Modeling occupancy and behavior for better building design and operation—A critical review

People spend more than 90% of their life time in buildings, which makes occupant behavior one of the leading influences of energy consumption in buildings. Occupancy and occupant behavior, which refer to human presence inside buildings and their active interactions with various building system such as lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation, window blinds, and plugs, attract great attention of research with regard to better building design and operation. Due to the stochastic nature of occupant behavior, prior occupancy models vary dramatically in terms of data sampling, spatial and temporal resolution. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the current modeling efforts of occupant behavior, summarizes occupancy models for various applications including building energy performance analysis, building architectural and engineering design, intelligent building operations and building safety design, and presents challenges and areas where future research could be undertaken. In addition, modeling requirement for different applications is analyzed. Furthermore, a few commonly used statistical and data mining models are presented. The purpose of this paper is to provide a modeling reference for future researchers so that a proper method or model can be selected for a specific research purpose.     

Challenges for capturing and assessing initial embodied energy: a contractor’s perspective

Initial embodied energy includes energy use during material, transportation, and construction life cycle phases up to project practical completion. Contractors have an important role to play in reducing initial embodied energy levels due to their significant involvement in preconstruction and onsite construction activities. Following an extensive literature review a comprehensive framework was designed to highlight the significance of initial embodied energy levels relative to specific construction packages, activities and subcontractors. This framework was then applied to a new UK industrial warehouse project using a case study approach. Capturing information from a live project during the entire construction phase helped highlight the practical challenges inherent when capturing and assessing initial embodied energy levels. A series of contractor current practices was reviewed to determine their compliance with the framework requirements. The findings revealed that the ground and upper floor, external slab and frame were the most significant construction packages in terms of embodied impacts. Many challenges embedded within the contractor’s current practices in terms of data detail, legibility, and terminology were also revealed. The framework provides a practical approach for initial embodied energy assessment which can readily be adopted by contractors to help highlight opportunities to increase efficiency.     

Optimized maintenance and renovation scheduling in multifamily buildings – a systematic approach based on condition state and life cycle cost of building components

Proactive maintenance strategies in principle are devised to control degradation and sustain optimal performance of building components. While realizing the technical necessities, they also serve as an instrument towards multiple and often conflicting objectives during financial constraints. An optimal proactive maintenance strategy therefore should comprise a multiannual maintenance action plan optimized on different criteria corresponding to owners’ objectives under existing constraints. This study offers a systematic approach based on a condition-deterioration model to address the complexity involved in decision making regarding optimized maintenance and renovation planning. Life-cycle cost analysis in form of Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC) is used for the economic assessment of maintenance/renovation scenarios. In this paper, the model is used to compare the economy of different maintenance/renovation plans in a chosen scenario in order to determine the optimal maintenance interval for a single and a combination of building components. Two façade elements, windows and façade rendering, are used to illustrate the application of the proposed method. This method is intended to help decision makers at both design and post-construction phases in the choice of both building components and maintenance/renovation strategies.     

TOBUS — a European diagnosis and decision-making tool for office building upgrading

The TOBUS (a decision-making tool for selecting office building upgrading solutions) methodology and software have been developed as a result of a 2-year European research project, involving eight European institutions, in the frame of the JOULE III programme of the European Commission (EC), Directorate General XII. A structured diagnosis scheme enables architects and engineers to simultaneously handle the entire complex process of office building refurbishment or retrofit with respect to deterioration, functional obsolescence of building services, energy consumption and indoor environmental quality. The software tool can then be used to define the most appropriate and cost-effective actions, to elaborate consistent refurbishment scenarios and calculate a reasonable investment budget in the early stages of a refurbishment project. This paper provides an overview of the work performed in TOBUS and an overview of the methodology and final deliverables of the project.     

