Building User Research Articles

Quantitative index for temporal and spatial patterns of occupant behavior based on VRF big data

The energy consumption required to cool buildings has increased significantly because of occupant behavior. The air conditioning (AC) usage in residential buildings, particularly the part-time and part-space patterns, has a considerable impact on energy consumption. However, the part-time, part-space patterns of occupant behavior, which are characterized by complexity and diversity, present significant challenges when quantitatively assessing their impact on cooling energy consumption. To accurately describe occupant behavior, this study introduces the quantitative index of the part-time, part-space ratio of AC usage. We conducted clustering analysis based on part-time and part-space ratios of AC usage to obtain the typical occupant behavior patterns, user distribution, and cooling energy consumption levels of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) AC systems in various climatic zones of China based on data from 4373 VRF systems across various climatic zones from June to October 2019. The main findings were that the typical occupant behavior pattern of AC usage for residential buildings was the part-time, part-space AC mode, with less than 500 cooling hours and a simultaneous use coefficient below 0.6. The part-time, part-space ratio of AC usage effectively correlated occupant behavior with cooling energy consumption, as evidenced by an R2 value of 0.91, compared with the traditional standard of using the duration of the AC operation. The part-time, part-space ratio of AC usage and cooling energy consumption were higher in the hot summer and warm winter regions than those in the other two climatic zones. These findings can assist in the evaluation of cooling energy consumption for various occupant behavior patterns and provide technical guidance for reducing cooling energy consumption.

Comparison of design education documents and the disconnect between designer priorities, tools, and occupant assumptions

While low-level physiological human-factor design strategies have long been discussed in the literature, these design methods are infrequently seen in architecture education and licensure requirements – leaving designers to think about future occupants on their own. In this paper, we study underlying causes of perceptions–and misperceptions–as to the role human factors play in the design process. We present findings from a large-scale textual analysis supported by two studies: (1) building users assume a higher integration of human factors in design tools than how designers perceive the integration and (2) designers place higher importance on less tangible design concepts than building users. Our findings suggest design tools that can augment the knowledge of designers with respect to human physiology and crowd simulations are pertinent to current workflows. We also infer there are likely additional important-to-explore disconnections between users and designers.

An Energy Portrait-Based Identification Method of Building Users for Demand Response

An Energy Portrait-Based Identification Method of Building Users for Demand Response

Evaluation of Fire Protection System in Library Building Universitas Negeri Padang

The fire of a building will have a major impact on the building owner, both in the form of material, moral and environmental losses. In residential areas, offices and other public facilities often cause casualties. Therefore, a building needs to take into account the risk of fire so that building users can carry out activities safely and comfortably. One of the causes of fires is the fire suppression system that has not received full attention, where there is often an inadequate building fire protection system. The UNP Library Building is one of the public facilities buildings that are always crowded with students. It is necessary to evaluate the availability of the fire protection system to ensure the safety and comfort of its users. This research is in the form of an evaluation of the availability and completeness of the available fire protection systems and their remedies against the threat of fire. The data was taken through direct observation and question and answer and the distribution of questionnaires with the library. From the results of the analysis of the fire protection system inspection of the UNP Library building, it is known that on the 1st floor the lowest rediness value is 18.9%, for the 2nd and 3rd floors is 44.1%, the 4th and 5th floors are 45.9% and 45.6 % fulfilled the requirements based on the Minister of Public Works Regulation No. 26/PRT/M/2008.

