Energy consumption, CO2 emissions and electricity costs of lighting for commercial buildings in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Abstract Building energy intensity (BEI) has been used to assess a building’s overall energy performance. However, the energy performance, CO2 footprint and electricity costs due to lighting in buildings are currently required to assist relevant authorities to develop, revise and implement energy-efficient lighting policies that are effective and acceptable for the country. This work presents an estimation approach for lighting in commercial buildings in Southeast Asia and its decarbonisation pathway for benchmarking. Application of this approach to a selected library in Brunei Darussalam showed that an energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system would make the building greener. We projected reductions in lighting energy consumption by 6.7 times (3.98 kWh/m2/year), its associated CO2 emissions by 8 times (0.59 kg CO2/m2/year) and electricity costs by 8.7 times (B$7.07/m2/year) by 2050 if existing lamps in the library are retrofitted with LED lamps.