occupant behaviour

Occupants control indoor environments to meet their individual needs for comfort. The control of window is the most common natural ventilation method influencing indoor environment as well as the energy use of the buildings to maintain a suitable environment. Therefore a better understanding of window control behaviour of the occupants has significant implication to enhance occupant comfort with minimal energy consumption. The objective of this study was to identify an appropriate algorithm and variables to develop a predictive model for window control.

Indoor air quality and thermal comfort was measured in 14 three-bedroom, semi-detached, cavity wall naturally-ventilated homes during the winter following an energy efficient retrofit. As part of the energy retrofit, homes received new windows and doors, an upgraded heating system, attic insulation, and wall vents, as well as pumped beaded wall insulation into three external walls.

It has already been proven that a large portion of the energy consumption gap between simulations and reality is due to the occupant behaviour in buildings. The improving airtightness of buildings makes that Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) can no longer rely on air renewal through infiltrations, bringing the need of ventilation systems. Within this frame, an ongoing dissertation focuses on the relationship between occupancy behaviour and ventilation systems in low energy buildings.

The proceedings of the seventh AIVC Conference contain 16 papers and 5 posters as follows: Requirements for adequate and user-acceptable ventilation installations in dwellings; Ventilation air infiltration and building occupant behaviour; A preliminary study of window opening in 18 low energy houses; Occupants' influence on air change in dwellings; The influence of occupant behaviour on indoor air quality - a case study; Ventilation and occupant behaviour in two apartment buildings; Inhabitant behaviour with regard to mechanical ventilation in France; Ventilation heating system of small hou

This paper presents an ideal and worst case scenario approach for occupancy modelling in early design stages which can be used in building simulation. It defines the range of impact that occupant behaviour can have on comfort and energy performance in buildings, and can thus contribute to the decision making of architectural projects in early design stages.  

This paper describes a pilot study testing the applicability of using building performance simulation (BPS) to quantify the impact of 28 energy saving behaviour changes on the residential space heating demand, based on a mid-terraced house located in the southwest of England. The 28 behaviour change options were collected based on a combination of literature review and expert knowledge. DesignBuilder V3.2, whose thermal dynamic simulation engine is Energyplus 7.2, was used to predict the impact of each behaviour change option on the space heating demand of the case study house.

This paper investigates the effect of occupant behaviour and expectations on energy use and indoor environmental conditions of six case study dwellings in three sustainable social housing developments in UK using building performance evaluation methods. The case study houses cover a variety of built forms and different types of construction systems but have similar occupancy profiles and tenures.

Thermal comfort studies have been performed so far either in closed climate chambers with controlled conditions or non-controlled conditions during field studies. Detailed analyses of mechanisms behind the adaptive comfort models are therefore hardly possible. This paper presents a newly constructed climate chamber in Karlsruhe (Germany) along with the complete chain from subjective experiments, via data analyses, model development and implementation into dynamic building energy simulation until the formation of a decision base for or against a renovation measure for a confined case.

The environmental conditions experienced in UK schools not only influence the effectiveness of teaching and learning but also affect energy consumption and occupant behaviour plays a critical role in determining such conditions.

There is limited information available about occupant’s window opening behaviour in India. Operating doors and windows is a vital adaptation mechanism in warm climates. This paper reports on a field study which collected and analysed data on the use of openings, comfort responses and the simultaneous temperatures in Indian offices. Occupants in naturally ventilated buildings used the windows and doors adaptively as the seasons changed and the temperature varied. We found that 50% of the windows would be opened at an indoor air temperature of 30 °C, using logistic regression.