Assessment of the Availability and Utilization of Household Energy Supplies in Residential Buildings

Abstract

The study examined the types of household energy used by residents in Ife Central Local Government, identified and evaluated the factors that affect the choice of household energy supply and identified the likely environmental consequences of the identified household energy utilization. This was done with a view to assessing the patterns of household energy supply and utilization and how to mitigate its likely impact on the environment. Four core wards in the Local Government were selected from the total of eleven wards and data collection was done with the use of primary and secondary data techniques. A total of 244 questionnaires were administered to the respondents and 151 were retrieved and thus indicating a return rate of 62%.

The result shows that the more prevalent energy supplies used by the respondents are electricity 139 (92.05%), kerosene 110 (72.85%) and the least form of energy used was solar energy 3 (1.99%). The most significant factor that influenced the choice of sawdust, firewood, kerosene, cola, solar energy, electricity and gas with Relative Importance Index (RII) of 0.83, 0.694, 0.704, 1.00, 0.900, 0.703 and 0.774 respectively. The study also shows that 68.20% of the respondents indicated that the consumption of energy supplies in buildings had impact on them and the environment with traces of smokes, smoke retention in the house and indoor pollution ranked with Relative Importance Index (RII) of 0.685, 0.680 and 0.631 respectively as the most significant likely impacts of the energy supplies used by the respondents. The study concluded that environmentally friendly energy supplies should be made available to the occupants with the adoption of good house-keeping practices in order to mitigate hazards associated with the consumption of unfriendly energy supplies.

Keywords: Energy Sources, Buildings, Occupants, Factors, Utilization, Effects.