Intermittent demand-controlled ventilation for energy flexibility and indoor air quality

Buildings play a crucial role in ensuring power grid stability by providing energy flexibility. Existing research mainly improves the building energy flexibility through energy storage, but requires additional equipment costs. This study proposes a new source of building energy flexibility by properly managing indoor air quality with intermittent demand-controlled ventilation (iDCV), which requires no additional equipment investment. This study reveals the mechanisms of enhancing energy flexibility and develops a nonlinear programming algorithm to optimize the dynamic operation of the iDCV. The robustness of the proposed iDCV in enhancing energy flexibility is verified under different application scenarios in different climate zones. The results show that compared with the existing method, the proposed iDCV enhances the energy flexibility with a peak load reduction of 17.1 %–36.1 % under the scenario of constant electricity price and with a flexibility factor enhancement of 9.5 %–80.8 % under the scenario of time-of-use electricity price. Besides the benefit to the power grid with the enhanced energy flexibility, the proposed iDCV also delivers benefits to building users with energy savings of 19.6 %–22.0 % and cost savings of 21.5 %–26.1 %. Therefore, the proposed iDCV provides dual benefits for both the power grid and building users and contributes to developing energy-flexible, low-carbon, and healthy buildings.

The Impact of Building Usage Profiles on Energy Performance Analysis Results In ECO2 Program

The Impact of Building Usage Profiles on Energy Performance Analysis Results In ECO2 Program

Prediction of raw-wood consumption based on potential wood usage in public buildings: A quantitative approach using building construction statistics

Prediction of raw-wood consumption based on potential wood usage in public buildings: A quantitative approach using building construction statistics

Navigating the inception stage in online peer production communities: a comparative study on community building activities, user roles and interaction dynamics

PurposeThis exploratory, descriptive study examines the factors that might influence the success or failure of online peer production communities during their inception stage. It focuses on community-building activities, the roles of users and the dynamics of user interaction, aiming to shed light on practices that could contribute to a community's success at the inception stage.Design/methodology/approachBy comparing two Stack Exchange Q&A communities with the same timelines but opposite outcomes during their beta testing phases, the research utilizes quantitative methods to categorize community activities, define user roles via k-means cluster analysis and examine interaction networks using social network analysis.FindingsOur findings suggest the successful Mathematics Q&A community exhibited several distinct practices during its inception, such as the utilization of both external and internal tools, the development of community-specific tutorials and the strategic use of flagging functions for moderation. Eight user roles were discerned, with roles like content editors, metadata curators and gatekeepers being particularly prominent in the successful community. Additionally, a more densely interconnected user network characterized by active participation was observed in the successful community.Originality/valueConcentrating on the inception stage of online communities, this study uncovers insights into the dynamics at play in the early life of peer production environments and provides empirical observations that may assist in shaping strategies for new online communities. It stands out by comparing communities within the same period to understand factors that may influence their early success.

Formal and Legal Analysis of the Issues Related to the Placing on the Market and using Fire Pumps and Pump Kits

Aim: The aim of this article is to present the existing formal and legal conditions related to the placing on the market and using in the national market of pumps and pump kits – both fire pumps and those intended for firefighting water supply systems. The paper also discusses other selected regulations relating to the product group in question. In addition, an issue not arising from the construction regulations, but equally important in terms of ensuring an adequate level of safety in buildings, was raised, i.e. the admittance of control panels for firefighting equipment (in this case pumps), which can form an integral part of the pump kits in question. The results of the analysis can also be applied to other selected products in the area of fire protection and the requirements that these products must meet before they can be placed on the market and put into use. Introduction: Fire water systems are among the most commonly used fire extinguishing systems in buildings. Despite their popularity, quite often investors, designers and users of buildings, as well as the manufacturers of pump kits themselves, have doubts about the requirements for placing these products on the market. The authors’ discussion of the current requirements is intended to consolidate knowledge in this area, clarify the marketing of construction products and resolve possible doubts. Methodology: The publication uses the results of the authors’ own analysis on the basis of the interpretation of the legislation, as well as available normative and literature sources. Conclusions: The analysis shows that fire pumps and pump kits are covered by the obligation to carry out national assessment and verification of constancy of performance in system 1 and to draw up a national declaration of performance as well as to mark the product with a construction mark (before placing it on the market or making it available on the national market). Moreover, from 1 January 2021, the obligation under consideration was extended to pumps for fire water supply systems, and from 1 July 2022 also to pump kits for fire water supply systems. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the sub-assembly acting as the control panel for the firefighting equipment, insofar as it is present in the pump kits in question, is also subject to admittance Keywords: fire pumps, pumps for firefighting water supply systems, “B” construction mark, national technical assessment

