Energy usage and energy saving potential of air conditioning Mosque in Penang Malaysia

Air conditioning has become a common feature in newly-constructed Malaysia buildings including mosque. Nevertheless, it has been a common practice to retrofit existing mosque with air conditioning systems of various types and capacity. Due to their functional and operational characteristics, mosque buildings relatively consume more energy than other types of buildings. Energy efficient design and proper operation of air conditioning system in mosque buildings can offer major opportunities for reduced energy consumption and contribute to sustainable development. This paper provides a case study of energy usage and indices from selected air-conditioned mosques in Penang Malaysia. Results from 5 sample mosques G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 shows the large volume of energy has been consumed by air conditioning system. Mosque G5 has consumed the highest yearly electricity bills (RM 446,000.00), and followed by G3 (RM28,000.00), G2 (RM24,000.00), G4 (RM 20,000.00) and G1 (RM9,000.00), respectively. Mosque management need to pay this costs to get a good thermal performance in main prayer. Mosque G5 produced a very high Energy Intensity Index (323 kWh/m2/yr) and cost index (RM 153/year/ m2) due to influence factors. Retrofitted mosques are not comply with MS Standard which need several recommendation in term of energy saving strategies application near future.

4_Energy_Usage_and_Energy_Saving_Potential_of_Air_Conditioning_in_Penang_Malaysia.pdf