XENIOS—a methodology for assessing refurbishment scenarios and the potential of application of RES and RUE in hotels

Hotels rank in the highest levels of energy consumption in the tertiary building sector. Improved service quality mandates that hotel building, facilities and installations are maintained to the highest standards in order to remain competitive, thus renovations are becoming common. Renovation is usually financially attractive when compared to demolition and reconstruction. This offers great opportunities for promoting energy efficient measures, exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES) and rational use of energy (RUE) in the hotel sector. The XENIOS methodology and software permits the user to perform a preliminary hotel audit and make a first assessment of cost-effective energy efficient renovation practices, technologies and systems. This paper presents a brief overview of the methodology and the various features of the XENIOS software and focuses on the results from four audits and a pilot study carried out in Mediterranean hotels.     

LES over RANS in building simulation for outdoor and indoor applications: A foregone conclusion?

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) undeniably has the potential to provide more accurate and more reliable results than simulations based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. However, LES entails a higher simulation complexity and a much higher computational cost. In spite of some claims made in the past decades that LES would render RANS obsolete, RANS remains widely used in both research and engineering practice. This paper attempts to answer the questions why this is the case and whether this is justified, from the viewpoint of building simulation, both for outdoor and indoor applications. First, the governing equations and a brief overview of the history of LES and RANS are presented. Next, relevant highlights from some previous position papers on LES versus RANS are provided. Given their importance, the availability or unavailability of best practice guidelines is outlined. Subsequently, why RANS is still frequently used and whether this is justified or not is illustrated by examples for five application areas in building simulation: pedestrian-level wind comfort, near-field pollutant dispersion, urban thermal environment, natural ventilation of buildings and indoor airflow. It is shown that the answers vary depending on the application area but also depending on other—less obvious—parameters such as the building configuration under study. Finally, a discussion and conclusions including perspectives on the future of LES and RANS in building simulation are provided.     

A Waterside City in Southern China Known for its Long History and Cultural Background

Shao Xing is situated at the estuary ofQian Tang River to the south of Hang ZhouBay in the southeastern coastal region ofChina. To the south lies Hui Ji Shan andLing Shao Plain to the east. The city is bor-dered by hills to the southwest; plains andrivers to the northeast. Shao Xing is ariverside city with distincitive character     

The effect of reflective coatings on building surface temperatures,indoor environment and energy consumption—An experimental study

This paper presents an experimental study on the impact of reflective coatings on indoor environment and building energy consumption. Three types of coatings were applied on identical buildings and their performance was compared with three sets of experiments in both summer and winter. The first experiment considers the impact of coatings on exterior and interior surface temperatures, indoor air temperatures, globe temperature, thermal stratification and mean radiant temperatures for non-conditioned buildings (free-floating case); the second one focused on the impact of coatings on reduction of electricity consumption in conditioned spaces; in the third experiment, the impact of different envelope material properties equipped with different coatings was investigated. The results showed that, depending on location, season and orientation, exterior and interior surface temperatures can be reduced by up to 20 °C and 4.7 °C respectively using different coatings. The maximum reduction in globe temperature and mean radiant temperature was 2.3 °C and 3.7 °C in that order. For the conditioned case, the annual reduction in electricity consumption for electricity reached 116 kWh. Nevertheless, the penalty in increased heating demand can result in a negative all-year effect in Shanghai, which is characterized by hot summers and cold winters.     

Urban water management strategies based on a total urban water cycle model and energy aspects – Case study for Tel Aviv

Global change pressures such as climate change, water scarcity, population growth, full urbanisation of catchments and rising energy costs may increasingly affect the urban water system of Tel Aviv. These challenges formed the incentive for a multidisciplinary Learning Alliance of water sector institutions to embark on a process to identify ways to improve sustainability of the city's water system. Sustainability indicators were identified and a whole-of-system water balance model (AquaCycle) was used to score the indicators for future scenarios and strategies. Strategies included rainwater harvesting, stormwater use, permeable pavements, and wastewater reuse. The effect of the strategies on total water imported into the city was a reduction of 10% by rainwater harvesting and 32% by wastewater reuse at cluster scale. The latter strategy reduced energy consumption from 2.89 kWh per m³ of volume of water used (import + reuse) in the current situation to 2.45 kWh per m³.     

