Edinburgh Napier University

  Threats of climate change and uncertainty about future energy prices have sparked a global discussion about energy efficiency, particularly energy saving behavior in residential buildings. According to previous studies, occupant behavior can result in a significant amount of variance. Most studies show that understanding and integrating stakeholder expectations has a huge potential for improving building sustainability perspectives in terms of social, environmental, economic, and technical issues. In order to address these challenges in residential buildings in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (clean and sustainable energy, as well as climate action), this paper investigates stakeholders' perceptions on the behavior of households to energy saving and sustainable energy in residential buildings. Qualitative data was gathered through a semi-structured telephone interview with 19 experts in building and energy sector in Nigeria. The purpose of which was to provide an insight into residential energy consumption behavior and the drivers to energy saving behavior. Analysis from the result shows that cost of energy is a major driver to the adoption of energy saving practices as there are no compulsory regulatory agencies to enforce and facilitate the migration to a more sustainable and innovative society. This understanding can proffer solution to achieve sustainable energy management practice in existing residential buildings during the operational phase.