Browsing by Author "Karunaratne, TLW"

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item: Article-Full-text
Demand-side energy retrofit potential in existing office buildings
(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2019) Karunaratne, TLW; De Silva, N
Purpose – Office buildings confront with the issue of high energy demand during the day time mainly due to heavy use of energy for HVAC and lighting systems. Demand-side energy retrofits (DSER) are identified as effective in controlling electricity demand of existing buildings. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the potential of incorporating DSER in to existing office buildings. The paper reports the cost benefits of using DSER in existing office buildings. Furthermore, it reveals several enablers that can be used to promote retrofits in office buildings of Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach – An industry survey was conducted by selecting a sample of 35 office buildings to study the usage of DSER in office buildings of Sri Lanka. Furthermore, three case studies were conducted to analyse the costs benefits of widely used DSER techniques in office buildings. Findings – Research revealed that the use of DSER techniques in existing office buildings of Sri Lanka is at a lower level. However, it found that the financial viability of those DSER was at a promising level. Furthermore, 11 enablers in two levels as organisational level and national level were identified to enhance the use of DSER. Originality/value – The study justifies the potential of DSER in reducing energy demand of existing office buildings through in-depth cost benefit analysis, which is useful for a country like Sri Lanka which faces massive energy crisis. This encourages Facility Managers towards using DSER to reduce building energy demand. Furthermore, study provides enablers at organisational and national levels to enhance the use of DSER.
item: Conference-Full-text
An investigation into disaster management practices in relation to recent disaster events in Sri Lanka
(2017) Karunaratne, TLW; Ahmed, I; Jayawickrama, TS; Maund, K; Sandanayake, YG; Gajendran, T
Disasters have become frequent phenomena in Sri Lanka over the past few years. The latest incidents were experienced in May 2017. Although a frequent occurrence, the preparedness of government authorities and communities, was found to be experiencing significant hurdles. Hence, this study aimed to identify the opportunities and challenges in the disaster management process and explore future strategies. In order to achieve this aim, firstly a newspaper article review was conducted, which was followed by interviewing experts in various branches of disaster management in Sri Lanka. The collected data were analysed through manual content analysis, and several key findings were established. It was found that the communication of early warning from state agencies to communities were ineffective to a large extent. Thus, developing extensive hazard maps to identify vulnerable areas and capacity building of the communities in those areas to identify and react to early signs of disasters by themselves was identified as a key strategy that should be implemented in the future. The study further emphasised the importance of complying with building codes and land use practices that are already existing.
item: Conference-Full-text
Use of energy retrofits to reduce the energy demand of existing office buildings
(Ceylon Institute of Builders, 2017-12) Karunaratne, TLW; De Silva, N; Sandanayake, YG; Ramachandra, T; Gunatilake, S
Continuous increase of energy demand is a common issue faced by people around the globe. Meanwhile, buildings have been identified as one of the major contributors for the ever-rising energy demand of the world. Consequently, buildings nowadays are built while giving more attention to the ways of reducing building energy demand. However, the existing buildings which are expected to occupy the majority of the total building stock for many years to come, are still being operated with a higher energy demand. Accordingly, building energy retrofits are identified as an efficient approach to reduce the energy demand of the existing buildings, and the aim of this research is to study the use of energy retrofits in office buildings of Sri Lanka. The research approach was predominantly quantitative, which was followed by three case studies. A thorough literature survey was carried out to identify the prevalent retrofit techniques and the practicable enablers to enhance the use of energy retrofits. Findings of the literature survey was validated by a pilot survey before carrying out the questionnaire survey. Subsequently, three case studies were conducted to determine the costs and benefits of implemented retrofit techniques. The results of the study showed that the use of energy retrofits in Sri Lankan office buildings sector is at a lower level. Further, the case study results depicted that the selected retrofit projects have generated significant energy savings which had led to better project feasibility. It was also established that the use of energy retrofits could be enhanced by implementing the identified enablers based on the perception of the building managers.