Renewable Technologies in Residential Buildings: A Research Report

This report investigates the factors influencing the adoption of green building technologies in residential buildings, with a specific focus on the Indian real estate market. The research aims to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating renewable technologies, such as solar power and energy-efficient materials, to improve energy performance and promote environmental sustainability. The study employs a qualitative research approach, utilizing interviews and questionnaires to gather data on the perspectives of experts and stakeholders in the construction industry. The report analyzes the current state of green building practices, identifies barriers to adoption, and offers recommendations for promoting environmentally friendly construction practices in both the private and public sectors. The research also examines the rationale for green building development, including the increasing demand for buildings and the associated environmental impacts, such as pollution and energy consumption. The report emphasizes the importance of addressing these issues through the implementation of green building strategies, which can lead to reduced energy costs, improved occupant comfort, and a smaller carbon footprint. The findings of this research provide valuable insights for real estate developers, policymakers, and other stakeholders seeking to promote sustainable building practices in India.

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RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
By Name
Masters of Construction Management
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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TITLE: EVALUATING RENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIES IN RESIDENTIAL
BUILDINGS: TOWARDS ENERGY PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
Section 1: Research aim(s), rationale and objectives
This research aims at:
 Exploring the factors that affect green building development both in the private and in
public sector and to incorporate all the stakeholders in the real estate in promoting green
building in India.
Rationale of the research
The human population and the rate of economic growth of India are ever on the increase with the
country being among the top three most populated countries in the world. Such developments
have led to a rise in the demand for buildings and built structures across the country to
accommodate the expansive population (Hoque, 2017, p.155). More buildings are continuously
needed and erected in India both in the private and in public sectors as residential and
commercial enterprises respectively. The developments have seen the real estate sector of the
country invest heavily in construction materials.
Unfortunately, the construction processes and the construction materials being used to meet the
inflated demand for buildings in the country has not been taking into consideration the
environmental concerns and safety measures. The buildings are being built in isolation of the
environment with the environment expected to find a space and be harmony with the building
and not the buildings to be in harmony with the environment. As such environmental pollution
and consumption of gallons of energy have been experienced over the time (Teddlie, 2009,

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p.168). This has in effect culminated not only into increased costs of construction but also into
increased maintenance costs of the already erected buildings. Companies and individuals have to
undergo extra costs to maintain their buildings in such services lighting. Increased energy
consumption leads to extra expenditure as well as puts a lot of pressure on the environment by
increasing the levels of carbon dioxide, which increases global warming. The comfort of the
occupants of the buildings built this way is always well greatly affected leading to the demand
for mechanical equipment to achieve such comfort.
Adoption of the green building would serve as a sigh of relief to the disadvantages mentioned
above. Green building refers to creating structures and buildings as well as using processes,
which are responsible to the environment and enhance the efficiency of resources throughout the
life cycle of a building or structure. Green building ensures environmental friendly activities are
performed throughout the life cycle of the building including the construction, maintenance,
operation, renovation and deconstruction phases.
Through green building, a building is contextualized in an environment, borrowing the
construction materials heavily from the environment as well as relying on the environment for
maintenance activities (Klenke, 2016, p.259). Buildings that adopt green building technology
and strategies in their lifecycles are more energy efficient as they rely on natural energy during
most of the times of their operation. Such buildings are as well more comfortable and luxurious.
Their orientation and placement of openings are such that passive cooling and the free flow of air
currents that bring about ventilation are maximized.
Despite these disadvantages that come about because of failing to observe and incorporate green
building during construction, it is regrettable that the incorporation of green building into both