Integrating Internet of Things (IoT) Approach to Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE): An Experimental At-the-Moment Occupant Comfort Control System

This paper describes an empirical experiment of Internet of Things (IoT)’s integration in the Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) process. The experiment aimed to trial a novel IoT approach to enabling building user responsiveness to prevalent IEQ for individualised comfort. The purpose is to provide a system that mitigates a common issue of centralised air conditioning that limits occupants’ control over their immediate environment. To achieve this, an IoT platform was developed with smart IEQ monitoring sensors and wearable devices and trialled with PhD researchers in a shared university workspace. The findings provided empirical evidence of IoT’s enhanced benefits to improving user control over their individual comfort and enabling positive energy behaviour in buildings. Specifically, the IoT system provided real-time insight into CO2 concentration data while enabling responsive occupant interaction with their immediate environment and at-the-moment mitigation actions. Outputs of the experiment showed that the perceptions of participants about the stuffiness of the air, productivity, and healthy environment were significantly better after taking the mitigation action compared to before. Also, we found a significant relationship between measured CO2 concentration readings and perceived air stuffiness (p = 0.004) and productivity (p = 0.006) and a non-significant relationship between CO2 concentration readings and perceived healthy environment (p = 0.058). Interestingly, we observed that irrespective of the similarities in recorded CO2 concentration readings being within acceptable ranges (632–712 ppm), the perception of air stuffiness significantly differed (p = 0.018) before and after the mitigation actions. The effectiveness of the developed IoT platform was evidenced as most of the participants found the process very easy to participate in with little interruptions to their work as little time was consumed. The results are useful in modifying approaches to building occupant comfort and energy behaviour in commercial and residential settings.

Complex artificial intelligence models for energy sustainability in educational buildings

Energy consumption of constructed educational facilities significantly impacts economic, social and environment sustainable development. It contributes to approximately 37% of the carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy use and procedures. This paper aims to introduce a study that investigates several artificial intelligence-based models to predict the energy consumption of the most important educational buildings; schools. These models include decision trees, K-nearest neighbors, gradient boosting, and long-term memory networks. The research also investigates the relationship between the input parameters and the yearly energy usage of educational buildings. It has been discovered that the school sizes and AC capacities are the most impact variable associated with higher energy consumption. While 'Type of School' is less direct or weaker correlation with 'Annual Consumption'. The four developed models were evaluated and compared in training and testing stages. The Decision Tree model demonstrates strong performance on the training data with an average prediction error of about 3.58%. The K-Nearest Neighbors model has significantly higher errors, with RMSE on training data as high as 38,429.4, which may be indicative of overfitting. In contrast, Gradient Boosting can almost perfectly predict the variations within the training dataset. The performance metrics suggest that some models manage this variability better than others, with Gradient Boosting and LSTM standing out in terms of their ability to handle diverse data ranges, from the minimum consumption of approximately 99,274.95 to the maximum of 683,191.8. This research underscores the importance of sustainable educational buildings not only as physical learning spaces but also as dynamic environments that contribute to informal educational processes. Sustainable buildings serve as real-world examples of environmental stewardship, teaching students about energy efficiency and sustainability through their design and operation. By incorporating advanced AI-driven tools to optimize energy consumption, educational facilities can become interactive learning hubs that encourage students to engage with concepts of sustainability in their everyday surroundings.

