Institutional-Repository, University of Moratuwa
Welcome to the University of Moratuwa Digital Repository, which houses postgraduate theses and dissertations, research articles presented at conferences by faculties and departments, university-published journal articles and research publications authored by academic staff. This online repository stores, preserves and distributes the University's scholarly work. This service allows University members to share their research with a larger audience.
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Recent Submissions
item: Conference-Abstract
Integrating energy efficiency and thermal comfort in educational buildings: evaluating passive and hybrid strategies for improved performance in the climatic context of coimbatore, India
(2026) Venkatramakrishnan, N; Sudhakaran, P; Rajapakse, RLHL; Prasath, RA
The building sector is one of the largest contributors to global energy consumption. Therefore, the transition to energy-efficient buildings is a priority for sustainable development. Educational buildings, in particular, offer high potential for energy efficiency because of the occupancy, long operating hours, and varied spatial requirements. Coimbatore is one of South India's prominent educational cities and is home to many stateowned universities. With rising energy prices and growing concern for environmental sustainability, the need for sustainable solutions in educational buildings is becoming more acute. Thermal comfort and energy efficiency are interdependent goals in building design. In South India’s tropical climate, achieving thermal comfort while reducing reliance on mechanical cooling requires an integrated approach that accounts for the local climate, building form, envelope characteristics, orientation, natural ventilation, day lighting, renewable energy, and occupant behaviour. The research will combine field-based environmental measurements, occupant perception studies, and case-study analysis. Extensive research shows that, during design, it is essential to consider passive and easy-to-use hybrid techniques in institutional settings to tailor the learning environment. The study aims to conduct an objective survey and a subjective analysis, in line with standard regulations for students' thermal conditions in an institution, supported by case studies. The study will consider comfort parameters such as air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, and humidity, documented in line with existing conditions and the tropical Semi-Arid climate of Coimbatore. This will educate and enable architects, planners, and users to understand and tailor classroom comfort conditions, paving the way for energy efficiency.
item: Conference-Abstract
Sustainable cost control for green buildings in Sri Lanka: integrating life-cycle value and environmental performance
(2026) Jayaweera, IGWR; Arachchi, KAPBK; Rajapakse, RLHL; Prasath, RA
The construction sector plays a significant role in resource consumption and environmental impacts, creating a growing need for cost management approaches that support sustainable and environmentally responsible building development. Green buildings can contribute to improved resource efficiency and longterm environmental performance; however, higher perceived initial costs and inadequate cost-control practices remain important challenges to their wider adoption in Sri Lanka. This study investigates industry perspectives on the importance of sustainable cost control in Sri Lanka’s green building sector, with particular emphasis on lifecycle costing, environmental performance, procurement practices, and long-term value creation. A mixed-method research approach was adopted, combining a questionnaire survey with semi-structured interviews involving construction industry professionals. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Relative Importance Index (RII), while interview responses were examined through thematic analysis. The findings indicate that green building cost control is perceived as more challenging than conventional cost management practices, while sustainability considerations are frequently incorporated at later stages of the project. The findings further highlight limitations in the application of lifecycle costing, integration of environmental objectives into cost planning, procurement practices, and institutional and regulatory support. Industry perspectives also emphasize the importance of early collaboration among quantity surveyors, designers, and other project stakeholders, together with the use of BIM and digital technologies to integrate cost and environmental information. The study highlights the need to shift from short-term initial-cost considerations towards lifecycle value-based decision-making to support economically viable, resource-efficient, and environmentally sustainable green buildings in Sri Lanka.