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the private and public sector is still lagging behind and makes insignificant progress. This can be
linked to lack of information on the factors that affect green building and strategies that can be
used in the mitigation of the situation. This fundamental information is not at the disposal of the
local and industrial development bodies of the real estate. The rational of this research would like
this focus on the factors affecting green building and the strategies that development agencies
can adopt to achieve environmentally sustainable structures (Schneider, 2009, p.466).
Objectives
The main objective of this research is to invoke green buildings without disrupting the profit
earned by the real estate firm. Other objectives include:
 Explore the general factors affecting the development of green building in the
contemporary India environment
 Identify the factors affecting green building development in the development of
commercial enterprises
 Find out the opinions, views and expectations of experts regarding green building
 Share the recommendations on the mitigations of achieving green building with
stakeholders in real estate
Section 2: Research plan for one year of research
Introduction
With the aim of the research being on to establish how effective prefabrication technology is in
the construction of the modern day construction industry, the research plan would be geared
towards achieving the objective of gaining an in-depth understanding and knowledge of

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prefabrication technology and how it is applied the construction industry (Klein, 2014, p.214). It
would be important in this research to find out why many clients and contractors in developing
and underdeveloped countries are not being convinced despite the information that is already
available on prefabrication. An establishment into the real issues behind their conservative
perception is fundamental in this research plan.
Research Approach
Introduction
The project mainly aims at finding out the factors that affect green building development both in
the private and public sector across India. With this aim in mind, the research plan would then be
focused on the objective of gaining a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence
green building in India in the real estate sector as a whole. It would be fundamental for this
research to establish the reasons why most of the developers in India have not been able to adopt
green building plans in their projects despite the overwhelming benefits that are associated with
it (Wang, 2013, p.320). The sources of information on the factors influencing green building and
the associated mitigation strategies are of significant value for this research plan.
Research Approach
As per the nature of this research, the qualitative approach to research analysis will be ideal for
its success. The research is more of inclined to an exploration and explanatory orientation. By
the end of the research, the researcher should be equipped with concrete and substantial factors
that influence the development of the green building in the real estate sector (Walliman, 2015,
p.201). Still, the researcher should be armed with the strategies that can be used in the mitigation

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of the current non-environmental friendly approaches used in the construction and maintenance
of structures and buildings in India.
The qualitative nature of this task lies in the explanations that will be offered as the factors
influencing the development of the green building. It is important as part of the research to find
out why the adoption of green building technology lags despite the many international
conferences and seminars that are held annually and semi-annually across various countries on
the planet. An insight into the point at which information fails to reach the developers would be
essential in the establishment of the mitigation factors (Keegan, 2009, p.263). The reasons as to
why there are no papers or articles that explain the green building strategies at the disposal of
local and industrial developers deserve enough attention in this research.
The four phases of qualitative research will be effected. The conceptual phase, which is the first
phase, adopts the use skills and techniques such as creativity, firm grounding and deductive
reasoning to establish the basis of the research (Coppedge, 2012, p.88). During this phase, the
research attempts to explore the background information on the research topic as well as the aims
of the research. This is achieved via such skills as reading, theorizing, conceptualization and
review of the ideas of colleagues. Designing and implementation encompass the second phase of
qualitative research. Interviews and questionnaires will be used in this phase to obtain
information aimed at addressing the research question.
So important in this research is data collection and analysis. This is the third phase of the
qualitative research. Using the designated data collection methods stipulated before, the required
data, which are the factors influencing the development of the green building in India, will
harness and safely kept for analysis of the findings (Morrison, 2011, p.149). Safekeeping of the

