New perspectives on temporal changes in occupancy characteristics of residential buildings

Abstract

Occupancy patterns are key elements in improving our understanding of building energy usage and implementing demand-oriented strategies to reduce energy consumption. Occupancy pattern is changed over time driving by multiple factors, but there are lacks of research to reveal its temporal change. We analyzed occupancy pattern of residential building based on time-use survey (TUS) data, and compared data from the years 2008 and 2017, to reveal temporal changes in occupancy patterns and to explore the influencing factors of behavioral change. In this study, occupancy patterns on workdays and weekends were distinguished and categorized. Clustering analysis, function fitting, and correlation analysis were used to identify typical occupancy profile of residential building in 2008. Occupancy duration, influencing factors, and distribution curves were compared between 2008 and 2017 to reveal changes and to clarify personnel-related factors affecting occupancy patterns. The length of time Chinese residents spent in their homes was revealed to have increased from 18.35 to 20.31 h on workdays and decreased from 20.73 to 20.01 h on weekends. Further, residents shifted from the living room to the bedroom, in their homes. The age of family members was positively correlated with the length of time spent at home. Also, education level and employment status were inversely proportional to the length of time spent at home. These results deepen our understanding of occupancy patterns and are of great significance for analyzing future trends and their impacts on energy consumption in residential buildings.