occupant behaviour

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.

In order to know the thermal comfort of bedrooms, we have measured the air temperature and relative humidity in the 27 bedrooms of 11 houses. We have also conducted a thermal comfort survey, quality of sleep and occupant behaviour survey with the residents. Residents are highly satisfied with the thermal condition of the houses, using various thermal adjustments such as fans, clothing modifications, etc.

This paper describes an effort to build and partially validate an energy model of an existing educational building located in Cambridge, MA, USA. This work was carried out as part of a research seminar for graduate architecture/design students and included four related tasks: Modelling the building’s geometry and thermal properties in DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus, generating a site-specific weather file based on near-site measured data, assessing internal load schedules based on a detailed building survey, and collecting monthly metered data for heating lighting and cooling over a whole year.

While most current building simulation tools consider occupants as predictable robots the true nature of human behaviour is more complex. This article describes a set of stochastic models aimed at capturing this complexity by decoupling occupant presence from occupant behaviour, then considering separately each means of occupant interaction (use of appliances, of windows, of lighting, etc.) with the building and finally modeling each of these  appropriately.

This report provides information and advice to policy and decision makers, researchers, architects, designers, and manufacturers on (i) strategies for achieving a satisfactory balance between good indoor air quality (IAQ) and the rational use of energy, (ii) guidelines on the use of energy in buildings and IAQ currently available, (iii) significant trends in the building sector with implications for IAQ and energy use and (iv) current research concerns.

The web-based IEQ survey is a tool that helps assess how well a building is performing from the viewpoint of its occupants. It is useful to detect and solve problems, and to rate a building performance.The survey conducted in more than 70 buildings has been widely tested and refined.
Three case studies are presented, demonstrating the different possible applications of the survey : evaluation of the effectiveness of a technology, information of the guidelines for a new comfort standard, benchmarking facility performance.