Abstract

Background: The Philippines is becoming one of the largest and most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia in recent years, since the government effected several national reforms. The progressing economy demands an increase in residential buildings and expects higher energy consumption as many households become able to afford better and more comfortable living conditions.

Methodology: The goal of this paper is to review and evaluate the Philippine residential building sector in terms of its contribution in building construction, energy consumption, energy distribution, gadgets and technologies used in households.

Results: The residential building sector shares the largest percentage of total building construction, and detached houses account for the majority of that residential building construction. There are diverse classes of residential designs and sizes and there is a diverse source of energy for the households. There is a large income gap in the Philippines which contributes to the diverse design and size of residential buildings. Large percentage of the residential buildings’ design and materials are based on glass windows and concrete, both of which affect the indoor thermal environment. The diverse sources of energy in the Philippine household are due to the economic factor.

Conclusion: As the economy, population and standard of living increases, it is expected that the energy consumption increases resulted in searching ways in utilizing new energy sources and technologies to minimize the increase of household energy consumption. Some patents and research outputs shown in this paper could be utilized to support the Philippine residential building sector in building technologies, energy consumption reduction, and energy efficient gadgets and technologies.

Keywords: Philippines, tropical climate, building construction, household, energy consumption, concrete.

Graphical Abstract