item: Conference-Abstract
Developing a framework for energy efficiency and climate resilience in house construction in tropical lowlands and uplands
(2026) Dissanayake, DWTS; Gunawardhana, HGLN; Jayasinghe, C; Weerasinghe, R; Rajapakse, RLHL; Prasath, RA
Residential buildings in tropical climates face growing challenges from high cooling energy demand and indoor thermal discomfort, creating a need for energy-efficient housing strategies. This study investigates how building envelope and geometric parameters affect thermal behaviour in residential buildings, with particular relevance to Sri Lanka's lowland tropical climate. The study adopts a dynamic building performance simulation approach using DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus to evaluate the effects of wall and roof construction, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), and building orientation. Wall and roof materials were selected based on their relevance to Sri Lankan residential construction. A sensitivity analysis dataset was generated to evaluate variations in annual cooling energy demand under different design configurations. Preliminary results indicate appreciable differences in cooling energy demand among alternative wall and roof constructions, with roof construction showing a comparatively higher influence within the simulated configurations. Wall construction also influenced cooling energy demand, with Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) based wall configurations exhibiting lower mean cooling energy demand than conventional brick and cement-block constructions in the simulated cases. The results demonstrate the importance of material selection in tropical residential building performance and provide a basis for subsequent sensitivity and data-driven analysis. The completed study will further evaluate the interactions among building, climatic, and operational parameters and translate the identified relationships into a practical climate-responsive design framework. The study is expected to contribute to improved decision-making for energy-efficient and thermally resilient residential construction in tropical climates.
item: Conference-Abstract
Sustainable integration of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems in Sri Lanka: growth drivers, constraints, and regulatory priorities
(2026) Rajapaksa, SAC; Kumara, HPRC; Rajapakse, RLHL; Prasath, RA
Sri Lanka’s rapid expansion of Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (RTSPV) systems has increased distributed renewable generation and created technical, regulatory, institutional, and consumer-protection challenges. This study examined the adequacy of the existing regulatory framework and compliance with the regulatory tools by stakeholders to support the sustainable integration of rapidly growing RTSPV capacity. An evidence-based case-study approach was adopted using nationwide installed RTSPV capacity data from 2013 to September 2025. The study included a categorical analysis of 113 complaints received by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka during 2022–2025, 55 complaints reported to the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority during 2024/2025, and a review of existing regulatory tools. The analysis shows that RTSPV capacity increased from approximately 3 MW across 550 consumers in 2013 to 2,090 MW across 129,302 consumers by September 2025. Capacity more than doubled from 657 MW in 2022 to 1,401 W in 2024 following the introduction of the Net Plus scheme and an export tariff of LKR 37/kWh, which demonstrated strong responsiveness of the industry to the policy changes. Tariff and grid-clearance issues accounted for 46.0% of PUCSL complaints, while recurring aftersales, warranty, installation-quality, and service-continuity issues were identified in the qualitative review. Policy and technical analysis further identified hosting-capacity constraints, voltage rise, inconsistent inverter settings, limited system visibility, and non-uniform practices as barriers to sustainable growth. The study contributed to identifying the gaps in the existing framework and addressing tariff stability, harmonized interconnection procedures, compliance monitoring, and requirement to strengthen installer accountability and consumer protection.
item: Conference-Abstract
The Green investment paradox: renewable capacity, institutional quality, and the limits of productive conversion in Morocco
(2026) Brhaiberh, K; Ziky, M; Rajapakse, RLHL; Prasath, RA
As emerging economies race to expand renewable energy capacity, a critical question remains understudied: does installing green infrastructure automatically translate into economic growth, or does that depend on the institutions meant to convert it? Morocco offers a striking test case: despite two decades of ambitious policy, including Law 13-09 (2010) and the Noor solar complexes, the gap between installed renewable capacity and effective renewable generation has never closed, ranging from 6 to 21 percentage points and widening again since 2020 to reach 18.3 points in 2023. This study tests whether institutional quality explains this persistent gap, using two parallel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models estimated on annual data (2000–2023, N=24) and validated by bounds cointegration and Toda-Yamamoto causality tests. The interaction between installed capacity and institutional quality is significant and negative (p=0.001): renewable capacity's growth effect weakens, not strengthens, as governance improves, a result confirmed by three robustness checks. The equivalent interaction for effective consumption is weaker in the full sample (p=0.061) but reaches conventional significance in two of the three checks, revealing an asymmetry between investment and use. A persistent carbon lock-in effect compounds this picture: CO2 emissions per capita remain positively and significantly linked to growth. These findings relocate the green investment paradox from a regulatory deficit to a deeper, time-varying disconnection between renewable investment and the institutional environment meant to convert it into growth, a lesson relevant to any energy-importing economy pursuing an ambitious renewable transition.