Thermoeconomic assessment of the air-cooled tropical data center through energy-saving strategies

Rapid developments in the electronic information industry drive the increased energy usage and carbon emission of data center buildings, prompting the focus on the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Expanded operation envelopes of tropical data centers is assessed to analyze the potential for the building energy savings and carbon emission reduction through collaborative analysis of operation modes (OMs), supply air temperature (SAT), and outdoor air temperature (OAT). The OMs of compression vary with the setpoints of SAT, in which the average exergy efficiency of compressors at alternate operation mode is 6.8 % and 8.0 % lower than that of double and single compression operations. As SAT rises from 20 °C to 32 °C, the system exergoeconomic factor increases from 5.4 % to 8.0 %, and the average carbon cost decreases by 36.5 %. Additionally, with just an 8.5 % increase in exergy cost (i.e., Case 8) at OAT rising from 30 to 34 °C, the high SAT and low refrigerant charges provide considerable exergy cost advantages versus resisting the OAT fluctuations. Dynamic operation strategies are also proposed and compared to cope with the impacts of tropical environments. Compared to the 26 °C SAT baseline, the average energy savings are 9.1–14.7 %, indicating the ability to fully utilize outdoor and indoor conditions.

Energy Management System using Evolutionary Mating Algorithms for Optimizing Energy Usage and User Comfort in Office Bulding

Indonesia has set a target to reduce emissions by 29% or 835 million tons of CO2 by 2030, which was increased to 32% or 912 million tons of CO2 in 2023. The building sector is one of the largest contributors to emissions in Indonesia. To reduce these emissions, the Indonesian government has issued energy conservation regulations requiring each sector to reduce energy consumption. According to Government Regulation No. 33 of 2023, energy conservation is mandatory for energy users in the building sector who use energy sources equivalent to or greater than 500 Tons of Oil Equivalent. One way to conserve energy is by implementing energy-efficient technologies, without compromising the comfort of building users, which includes thermal and visual comfort as part of indoor environmental quality (IEQ). An energy-efficient technology using the Evolution Mating Algorithm (EMA) is proposed. This study will discuss energy use without compromising building user comfort in tropical countries using the EMA optimization algorithm. The study demonstrates that EMA successfully optimizes energy use without reducing user comfort in tropical countries.

Examination of Urban Transformation Implementation Legislation: Elazığ Example

In this study, it was aimed to examine and reveal the general results of the models applied in urban transformation works in Elazığ province after the 6.8 Mw Sivrice earthquake on January 24, 2020. The population of the research, Elazığ province sample, is Karşıyaka, Cumhuriyet, Abdullahpaşa, Mustafapaşa, Rüstempaşa, Sürsürü, Kızılay and Sivrice Country Gölbaşı Neighborhoods. The study is qualitative research in the form of a field study in terms of revealing the results of urban transformation implementation at the sample points. In this context, observation technique, interview technique, and documentary scanning technique were used in the descriptive analysis. General physical-structural characteristics of buildings in the observation technique; in the interview technique, 100 building owners and users' opinions about the buildings; In the documentary scanning technique, the reflections of literature information in practice are interpreted as a whole. In comparing the literature information, project technical documents obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and Elazığ Municipality were used. As a result, the model to be chosen in the urban transformation process is an important parameter in the success of the application and reaching the desired goal. More qualified urban transformation applications will be achieved by reducing the problems that arise in public transformation projects, especially in determining the legislation, and by choosing the appropriate model for comprehensive transformation.

Increasing school building usage through adaptable building design: A quantitative sustainability assessment

While school buildings have the potential to form the hearth of a local community, they currently remain unused for longer periods of time out of school hours in several regions. To exploit this large sustainability potential, school buildings must be able to allow for a flexible building usage. First, this study explores whether letting school infrastructure to external users can be economically profitable. Second, it tackles the knowledge gap on how ventilation systems can facilitate a short- and medium-long-term flexible building usage in a sustainable manner, which is essential to achieve a more extensive school building usage. To answer these research questions, a case study is carried out which includes a flexible building usage that based on the needs of educational stakeholders. The results of the profitability analyses indicate that it is possible for schools to yield substantial profits over a period of 20 years and that the financial risks are low. Next, a life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) are carried out on three different ventilation strategies. It is found that a decentralized balanced mechanical ventilation system has the lowest environmental impact and life cycle cost, since this system requires few adaptions during the study period. The mechanical exhaust ventilation system has the highest environmental impact, while the centralized balanced mechanical ventilation system has the highest life cycle cost. An important insight of this sustainability assessment is that the material-related impact increases in a flexible context and that it sometimes outweighs the energy-related impact.

