KEY CAUSES AND DRIVERS OF ENERGY PERFORMANCE GAPS IN MALAYSIAN NON-RESIDENTIAL GREEN BUILDINGS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v23i39.1906Keywords:
Energy performance gap, Energy efficiency, Office building, Sustainability, Green Buildings, MalaysiaAbstract
The Building Energy Performance Gap (BEPG) describes the difference between predicted and actual energy consumption, a mismatch that ultimately weakens the credibility and effectiveness of green buildings. Despite various technological and regulatory efforts, many Malaysian non-residential green buildings continue to consume more energy than anticipated. This study addresses a critical research gap, namely the absence of a comprehensive framework that integrates the root causes and driving factors of BEPG specific to the Malaysian context. The root causes are categorised as design-related, construction or commissioning-related, and operational-related. To examine these relationships, 21 hypotheses were tested through a survey of 278 Malaysian energy management and green building experts. The findings reveal that operational-related causes are the most prevalent, with the highest Relative Importance Index (RII), and exert the greatest influence on the energy performance gap. Key contributing factors include organisational, leadership, and behavioural aspects. The novelty of this study lies in its integrative approach to identifying and categorising BEPG root causes, as well as its contextual focus on Malaysia. The findings not only highlight high-priority intervention areas but also offer practical strategies for stakeholders to improve energy performance outcomes. The study contributes actionable insights for improving energy efficiency practices and supporting the long-term success of green building initiatives in Malaysia.
Downloads
References
Ahmad, N. A., Mohd Hussain, N. H., Osman, A. T., & Abdul Rahim, F. (2024). Establishing a sustainable solar energy community in the Malaysian rural energy landscape: A case study of Perak Tengah, Malaysia. Planning Malaysia, 22(31). https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v22i31.1459
Ahmat, N., Christopher, S., Saputra, J., Sukemi, M. N., & Nawawi, M. N. (2025). The impact of energy consumption, economic growth, and non-renewable energy on carbon dioxide emission in Malaysia. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 15(1), 143–152.
Azis, S. S. A. (2021). Improving present-day energy savings among the green building sector in Malaysia using the benefit transfer approach: Cooling and lighting loads. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 137, 110570.
Benjamin, F. J., Poplawski, M., & Day, J. (2020). A review of existing test methods for occupancy sensors. August.
Cattaneo, C. (2018). Internal and external barriers to energy efficiency: Made-to-measure policy interventions. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1293–1311. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3149312
Chen, S., Zhang, G., & Shi, L. (2020). A review of internal and external influencing factors on energy efficiency design of buildings. March. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.109944
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation for the behavioral sciences. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Coleman, S., & Robinson, J. B. (2018). Introducing the qualitative performance gap: Stories about a sustainable building. Building Research and Information, 46(5), 485–500. https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2017.1366138
Dalmaijer, E. S., Nord, C. L., & Astle, D. E. (2020). Statistical power for cluster analysis. http://arxiv.org/abs/2003.00381
Duarte, A. C., Acker, B., Grosshans, R., Manic, M., Wymelenberg, K. Van Den, & Rieger, C. (2011). Prioritizing and visualizing energy management and control system data to provide actionable information for building operators.
Fagbenle, O. I. (2011). A system for raising productivity of construction operatives in southwestern Nigeria. COBRA 2011 - Proceedings of RICS Construction and Property Conference.
Fernandez, M. I., Go, Y. I., Wong, M. D., & Früh, W. G. (2025). Modelling and development of utility-scale energy system for Malaysia with advanced energy balance analysis: Supply, demand and trade. Renewable Energy, 247, 123013.
Finnerty, N., Sterling, R., Contreras, S., Coakley, D., & Keane, M. M. (2018). Defining corporate energy policy and strategy to achieve carbon emissions reduction targets via energy management in non-energy intensive multi-site manufacturing organisations. Energy, 151, 913–929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2018.03.070
Guo, X., Tiller, D. K., Henze, G. P., & Waters, C. E. (2010). The performance of occupancy-based lighting control systems: A review. Lighting Research and Technology, 42(4), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477153510376225
Gupta, R., & Gregg, M. (2016). Empirical evaluation of the energy and environmental performance of a sustainably-designed but under-utilised institutional building in the UK. Energy and Buildings. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.06.081
Hair, Joe F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) An emerging tool in business research. European Business Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-10-2013-0128
Hair, Joseph F, Hult, G. T. M., & Ringle, C. M. (2017). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling ( PLS-SEM ).
