Past and Future Trends on the Effects of Occupant Behaviour on Building Energy Consumption

Abstract

In recent decades, the need for an accurate evaluation of energy use in buildings has become increasingly growing due to the rise in environmental awareness and political pressure around the world. The estimation of energy consumption is, therefore, a crucial criterion during building early-stage design. This paper investigates the recent trends and achievements in modelling occupant behaviour in energy simulation studies and aims to highlight achievements and research gaps in the domain. This study presents a state-of-the-art theoretical review of the research background through published papers in leading journals within this research domain. The main goals of this study lay in the two layers of determining recent research trends and crucial findings in the subject of occupants' behaviour and energy consumption, and more importantly, to identify research gaps for future studies. This research review highlights several areas for future research including studying behaviour in different countries considering various climate, cultures and comfort preferences affecting energy-driven behaviour and conducting similar studies in different building typologies and occupancies. Moreover, based on the reviewed article, it is clear that evaluating occupant behaviour as an independent variable on a larger scale energy analysis in urban studies needs to be addressed in future studies. The authors found a lack of comprehensive approaches to comfort and considering all forms of comfort while studying behaviour and consumption in recent studies. It is recommended that further investigation of behaviour and total energy consumption regarding occupant real comfort conditions be conducted.

Numerical modelling of ventilation strategies for mitigating cough particles transmission and infection risk in hospital isolation rooms

“…20 However, there is a need for more nuanced research into occupant behaviour, particularly in the context of energy consumption, to inform COVID-19 strategies. 21 Regarding the HVAC system, numerous studies examining the impact of HVAC system operation on COVID-19 transmission and indoor air quality has drawn the attention of several researchers. Allen and Ibrahim 22 emphasized the importance of increasing outdoor air ventilation and enhancing filtration to limit airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2.…”

“…20 However, there is a need for more nuanced research into occupant behaviour, particularly in the context of energy consumption, to inform COVID-19 strategies. 21…”

A TRIZ Approach for Designing a Smart Lighting and Control System for Classrooms Based on Counter Application with Dual PIR Sensors

“…This condition serves no beneficial purpose and contributes to the wastage of electricity due to human negligence. Previous studies have shown that occupant presence and behavior in buildings have a major impact on energy consumption for lighting [ 5 ]. Thus, careless user behavior can influence the energy efficiency of a building by one-third, which is a significant contributing factor [ 6 ].…”

Balancing Sustainability and Comfort: A Holistic Study of Building Control Strategies That Meet the Global Standards for Efficiency and Thermal Comfort

“…Buildings are one of the main contributors to excessive energy consumption and carbon emission [13]. This sector plays a critical role in the energy context and contributes significantly to both overall greenhouse gas emissions and global energy consumption, according to the EIA [14].…”