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data may be achieved through coding or by feeding the collected information into computers and
computer storage devices. Phase four of the qualitative research would entail analysis and
interpretation of the collected data. The choice of data analysis technique will be determined by
the nature of the data collected and the desired outcomes. Computers may be used to facilitate
the process of statistical analysis.
Research strategy
Ethnography, grounded theory, survey, experiments, and phenomenology and action research are
some of the research strategies that can be used in research. Through ground theory, a researcher
gets an opportunity to establish and conceptualize the structures and latent social patterns in a
topic of interest through the continuous making of comparison (Brewer, 2013, p.417). Induction
system of inquiry is adopted to create value from the collected data at the beginning of the use of
this strategy. Further developments of this strategy lead the researcher into the subsequent steps
of data collection. Grounded theory includes the construction of theory through a systematic
methodology of gathering and analyzing data. Ethnography involves a study of a people and
their cultures. This strategy provides an insight into the exhaustion of the cultural phenomena in
which the researcher has an opportunity to look at the society from the study subject’s point of
view.
Action research is kicking off research aimed at establishing the solutions to an immediate
problem or a process that leads to the solution of a long-term problem in which a group of
individuals is incorporated in the solving the menace. The collaboration is aimed at improving
the manner in which a society a dress its issues and solves its problems. A constant and steady
flow of communication is important to the group that comes in to assist the society and the

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members of the society. Due to the existence of communication between the various groups,
action research is a form of qualitative research (Klein, 2014, p.203).
Phenomenological research deals with finding out the experience of people about a phenomenon
or their interpretation of such experiences. That way, it can explore the understandings,
perceptions and views of other people about a particular phenomenon or situation (Boeije, 2009,
p.369). It gives the researcher an explanation and understanding of the world as it is in the views
of other people. Field research is deployed in the collection of qualitative data and involves the
researcher getting to the field where he makes observations of the phenomenon in its natural
context. The researcher is required to record his observations during his time in the field, and the
noted observations act as the collected data that is to be used for analysis. This strategy is more
of related to participant observation.
System of Inquiry
Three systems of inquiry are usable when it comes to gaining access to the information necessary
for meeting the objectives of the research. Among these systems are deduction, induction, and
abduction. The decision on the inquiry system to be used relies on the data collection strategies,
the expected outcomes of the research (objectives) and the nature of the research.
Induction is a reasoning method that heavily or predominantly depends on chances or
probability. In this system of inquiry, a conclusion is made based on the prevailing observation at
the time of concluding. In this light, a conclusion is based on what is known and is observable at
the time. The conclusion made applies to related circumstances, which might be observed at the
time of concluding (Hoque, 2017, p.177).

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Deduction refers to making conclusions based on reasoning, i.e. in deductive reasoning; the
conclusion is arrived at using the universal and normal way of doing things philosophy.
Conclusion is made using information and facts that are generally acceptable in the society. It,
therefore, follows that in deductive reasoning the facts and information that has been used in
concluding determine the level of reliability and truth in conclusion made.
In abductive reasoning, the conclusion is pegged primarily on probability in which the major
premise is identifiable while the minor premise cannot be identified and hence ignored in the
making of the conclusion. It encompasses establishing findings using information that is already
available and known (Hadjiantonis, 2013, p.289). The most probable reasoning is used in the
making of a conclusion. Adductive reasoning gives the researcher various possible explanations
to a single phenomenon hence the researcher has an opportunity to make a choice on which way
to take his conclusion based on his own established priority.
Abduction is the cost-effective system of inquiry for this research. Following the aim of this
research, which was to find out the various factors that affect the development of green building,
numerous and diverse views and thoughts from the experts will be collected. It is not disputable
that each expert will present different views and explanations on the same research topic. From
the given varied explanations the researcher will then need to establish or device a way of
deciding on the possible explanations (Hadjiantonis, 2013, p.308). This will be based on what is
a priority and more important to the researcher in line with the accomplishment of the aims and
objectives of the research.

