutions (HEIs) are adapting to energy efficiency (EE) initiatives as integral aspects of their ethics through proactive policy, teaching and learning activities. In spite of increasing awareness, little is known about the energy efficiency dynamics in Ghana’s HEIs. Using the survey research design based on a case study, this entry assessed EE policies, systems and consumption practices in two sectors; infrastructural designs and energy consumption in Central University’s Miotso campus (CUM). From the study, it is needful to retrofit CUM’s built environment into an energy-efficient one and pay particular attention to benchmarked standards in the design, sitting and use of building materials for infrastructural development. The need to become energy efficient on campus has become paramount, as the average annual energy wasted was found to be 8.7% of annual energy consumption by electrical appliances alone, translating into between US$8 and US$25 additional monthly electricity bills. This entry concludes by offering some useful suggestions on how HEIs could tap into novel energy saving culture on University campuses to minimize cost and protect the environment.
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Nunoo, E.K., Mariwah, S., Shafic Suleman, S. (2019). Energy Efficiency Processes and Sustainable Development in HEIs. In: Leal Filho, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability in Higher Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_425-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2_425-1
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