Hair, Joseph F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., & Thiele, K. O. (2017). Mirror, mirror on the wall: A comparative evaluation of composite-based structural equation modelling methods. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0517-x
Igugu, H., Laubscher, J., & Gaum, T. (2025). Building energy performance gap: A bibliometric analysis and systematic review of global research themes. Enquiry The ARCC Journal for Architectural Research, 22(1), 1–21.
Liang, J., & Qiu, Y. (2019). Mind the energy performance gap: Evidence from green commercial buildings. Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 141, 364–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.10.021
Li, J., Domenica Iulo, & Poerschke, U. (2023). A review of the energy performance gap between predicted and actual use in buildings. https://doi.org/10.26868/25222708.2023.1430
Mineeva, A. (2016). Improvement of energy efficiency in gold mining industry. Lappeenranta University of Technology.
Myeda, N. E., Zaid, S. M., Sulaiman, R., & Mahyuddin, N. (2014). The implementation of performance measurement system ( PMS ): Malaysian facilities management (FM) industry. 14.
Ramli, S. A., Yunus, J., Mohd Nordin, R., Hassan, P., & Mohd Tajul Hasnan, M. T. I. (2023). Auspicious green retrofit strategies in two-story terrace houses: Case study of Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Planning Malaysia, 21(26). https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v21i26.1256
Shaardan, N. A., Myeda, N. E., & Zaid, S. M. (2024). Diverging perspectives on energy performance gaps in green buildings: An empirical study of industry experts. Journal of Surveying, Construction & Property, 15(2).
Shrubsole, C., Hamilton, I. G., Zimmermann, N., Papachristos, G., Broyd, T., Burman, E., Mumovic, D., Zhu, Y., Lin, B., & Davies, M. (2019). Bridging the gap: The need for a systems thinking approach in understanding and addressing energy and environmental performance in buildings. Indoor and Built Environment, 28(1), 100–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X17753513
Staddon, S. C., Cycil, C., Goulden, M., Leygue, C., & Spence, A. (2016). Intervening to change behaviour and save energy in the workplace: A systematic review of available evidence. Energy Research & Social Science, 17, 30–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2016.03.027
Suruhanjaya, T. (2020). Malaysia energy statistics handbook. https://www.st.gov.my/en/contents/files/download/116/Malaysia_Energy_Statistics_Handbook_20201.pdf
Tan, P. N., Steinbach, M., & Kumar, V. (2005). Cluster analysis: Basic concepts and algorithms. Introduction to Data Mining, 487–568.
Van Dronkelaar, C., Dowson, M., Burman, E., Spataru, C., & Mumovic, D. (2016). A review of the energy performance gap and its underlying causes in non-domestic buildings. Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering, 1, 17.
Wilde, de P., & Jones, R. (2013). The building energy performance gap: UP close and personal. Journal of Chemical Information and Modelling, 53(9), 1689–1699. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
Yiau, C. N. (2024). Power reserve margin to stay at 28%-36% in 2024-2030 in Peninsular M’sia, says deputy minister. The Edge Malaysia. https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/704931
Zaid, S. M., & Kiani, A. (2016). Energy prediction versus energy performance of green buildings in Malaysia. Comparison of predicted and operational measurement of GBI certified green office in Kuala Lumpur. 00071.
Zakaria, Z., Ariff, N. R. M., Noorhani, N. M. A., & Hussain, M. M. (2024). Sustainable green building initiatives in Malaysia: Issues in the implementation practices. Planning Malaysia, 22(32). https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v22i32.1524
Zheng, Z., Zhou, J., Jiaqin, Z., Yang, Y., Xu, F., & Liu, H. (2024). Review of the building energy performance gap from simulation and building lifecycle perspectives: Magnitude, causes and solutions. Developments in the Built Environment, 17, 100345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dibe.2024.100345
Zou, P. X. W., Xu, X., Sanjayan, J., & Wang, J. (2018). Review of 10 years research on building energy performance gap: Life-cycle and stakeholder perspectives. Energy and Buildings, 178, 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.08.040
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright & Creative Commons Licence
eISSN: 0128-0945 © Year. The Authors. Published for Malaysian Institute of Planners. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
The authors hold the copyright without restrictions and also retain publishing rights without restrictions.