Three-tier integrated demand-supply energy management for optimized energy usage in institutional building

Sustainable Energy Plan is an indispensable field of study in the context of Building Energy Management (BEM) which yearns for a cutting-edge technique to raise consumers’ level of contentment with energy usage. This paper introduces a three-tier strategic approach for demand cum supply side management at the prosumer end named TID-SEM (Three-tier Integrated Demand cum Supply Energy Management) framework. The framework commences with data collection, machine learning, and Random Forest classifier-based Demand side management to reduce peak demand. Followingly, a feasibility study on available sources (Solar PV + Battery + Diesel Generator + Grid) was done using the HOMER simulator. The quality techno-enviro-economic shows distinguished optimal one under each criterion. Ultimately to overcome, an ideal computative multicriteria decision-making approaches Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process, the Fuzzy Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations, and the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution employed to highlight the most optimal configuration. The study focuses on a department building within a higher education institution in the Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. On implementing the TID-SEM, ‘PV + Grid’ after DSM configuration was ranked as the most optimum. Lastly, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the techno-enviro-economic impact of uncertain parameters on the optimal configuration, ensuring the robustness of the proposed framework.

Assessment of the impact of setting the heating curve on reducing gas consumption in a residential building while ensuring thermal comfort

Due to the large share of the residential building sector in CO2 emissions, it is necessary to look for quick-to-implement and cost-free solutions for heating systems aimed at increasing their efficiency and reducing fuel consumption. The aim of the study is a multi-aspect assessment of the proper setting of the heating curve in the weather controller of a low-temperature floor heating system with a condensing gas boiler, and an analysis of the impact of the heating curve slope on the natural gas consumption, the emission of gaseous and dust pollutants and on maintaining appropriate indoor air parameters: air temperature, operative temperature and PMV and PPD. A wide range of simulation tests were carried out using the TRNSYS software for an existing energy-efficient single-family residential building, with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, located in north-eastern Poland in Bialystok. Changing the heating curve slope by 0.1 can reduce gas consumption and pollutant emissions by 1.6–10.3 %. Low heating curve slopes may result in failure to reach the temperature set by users (difference between the set and achieved indoor temperature up to 1.9 K), while maintaining standard thermal comfort parameters (−0.5<PMV<+0.5; PPD<10 %). Reducing the indoor air temperature by 2 K can contribute to reducing gas consumption by 11 % while maintaining standard thermal comfort parameters. Changing the heating curve slope is one of the effective methods of reducing fuel consumption in the building. Results are useful for users of buildings equipped with low-temperature heating systems with floor heating and installers of these systems.

Penerapan Sertifikasi Laik Fungsi Terhadap Bangunan Publik di Kota Banda Aceh

Certificate of Occupancy (CO) is a certificate issued by the Regional Government for a building that has been completed and has met the requirements for the proper occupancy of the building, which is also applied to public buildings in Banda Aceh. The problem of this research is whether the building owner/user knows about CO and whether the building owner/user already knows about the implementation of CO in accordance with the law. This study aims to investigate the owner/users knowledge on CO and to determine the owner/users of the building knowledge about the application of CO in accordance with the law. The data collection technique was carried out by distributing questionnaires to 100 respondents, namely owners/users of public buildings in Banda Aceh. The variables used in this study are architectural components, structural, mechanical, electrical, outdoor layout, and the reliability of buildings to public buildings. The results of the factor analysis show that the correlation between a variable and the factors formed is &gt; 0.5, so the factors formed have a relationship to summarize the six variables which has been analyzed. The results of the validity test of the r-table value of 0.197 meet the requirements of rcount &gt; r table. The reliability test results qualify with Cronbach's Alpha value greater than 0.6. The results of descriptive analysis show that the frequency of building owners who know about CO is 6% and building users who know about CO is 2%, while the frequency of owners who know about the application of CO in accordance with the law is 2% and users who know about the application of CO are in accordance with the law is 1%. This indicates that there are still many users/owners of public buildings in Banda Aceh who do not know about CO and do not understand about the application of CO in accordance with the law. Therefore, the Banda Aceh Government needs to disseminate information about the implementation of CO, especially to owners of public buildings.

