The Role of Occupants in Buildings’ Energy Performance Gap: Myth or Reality?

Mahdavi, Ardeshir; Berger, Christiane; Amin, H. Al Ka’bi; Ampatzi, Eleni; Andersen, Rune Korsholm; Azar, Elie; Barthelmes, Verena Marie; Favero, Matteo; Hahn, Jakob; Khovalyg, Dolaana; Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose; Navarro, Alessandra L.; Roetzel, Astrid; Sangogboye, Fisayo Caleb; Schweiker, Marcel; Taheri, Mahnameh; Teli, Despoina; Touchie, Marianne F.; Verbruggen, Silke

doi:10.3390/su13063146

Cited by 71 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…However, in the case of south-concentrated windows, external shading (e.g., blinds) of the entire glazed surface for overheating prevention should be applied. Furthermore, shading operation should be automatically controlled since the overheating risk would be higher if shading devices were manually controlled by occupants [60]. Concerning the building shape, a more compact design is recommended.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate

Pajek

Košir

2021

Sustainability

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Climate change is expected to expose the locked-in overheating risk concerning bioclimatic buildings adapted to a specific past climate state. The study aims to find energy-efficient building designs which are most resilient to overheating and increased cooling energy demands that will result from ongoing climate change. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric study of various passive building design measures was implemented, simulating the energy use of each combination for a temperate climate of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The approach to overheating vulnerability assessment was devised and applied using the increase in cooling energy demand as a performance indicator. The results showed that a B1 heating energy efficiency class according to the Slovenian Energy Performance Certificate classification was the highest attainable using the selected passive design parameters, while the energy demand for heating is projected to decrease over time. In contrast, the energy use for cooling is in general projected to increase. Furthermore, it was found that, in building models with higher heating energy use, low overheating vulnerability is easier to achieve. However, in models with high heating energy efficiency, very high overheating vulnerability is not expected. Accordingly, buildings should be designed for current heating energy efficiency and low vulnerability to future overheating. The paper shows a novel approach to bioclimatic building design with global warming adaptation integrated into the design process. It delivers recommendations for the energy-efficient, robust bioclimatic design of residential buildings in the Central European context, which are intended to guide designers and policymakers towards a resilient and sustainable built environment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate

Pajek

Košir

2021

Sustainability

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“…Although reviews focusing on the performance gap of buildings and building certificates are rare, studies on other issues such as the impact of occupant behavior [2,3], climate [4,5,6,7], heating systems [8,9,10,11]are significant.…”

Section: Previous Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of energy performance gap and solutions in residential buildings

Zare

Shafaat

Asadi

2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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The energy consumption in the world due to economic development, rising population, and technological developments is growing, which has led to an increase in global warming. Therefore, there is a strong need to develop new strategies to reduce energy consumption. Buildings account for about 40% of global energy consumption. Since occupancy time in residential buildings is longer than in commercial and office buildings, residential buildings have a more significant impact on energy consumption. Due to this issue, efforts are being made to optimize energy consumption in residential buildings. Evaluating the performance of a building through building certificates that include as-designed and in-operation is essential for improving energy efficiency. Building energy simulations must be performed before construction to ensure that energy consumption in buildings is acceptable. However, it is observed that the energy consumption of the building after construction is higher than what was designed. This difference is defined as the energy performance gap, which indicates extra energy consumption or failure to comply with energy standards in the operation of the building. There are several reasons for the increased energy consumption of an operating building compared to the designed model. So far, studies have been conducted to determine the factors affecting the energy performance gap, but it is necessary to analyze these studies comprehensively. This article investigates the causes of energy performance gaps and ways to reduce this difference through a comprehensive literature review study. In this way, it is possible to achieve solutions in the building certification criteria that minimize the difference in energy consumption between the as-designed model and the in-operation mode of the building. This article can help decision-makers select the certificate that best fits their purposes.

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“…A previously published detailed literature review underlined the need for more empirical data in order to improve predictions by calibrating models [25]. More recent studies have also reviewed evidence from the literature in an effort to quantify the role of the occupants' behavior in the actual energy performance of a building [26]. The deviations ranged from −38% to +96%, although there were deviations among the various studies that followed different approaches in the range and quality of data, the normalization procedures and other factors that may have led to different conclusions.…”

Section: Occupant Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts on Indoor Thermal Comfort and Heating Energy Use in Hellenic Dwellings from Occupant Behavioral Reactions

Dascalaki¹,

Balaras²

2021

Applied Sciences

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In an effort to reduce the operational cost of their dwellings, occupants may even have to sacrifice their indoor thermal comfort conditions. Following the economic recession in Greece over recent years, homeowners have been forced to adapt their practices by shortening heating hours, lowering the indoor thermostat settings, isolating spaces that are not heated or even turning off their central heating system and using alternative local heating systems. This paper presents the results from over 100 occupant surveys using questionnaires and walk-through energy audits in Hellenic households that documented how occupants operated the heating systems in their dwellings and the resulting indoor thermal comfort conditions and actual energy use. The results indicate that the perceived winter thermal comfort conditions were satisfactory in only half of the dwellings, since the actual operating space heating periods averaged only 5 h (compared with the assumed 18 h in standard conditions), while less than half heated their entire dwellings and only a fifth maintained an indoor setpoint temperature of 20 °C, corresponding to standard comfort conditions. Mainstream energy conservation measures include system maintenance, switching to more efficient systems, reducing heat losses and installing controls. This information is then used to derive empirical adaptation factors for bridging the gap between the calculated and actual energy use, making more realistic estimates of the expected energy savings following building renovations, setting prudent targets for energy efficiency and developing effective plans toward a decarbonized building stock.

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The Role of Occupants in Buildings’ Energy Performance Gap: Myth or Reality?

Cited by 71 publications

References 103 publications

Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate

Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate

Review of energy performance gap and solutions in residential buildings

Impacts on Indoor Thermal Comfort and Heating Energy Use in Hellenic Dwellings from Occupant Behavioral Reactions

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