Effects of variations of occupant behavior on residential building net zero energy performance

The objective of the work is to identify the types of occupant-driven residential behaviour variations that most significantly impact a designer’s ability to predict energy consumption and peak electrical demand of a house. The study compares the sensitivities of results for a typical house and compares with a house designed to achieve net zero energy consumption, where occupant-driven loads are more influential. The results, generated using EnergyPlus, suggest that cooling setpoints and lighting power have the most influence for a typical house, while plug loads and schedule randomization have more influence over the net zero energy house.