Abstract
Current research is focused on sensing and modeling occupant behavior to predict it and automate building controls. Another line of research recommends influencing the behavior of occupants through feedback mechanisms and engagement. Yet, most of the work has focused on pushing occupants to reduce energy consumption over a long time and does not explore the potential to guide users to take specific actions promptly. The study examines a new interface mechanism that aims to solicit immediate and predefined actions from occupants. Building on seminal research in the field, the study uses art visualization to reinterpret social feedback. We test this approach in an immersive interaction space where participants react to artistic visuals to attain predefined settings for three indoor devices. In the 197 interactions recorded, participants’ overall actions conformed with the predefined goals. The participants were able to reach all or some of the targets in more than 80%, within an average of less than 30 seconds. We also see that complementing the visuals with textual hints improved the interaction in terms of engagement and accuracy. We conclude that ambient, abstract, and artistic real-time goal-driven feedback is effective in influencing immediate actions. We recommend that guiding occupants didactically has a strong potential for advancing building controls.
Highlights
Today, a large body of building-related research is focused on collecting, understanding, analyzing, and predicting the behavior of building occupants
There has been a call to move towards including occupants within the loop of building controls, which can be achieved through occupancy sensors and measurement of human feedback or human–building interaction (HBI) [27]
Emerging research in the building controls field is moving towards occupant centric controls, which uses environmental and HBI data to identify optimal control actions [28]
Summary
A large body of building-related research is focused on collecting, understanding, analyzing, and predicting the behavior of building occupants. Researchers depend on occupants’ feedback to investigate indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and the parameters that affect space users’ behavior through sensing and monitoring human–building interaction (HBI) or using post-occupancy evaluations. Automated controls have been gaining the interest of researchers and building operators as a means for balancing energy efficiency and occupants’ comfort. Many scholars have focused their work on understanding human behavior in buildings and modelling and predicting it. The fact remains that “[our] understanding of occupant behavior and its role in building energy performance remains vague, confusing and inconsistent” [4]. Emerging research in the building controls field is moving towards occupant centric controls, which uses environmental and HBI data to identify optimal control actions [28]. There has been a call to move towards including occupants within the loop of building controls (known as human-in-the-loop controls), which can be achieved through occupancy sensors and measurement of human feedback or HBI [27].
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