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Data Collection and Analysis
To gain expansive, comprehensive and elaborate findings from this research, data collection will
be conducted at two levels. Interviews and questionnaires will be used in extracting the
information from experts about the factors affecting green building development. The experts
will be given questionnaires bearing both closed and open-ended questions, which will be meant
to get their perceptions, views, experience and ideas on green building development (Maxwell,
2012, p.74). Still, for experts who might be having enough time and can accommodate
interviews, the same will be delivered unto them. The interview questions will be the same as
those in the questionnaires, and the interview will only be used when it is most convenient
otherwise, questionnaires will take effect.
The responses given either would be documented and kept in computer files or coded forms to be
used at the final stages of the research for the case of interviews while the safety of the filled
questionnaire forms will as well be ensured. Coded form of keeping information is preferred as it
subjected to limited levels of bias. The transcribed information is used as it was extracted from
the source. Content technique of analysis of data would be deployed at the data analysis stage.
Content analysis enables analysis of verbal communication from the interviewees by recording
the number of times similar responses are given. (Keegan, 2009, p.188)
Section 3: Research plan for 11-week research project
The researcher needs to be in direct contact with the experts to achieve the aim and main
objective of this research. This leaves the researcher with the option of adopting questionnaires
and interviews from as the data collection method. Through the questionnaires and interviews,
the researcher will gain access to the thoughts, perceptions, ideas and views of the experts on the

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factors affecting green building development. The views will be collected both verbally and in
written forms. These two data collection methods are ideal for this research as they allow an
interaction between the researcher and the experts in green building. Through the interview
questions that the researcher poses to the experts, the researcher will gain elaborate information
on the research topic and by the end of the interview accomplish the main and general objective
of the research (Brewer, 2013, p.258). Interviews are a good way of building the social
relationship among people. The researcher and the interviewed experts will be able to build on
their social and mutual relationships that may come out to be even of more importance in the
future. Questionnaires provide a platform for even more detailed information. As the expert will
be going about the questions, he will be able to remember any finer details he feels will be
important if added to a question he might have answered. The filled questionnaire forms will
thus be rich in content and explanations.
Background knowledge on the topic green building development is important to researcher. This
would build on his confidence during the interviews and will enable him to interject or seek
clarification on areas where he could be thinking otherwise as the expert. Any stray or false
information on the research topic may thus be easily noted and the accuracy and reliability of any
information in doubt justified (Wang, 2013, p.151). A literature review is the best way to gain
access to such information, which must always remain to be supported and relied upon during
the discussion session.

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Week by week activities using an annotated diagram
0 Task Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1  Proposal Development 3 weeks
2  Finding appropriate literature on the
research field-1
3  Identify a particular literature to find
the gap-1
4  Framing research
question/Aims/Rationale and
objectives-1
5  Preparing the outline proposal draft
and acquiring feedback from the
supervisor-2
6  Develop the research proposal-2
7  Submit the research proposal-2
8  Review feedback and complete the
research by refining it-3
9  Prepare the final research question-3
10  Literature Review 3 weeks
11  Conduct comprehensive and extensive
review on green building and its
benefits -4 & 5
12  Conduct comprehensive and extensive
review on the findings by different
scholars-5
13  Buildings and their impact on
environment-5
14  Try and get an extensive
understanding of the topic- 5 & 6
15  Analysis of data from primary
sources
3 weeks
16  Analysis of data collected through the

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questionnaires and interviews-7 & 8
17  In depth analysis of the literature
review to find ideas and views of other
scholars on how to achieve green
building- 8 & 9
18  Frame the question for the experiment-
9
19  Prepare thesis 2 weeks
20  Prepare first draft of the thesis-10
21  Submit the draft and get the feedback
from the supervisor-10
22  Amend the thesis as per the feedback-
11
23  Submit thesis-11
Proposal Development - 3 weeks (60 hours)
Literature review - 3 weeks (60 hours)
Data analysis from primary sources - 3 weeks (60 hours)
Thesis preparation - 2 weeks (40 hours)

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References
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Brewer, S., 2013. Logic, Probability, and Presumptions in Legal Reasoning. 5th ed. London:
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Coppedge, M., 2012. Democratization and Research Methods. 4th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge
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Hadjiantonis, A., 2013. Abduction and Induction: Essays on their Relation and Integration. 4th
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Hoque, Z., 2017. The Routledge Companion to Qualitative Accounting Research Methods. 3rd
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Keegan, S., 2009. Qualitative Research: Good Decision Making Through Understanding People,
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