Knowledge and Perception of Dormitory Students on Green Building Technologies in the Renovation and Retrofit of Dormitories

Abstract

 Green building aims to enhance resource efficiency and minimize environmental and health impacts throughout a building’s life cycle. Old buildings are ideal for retrofitting with green technologies. The study used the BERDE for Retrofits and Renovations for Educational Institutions (BERDERR-EDU v.1.1.0 (2013) for the identification of the green building technologies. Using a systematic random sampling with a 10% margin of error and 90% confidence interval, a survey was conducted at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, involving 242 dormitory residents to assess their knowledge and perception of green building technologies. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation analysis, and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance were used to analyze the collected data. Most respondents (89.04%) agreed that their dormitories require retrofitting; 97.80% supported integrating green technologies. While 55.13% were familiar with green features, only 10.64-16.67% recognized these in their dormitories. Respondents felt that green technologies improve social well-being (83.57%), resource allocation (83.79%), and enhance sense of responsibility (87.65%). The study recommends continuing the inventory and monitoring of green building initiatives to assess their effectiveness, track progress, and identify areas for improvement. Moreover, a follow-up study is also recommended to examine the implementation of green building technologies in new dormitories. 

Keywords: green building technologies, retrofit, renovation, dormitory, knowledge and perception