Evaluating performance characteristics of electricity use of British historic buildings in Malaysia

Purpose - To present the findings of the investigation on the electricity use characteristics of British historic buildings in Malaysia, identifying where the design needs further modification as well as pin-pointing recurring problems within this building type. Design/methodology/approach - This research work was conducted on four British historical buildings by gathering electricity bills, original drawings/documents, meeting with the staff and local authorities to collect as much information as possible on the building, such as occupancy pattern. Based on materials collected, a "normalised "calculated electricity consumption was established to allow comparison between buildings in different climatic regions or with different occupancy patterns. Findings - Comparing energy consumption against established benchmarks provides the first indication of how well the buildings are performing and opportunities for improvement. It was expected that this study would give a good indication of the electricity consumption characteristics of historic buildings in Malaysia. Research limitations/implications - This work was done on historic buildings in Malaysia restricted to only British Colonial architectural buildings, which perhaps limits its application in the region. However, it may apply to other British architectural buildings elsewhere. Practical implications - This provide useful information for architects, engineers as well as building owners on the current state of energy consumption apart from creating energy savings awareness. Originality/value - It is expected that this study would give an initial benchmark of the electricity consumption characteristics of historic buildings in Malaysia as well as British colonial buildings elsewhere. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.