Influence of occupant's heating set-point preferences on indoor environmental quality and heating demand in residential buildings

The aim of this study was to switch from a deterministic approach of building energy simulation toward a probabilistic one that takes into account the occupants’ interactions with the building controls. A probabilistic approach is proposed and applied to simulate occupant behavior realistically. The methodology was based on probabilistic evaluation of both input and output variables of building energy simulations. The developed methodology can be applied in all aspects of occupant's interactions with building controls, such as window openings, shading devices, etc., to achieve more realistic predictions of energy consumption. The aim was to compare the obtained results with a traditional deterministic use of the simulation program. Based on heating set-point behavior of 13 Danish dwellings, logistic regression was used to infer the probability of adjusting the set-point of thermostatic radiator valves. Three different models of occupant's interactions with heating controls were obtained and implemented in a building simulation tool. The models of occupant's behavior patterns were used to investigate how different behavior patterns influence indoor climate quality and energy consumption. Simulation results were given as probability distributions of energy consumption and indoor environmental quality depending on occupant's behavior.

[1]  P Pieter-Jan Hoes,et al.  User behavior in whole building simulation , 2009 .

[2]  Kristin Magnussen,et al.  Household behaviour and attitudes with respect to recycling food waste--experiences from focus groups. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[3]  Blair T. Johnson,et al.  The Handbook of Attitudes , 2005 .

[4]  W. Biesiot,et al.  Energy requirements of household consumption: a case study of The Netherlands , 1999 .

[5]  Hans Auer,et al.  The impact of consumer behavior on residential energy demand for space heating , 1998 .

[6]  Rune Vinther Andersen,et al.  MODELLING OCCUPANTS' HEATING SET-POINT PREFFERENCES , 2011 .

[7]  K. Blok,et al.  Household energy requirement and value patterns , 2007 .

[8]  S. Karjalainen.  Gender differences in thermal comfort and use of thermostats in everyday thermal environments , 2007 .

[9]  John M. Darley,et al.  Behavioral approaches to residential energy conservation , 1978 .

[10]  A. Emery,et al.  A long term study of residential home heating consumption and the effect of occupant behavior on homes in the Pacific Northwest constructed according to improved thermal standards , 2006 .

[11]  A. Hwang.  [Thermal comfort]. , 1990, Taehan kanho. The Korean nurse.

[12]  Robert H. Socolow,et al.  Twin Rivers program on energy conservation in housing: highlights and conclusions , 1978 .

[13]  C. Mullaly,et al.  Home energy use behaviour: a necessary component of successful local government home energy conservation (LGHEC) programs , 1998 .

[14]  Standard Ashrae.  Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy , 1992 .

[15]  K. Steemers,et al.  Time-dependent occupant behaviour models of window control in summer , 2008 .

[16]  K. K. Andersen,et al.  Survey of occupant behaviour and control of indoor environment in Danish dwellings , 2007 .

[17]  Michael I. Gentry,et al.  Central heating thermostat settings and timing: building demographics , 2010 .

[18]  Lin Fu,et al.  Field investigation on consumer behavior and hydraulic performance of a district heating system in Tianjin, China , 2009 .

[19]  Bjarne W. Olesen,et al.  Occupants' window opening behaviour: A literature review of factors influencing occupant behaviour and models , 2012 .

[20]  E. Sardianou,et al.  Estimating space heating determinants: An analysis of Greek households , 2008 .

[21]  Christoph F. Reinhart,et al.  Lightswitch-2002: a model for manual and automated control of electric lighting and blinds , 2004 .

[22]  H. Akaike,et al.  Information Theory and an Extension of the Maximum Likelihood Principle , 1973 .

[23]  Jacek Tejchman,et al.  Comparison of physical performances of the ventilation systems in low-energy residential houses , 2009 .

[24]  M. Shukuya,et al.  Comparison of theoretical and statistical models of air-conditioning-unit usage behaviour in a residential setting under Japanese climatic conditions , 2009 .

[25]  J. F. Nicol.  Characterising occupant behaviour in buildings : towards a stochastic model of occupant use of windows, lights, blinds, heaters and fans , 2001 .

[26]  Henk Visscher,et al.  The effect of occupancy and building characteristics on energy use for space and water heating in Dutch residential stock , 2009 .

[27]  Rune Korsholm Andersen.  The influence of occupants’ behaviour on energy consumption investigated in 290 identical dwellings and in 35 apartments , 2012 .