EVALUATING ENGINEERING OFFICE DESIGNS IN THE WEST BANK FOR COMPLIANCE WITH ENERGY-SAVING GUIDELINES.

Abstract

This study evaluates the level of compliance of engineering offices in the West Bank with energy conservation guidelines, given that Palestine and the West Bank suffer from a shortage of energy resources and high prices, which makes energy conservation a top priority. The study measures the level of awareness of energy conservation and its practice during engineering design work. It also examines the obstacles preventing these offices from adhering to energy conservation guidelines. For this purpose, an electronic cross-sectional descriptive quantitative questionnaire was developed and sent to all engineering offices in the West Bank working in the field of engineering design and supervision, and certified by the Engineers' Association(1062 offices). The results of the survey(287 responses) showed that awareness of energy conservation is significantly high, while practice levels are moderate. A significantly weak level of practice is in residential building design, while it is moderate in commercial buildings. Participants emphasized the existence of obstacles to adopting energy-efficient designs, the most significant being a lack of awareness among stakeholders and the high initial costs. These obstacles are followed by a lack of experience in energy-efficient designs and the absence of laws that encourage the adoption of such practices. Hypothesis testing showed agreement with the results across different axes, with the exception of the office category level. It was observed that the classification of engineering offices was not positively correlated with increased awareness or energy-efficient engineering practices. In contrast, the personal experience of engineers was strongly correlated with increased awareness and improved energy-efficient strategy practices.