Emotional mapping and its participatory potential: Opinions about cycling conditions in Reykjavík,Iceland

Many cities have prioritised the provision of bicycle infrastructure, as part of a transition to more sustainable transport. Information from the users of bicycle facilities is crucial for successful bicycle planning. The article presents a case study of Reykjavík, Iceland, where a simple ‘emotional mapping’ platform was used to enable cyclists to express their emotional reactions to routes and places. A sample of 100 users identified some 541 features - lines and points - on a map of the city, associated them with either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ emotions and wrote textual comments to elaborate on the reasons for their judgement. The results indicate clearly the importance of the natural environment for cyclists, as well as the negative feeling engendered by cycling close to car traffic or in the street with the cars. These data support the emphases found in the present bicycling plan of Reykjavík city. In general, volunteered geographical information and crowdsourcing has much potential for increasing citizen participation in urban planning. A flexible software platform for participatory mapping, such as the one used in the study, can be a valuable addition to the planner‘s toolbox.     

Optimum configuration and design of a photovoltaic–diesel–battery hybrid energy system for a facility in University of Port Harcourt,Nigeria

Optimum configuration, using a hybrid optimisation model for electric renewable software, and design of a photovoltaic (PV)–diesel–battery hybrid energy system has been proposed to power a facility in the University of Port Harcourt, which is located in the suburb of Port Harcourt city, Nigeria. The configuration of the optimum hybrid system is selected based on top-ranked system configuration, according to the net present cost. An optimal system design delivers the best components alongside appropriate operating strategies to provide the most efficient, reliable cost-effective system possible. The system investigated reduces CO₂ emissions by 36.3%/year. This will reduce costs imposed on CO₂ emissions by future environmental legislation. The system has a better potential for providing the energy needs of the facility considered in this paper compared with a stand-alone PV–battery system as capital costs are reduced by 55%. Reliability was improved as the diesel generator can provide power as and when it is needed.     

Achieving sustainable development goal 7 in Africa: Does globalization matter for electricity access,renewable energy consumption,and energy efficiency?

This paper examines the effect of globalization on progress toward SDG 7, with a particular focus on electricity access, renewable energy consumption, and energy intensity. Data are on 42 African countries over the 2000 – 2015 period. Findings from the fixed-effects model with the Driscoll-Kraay estimator show that overall globalization improves electricity access, while its effect on renewable energy consumption and energy intensity is insignificant. Additional findings show that economic globalization improves electricity access and energy efficiency; social globalization undermines renewable energy consumption while improving energy efficiency; political globalization increases electricity access and renewable energy consumption. Some recommendations are provided.     

Variation in rainwater chemistry,and its relation to synoptic conditions,at a site in North‐West England

Detailed studies of the chemistry of rainwater from 28 storms have been made at a site near Lancaster, England, using a specially‐designed sampler. Major cations and anions show high concentrations in the first rainfall collected for each event, and rapidly decrease to low but finite values in later samples. High initial concentrations are attributed to dissolution of aerosols and dry deposits previously collected on the funnel. The total ionic contribution to the rainwater samples by this process can be related linearly to the length of the dry period preceding the storm. Comparison of rainwater chemistry and storm trajectories suggests that airmasses which have passed over industrial areas have rainwater chemistry (high SO₄, Ca; low Na, Cl) which is distinct from that associated with storms of marine origin (high Na, Cl; low SO₄).     