Effectiveness and sustainability of solutions sets aimed at plus energy buildings. A multi-case and multi-domain investigation

PurposePlus Energy Buildings (PEBs) are gaining attention in construction for providing advantages not only on the singular building but also on higher levels, namely neighbourhoods and national grids. Different from the current standard of net zero energy buildings, PEBs lack broader and holistic investigations that consider energy, environmental, and economic performance indicators. These are needed to evaluate their often-debated effectiveness and environmental sustainability. To this purpose, this work assesses technical equipment functional systems aimed at PEBs by considering energy, environmental and cost performance indicators and by carrying out a multi-case and multi-domain investigation. MethodA parametric modelling is carried out based on building energy simulations and user energy profile modelling in 16 case studies. Relevant Key Performance Indicators are derived and followed to attempt result clustering and to derive general considerations for the designed solution. FindingThe study showed that the effectiveness of such systems is limited if PV modules are located on the roof exclusively. Moreover, heat pumps and PV technologies need to be better coupled and harmonised in subarctic regions. Overall, centralised systems perform better, and environmental and economic advantages depend on the national energy and economic context. Such results can be considered valid under the same conditions and circumstances; therefore, an extension of case studies is needed.

Real-time spatial-temporal mapping and visualization of thermal comfort and HVAC control by integrating immersive augmented reality technologies and IoT-enabled wireless sensor networks: Towards immersive human-building interactions

Existing methods to assess and visualize thermal comfort mainly focused on either individual users (e.g., through wearables) or for specific locations where sensors are installed, rather than continuously for the entire indoor space. Also, most of the existing thermal comfort visualization methods and HVAC system control approaches rely on phones and mobile devices and lack a fully immersive/interactive experience and human-building interaction. Thus, this paper develops an immersive human-building interaction framework for real-time spatial-temporal mapping and visualization of indoor thermal comfort by integrating immersive augmented reality (AR) technologies and IoT-enabled smart wireless sensor networks (WSNs) (i.e., temperature and relative humidity data) to provide thermal comfort assessment for the entire space (rather than at localized/individual locations/points) and to enable users to interact with and adjust the HVAC systems from a distance using fully immersive and realistic environments. First, a smart WSN comprised of four IoT-enabled sensing stations was developed to collect real-time thermal comfort-related information (i.e., temperature and relative humidity). Second, an AR environment was created using the Unity engine, where virtual objects were overlayed into, and aligned with, the real-world environment. Third, the real-time data from the IoT-enabled WSN was integrated into the AR environment using various programming scripts that add multiple functionalities to the users, including controlling the HVAC system and visualizing the thermal comfort along the entire indoor space or room of interest through a spatial-temporal map. Fourth, the developed framework was validated and evaluated by 118 participants using a survey questionnaire. The findings showed that the graphical satisfaction achieved an overall average score of 4.75 out of 5, the user's sense of spatial presence was rated at an average score of 4.68 out of 5, the involvement aspects of the developed approach received an overall average score of 4.80 out of 5, and experienced realism was rated at an average score of 4.58 out of 5. Ultimately, this paper contributes to enhanced and intelligent human-building interaction and visualization through the use of emerging technologies by allowing the building users to control and interact with the HVAC systems using AR capabilities to improve the health and well-being of the building occupants.