December 1, 2014

4:00pm EST

International Sustainable Campus Network

WG 1 Webinar: Occupant Behavior in Sustainable Buildings

PRESENTERS

Ying Hua,

Assistant Professor, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University

Bart Meehan,

Research Associate and Visiting Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

ISCN WORKING GROUP 1 ISCN Charter Principle 1: A sustainable campus infrastructure is governed by respect for natural resources and social responsibility, and embraces the principle of a low carbon economy. Concrete goals embodied in individual buildings can include minimizing environmental impacts (such as energy and water consumption or waste), furthering equal access (such as non-discrimination of the disabled), and optimizing the integration of the built and natural environments. To ensure buildings on campus can meet these goals in the long term, and in a flexible manner, useful processes include participatory planning (integrating end-users such as faculty, staff, and students) and life-cycle costing (taking into account future cost-savings from sustainable construction).

Bart’s Presentation

Occupant Behaviour – Does it matter?

Case Studies

• Fenner School of Environment and Society

• Lena Karmel Lodge

MY RESEARCH FOCUS

The interaction between building sustainable design/operations and occupant behaviour.

Methodology:

• Occupant survey and interviews

• Analysis of building design modelling

• Analysis of operational metrics

“People, not machines, make the decisions that affect energy use. Insight into the human dimension of energy use is key to better understanding future energy trends and how to act effectively to manage them.” Schipper and Meyers, Energy Efficiency and Human Activity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993 “The building worked perfectly before you put academics in it.”

Engineer, ANU

FENNER SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY

Video (web): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1DP7-phzrw

Estimated range of energy savings

Direct feedback (including smart meters) 5–15 %

Indirect feedback (e.g. enhanced billing) 2–10 %

(Ref: European Environment Agency)

Fenner School - Modeling vs Demonstrated energy performance

Energy Use Modelled(unoccupied) Demonstrated

Lighting 9.5 MwH 19.48 MwH

Mech Services 28.01 MwH 57.88 MwH

Cooling 2.4 MwH 10.1 MwH

Plug in N/A 41.56 MwH

Reference: Research by Clare Paynter (FSES)

Anecdotal findings

• Organisational barriers to change (policy, process, work loads)

• Generational differences

• Lack of targets that drive efficiency

• Dependence on technology. (Automating out occupant behaviour)

• Poor understanding of sustainability design and operations

REBOUND EFFECT?

The term 'rebound effect' serves to explain how energy efficiency measures can lead to increasing the energy used, thereby minimising the expected impact from initial savings. The literature reviewed suggests that the rebound effect exists and is to be expected but the ability to accurately quantify the size of the effect remains challenging. In addition it is not sufficient to justify delaying investments in energy efficiency and behaviour change measures. Moreover, the effect is expected to decrease over time as needs are fulfilled.

Examples from Cornell University

Presentation material by:

Ying Hua,

Assistant Professor, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University

Campus building POE studies

Study highlights

• Focus on actual delivered performance

• Emphasis on user perspectives and feedback channels/loop

• Attention to interaction between building occupants and green design

• Attention to generating impact on practice, and

• Creating learning and research opportunities for students

Campus building POE studies: Goals

Campus building POE studies: Methodology

Topics: Integration between

daylighting and electric lighting

systems, effectiveness of façade

design strategies, and personal control

for supportive high-quality visual

environment for work while minimizing

lighting energy consumption in lab

building.

Topics: Thermal comfort, indoor air

quality, visual comfort, sense of privacy

in relation to building programming and

zone orientation, sources of

dissatisfaction, personal control, and

spatial mapping of POE data.

Campus building POE studies: Deliverables for different audiences

Campus building POE studies: Deliverables

for different audiences

Long-term goal: to

change POE from a

costly one-off practice

to a continuous

information collection

process to inform

building operation and

retrofit decision making.

Other forms of dissemination:

Guest Editor: Special Issue on Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE). Intelligent Buildings International. Vol. 5, No. 3.

Hua, Y. (2013) Understanding POE for future building practices. Editorial for the special issue (p133-134).

Other forms of dissemination (cont’)

“Comfort is an elastic and highly negotiable socio-cultural construct.” (Chappells & Shove, 2005).

“Different definitions of comfort lead to different conjunctions of technology and practice (more and less sustainable ones).” (Chappells, 2011)

Discussion on behavior-related energy demand issues

(Re‐)Define comfort

Access to nature (tolerance & expectation)Level of controlAdjustment (CLO, metabolism, energy in-take, etc.)Awareness (& “peer pressure” -- culture)Negotiation (e.g. in a shared work space)Organizational factors (dress code, working day)Symbolic meaning – quality, status

Discussion on behavior-related energy demand issues

(Re‐)Define comfort therefore the energy demand for conditioning buildings

Definition of “quality”Efficiency vs. effectivenessBoundaries/interface of indoor-outdoorImpact from information availabilityPart of an adaptation process

Discussion on behavior-related energy demand issues

Close the feedback loop

Real time information to occupant

Stakeholder engagement

Knowledge creation & managementindividual levelbuilding levelCompany level (design, engineering & service firms)Professional level

Discussion on gaps in research and practice

Student engagement: Examples

Student project in DEA6250: Human Dimensions of Sustainable Building

Dashboard evaluation & design for collaborative sustainable building practice

Student engagement: Examples

• Sustainable Building Connection

• Energy Corps at Cornell University

• Student Chapter of International Facility Management Association

• Cornell University Sustainable Design

Student engagement: ExamplesSupport for students’ extra-curricula activities

Discussion and Questions

Thank you!

This webinar has been recorded and will be available on the ISCN website for future reference.