%0 Journal Article %J Building and Environment %D 2018 %T Human-building interaction at work: Findings from an interdisciplinary cross-country survey in Italy %A Simona D'Oca %A Anna Laura Pisello %A Marilena De Simone %A Verena M. Barthelmes %A Tianzhen Hong %A Stefano P. Corgnati %K Human-building interaction %K indoor environmental comfort %K interdisciplinary framework %K occupant behavior %K office buildings %K questionnaire survey %X

This study presents results from an interdisciplinary survey assessing contextual and behavioral factors driving occupants' interaction with building and systems in offices located across three different Mediterranean climates in Turin (Northern), Perugia (Central), and Rende (Southern) Italy. The survey instrument is grounded in an interdisciplinary framework that bridges the gap between building physics and social science environments on the energy- and comfort-related human-building interaction in the workspace. Outcomes of the survey questionnaire provide insights into four key learning objectives: (1) individual occupant's motivational drivers regarding interaction with shared building environmental controls (such as adjustable thermostats, operable windows, blinds and shades, and artificial lighting), (2) group dynamics such as perceived social norms, attitudes, and intention to share controls, (3) occupant perception of the ease of use and knowledge of how to operate control systems, and (4) occupant-perceived comfort, satisfaction, and productivity. This study attempts to identify climatic, cultural, and socio-demographic influencing factors, as well as to establish the validity of the survey instrument and robustness of outcomes for future studies. Also, the paper aims at illustrating why and how social science insights can bring innovative knowledge into the adoption of building technologies in shared contexts, thus enhancing perceived environmental satisfaction and effectiveness of personal indoor climate control in office settings and impacting office workers' productivity and reduced operational energy costs.

%B Building and Environment %V 132 %G eng %R 10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.01.039 %0 Journal Article %J Energy and Buildings %D 2016 %T Advances in research and applications of energy-related occupant behavior in buildings %A Tianzhen Hong %A Sarah C. Taylor-Lange %A Simona D'Oca %A Da Yan %A Stefano P. Corgnati %K Behavior Modeling %K Building design and operation %K building performance simulation %K energy use %K occupant behavior %X

Occupant behavior is one of the major factors influencing building energy consumption and contributing to uncertainty in building energy use prediction and simulation. Currently the understanding of occupant behavior is insufficient both in building design, operation and retrofit, leading to incorrect simplifications in modeling and analysis. This paper introduced the most recent advances and current obstacles in modeling occupant behavior and quantifying its impact on building energy use. The major themes include advancements in data collection techniques, analytical and modeling methods, and simulation applications which provide insights into behavior energy savings potential and impact. There has been growing research and applications in this field, but significant challenges and opportunities still lie ahead.

%B Energy and Buildings %V 116 %P 694-702 %8 03/2016 %2 LBNL-1004497 %R 10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.11.052 %0 Journal Article %D 2016 %T Introduction to an occupant behavior motivation survey framework %A Simona D'Oca %A Stefano P. Corgnati %A Anna Laura Pisello %A Tianzhen Hong %K DNAs framework %K energy-related occupant behavior %K motivation %K office buildings %K questionnaire survey %X

An increasing body of research is underlying the need to foster energy behaviors and interaction with technology as a way to achieve energy savings in office buildings. However, engaging office users into more “forgiving” comfort-adaptive behavior is not a trivial task, since neither consequences nor benefits for changing behavior have visible or tangible effects on them personally. Since the 70’s, survey studies in the field of building science have been used to gain better understanding of multidisciplinary drivers of occupant behavior with respect to comfort and energy requirements in buildings. Rather than focusing on individual behaviors – and influencing factors – purpose of this survey research is to provide quantitative descriptions on the collective and social motivations within the complexity of different social groups in working environment, under different geographical context, culture and norms. The resultant questionnaire survey emerges as a combination of traditional and adaptive comfort theories, merged with social science theory. The questionnaire explores to what extent the occupant energy-related behavior in working spaces is driven by a motivational sphere influenced by i) comfort requirements, ii) habits, iii) intentions and iv) actual control of building systems. The key elements of the proposed occupant behavior motivational framework are grounded on the Driver Need Action System framework for energy-related behaviors in buildings. Goal of the study is to construct an additional layer of standardized knowledge to enrich the state-of-the-art on energy-related behavior in office buildings.

%2 LBNL-1004496 %0 Journal Article %J Building and Environment %D 2015 %T An Ontology to Represent Energy-Related Occupant Behavior in Buildings. Part II: Implementation of the DNAS framework using an XML schema %A Tianzhen Hong %A Simona D'Oca %A Sarah C. Taylor-Lange %A William J. N. Turner %A Yixing Chen %A Stefano P. Corgnati %K building energy consumption %K building simulation %K energy modeling %K obXML %K occupant behavior %K XML schema %X

Energy-related occupant behavior in buildings is difficult to define and quantify, yet critical to our understanding of total building energy consumption. Part I of this two-part paper introduced the DNAS (Drivers, Needs, Actions and Systems) framework, to standardize the description of energy-related occupant behavior in buildings. Part II of this paper implements the DNAS framework into an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) schema, titled ‘occupant behavior XML’ (obXML). The obXML schema is used for the practical implementation of the DNAS framework into building simulation tools. The topology of the DNAS framework implemented in the obXML schema has a main root element OccupantBehavior, linking three main elements representing Buildings, Occupants and Behaviors. Using the schema structure, the actions of turning on an air conditioner and closing blinds provide two examples of how the schema standardizes these actions using XML. The obXML schema has inherent flexibility to represent numerous, diverse and complex types of occupant behaviors in buildings, and it can also be expanded to encompass new types of behaviors. The implementation of the DNAS framework into the obXML schema will facilitate the development of occupant information modeling (OIM) by providing interoperability between occupant behavior models and building energy modeling programs.

%B Building and Environment %V 94 %P 196-205 %8 08/2015 %N 1 %2 LBNL-1004501 %R 10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.08.006