Participatory game prototyping – balancing domain content and playability in a serious game design for the energy transition

Abstract

Communication designers have historically been accused of neglecting end-user perspectives, believing designers are experts at creating inspired designs. Codesign has been applied to many design fields, however developing methods for engaging end-users have had little traction in communication design practice. In an era of end-user engagement, communication designers are left wondering how and when to include end-users in the design process and if codesign offers any benefits to project outcomes. This study trialled codesign workshops across two communication design case studies. Both studies involved non-profit contexts where designers and staff co-created communication design strategies, one for sustainable cleaning in childcare centres and the other for asthma management and awareness. The findings reveal that structured, hands-on generative toolkits conducted in small groups, sparked conversation and prompted innovative ideas whereas evaluating ideas with ranking toolkits blocked dialogue and hindered idea progression. Evaluation tooolkits based on ranking ideas created unexpected barriers to engagement, as end-users disengaged from the codesign process. I argue codesign can benefit communication design when structured hands-on generative toolkits simulate a perceived familiar environment, creating a conversational forum for ideas to flow while participants enjoy creating things with their hands.     

Toward sustainable energy usage in the power generation and construction sectors—a case study of Australia

To be sustainable in energy usage in the future, there are two aspects that need to be considered: the energy supply or generation and the consumption side, including the closely linked construction and building industries which consume a large amount of energy. Essential requirements for energy efficiency are to produce less greenhouse gas emissions and to rely more on renewable energy sources for future sustainability. Policies for mitigation of the environment impact are having effects on both the supply and demand. While the former requires more alternate sources in smart grids and improved technologies for carbon capture and storage, the latter involves the reduction of energy wastes and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as prerequisites to green certification within the construction and building sector. Thus, access to sustainable, affordable, and secure energy is one of the major global strategic priorities to maintain and improve public health, sustain economic growth, and mitigate the effects of climate change. Toward this goal, many countries, including Australia, are investing in clean, efficient, reliable energy systems for a prosperous and environmentally sustainable future. Hence, exploring various options to ensure energy security by diversification of energy sources is an important step in meeting the future requirements and delivering clean energy to different industry sectors. This paper discusses options to manage the use of energy sources in the power generation and construction industries. Options for mitigation of environmental impact and for achievement of sustainable energy usage, such as building design with BIM, are discussed.     

Children's blood lead and exposure to lead in household dust and water — a basis for an environmental standard for lead in dust

Good quantitative evidence on the role of lead in household dust as a source of exposure to children has been lacking. A study of 495 children in Edinburgh, Scotland shows a significant relationship between lead in dust vacuumed from the floors of the children's homes and their blood lead levels. A multiple regression analysis incorporating drinking water and household dust estimates that a 1,000 μg g⁻¹ increase in dust lead concentration would increase blood lead by 1.9 μg dl⁻¹, for a child with the median population blood lead of 10.1 μg dl⁻¹. Dust lead concentration is a more useful predictor of blood lead than lead loading. The sanding or blow-lamp stripping of old paint is found to be an important source of the higher household dust lead concentrations. Finally, the dust lead-blood lead relationship is used to derive a standard for lead in house dust, as no such standard exists for this exposure route.     

City as a geopolitics: Tbilisi,Georgia — A globalizing metropolis in a turbulent region

Tbilisi, a city of over a million, is the national capital of Georgia. Although little explored in urban studies, the city epitomizes a fascinating assemblage of processes that can illuminate the interplay of geopolitics, political choices, globalization discourses, histories, and urban contestations in shaping urban transformations. Tbilisi's strategic location in the South Caucasus, at the juncture of major historical empires and religions in Eurasia, has ensured its turbulent history and a polyphony of cultural influences. Following Georgia's independence in 1991, Tbilisi found itself as the pivot of Georgian nation-building. Transition to a market economy also exposed the city to economic hardship, ethnical homogenization, and the informalization of the urban environment. The economic recovery since the early 2000s has activated urban regeneration. Georgia's government has recently promoted flagship urban development projects in pursuit of making Tbilisi as a modern globalizing metropolis. This has brought contradictions, such as undermining the city's heritage, contributing to socio-spatial polarization, and deteriorating the city's public spaces. The elitist processes of decision-making and a lack of a consistent urban policy and planning regimes are argued to be among major impediments for a more sustainable development of this city.