December 1, 2014

1. December 1, 2014
4:00pm EST
International Sustainable Campus Network WG 1 Webinar: Occupant Behavior in Sustainable Buildings

2. PRESENTERS
Ying Hua,
Assistant Professor, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University
Bart Meehan,
Research Associate and Visiting Fellow, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

3. ISCN WORKING GROUP 1
ISCN Charter Principle 1: A sustainable campus infrastructure is governed by respect for natural resources and social responsibility, and embraces the principle of a low carbon economy. Concrete goals embodied in individual buildings can include minimizing environmental impacts (such as energy and water consumption or waste), furthering equal access (such as non-discrimination of the disabled), and optimizing the integration of the built and natural environments. To ensure buildings on campus can meet these goals in the long term, and in a flexible manner, useful processes include participatory planning (integrating end-users such as faculty, staff, and students) and life-cycle costing (taking into account future cost-savings from sustainable construction).

4. Bart’s Presentation
Occupant Behaviour – Does it matter?
Case Studies
•Fenner School of Environment and Society
•Lena Karmel Lodge

5. MY RESEARCH FOCUS
The interaction between building sustainable design/operations and occupant behaviour.
Methodology:
•Occupant survey and interviews
•Analysis of building design modelling
•Analysis of operational metrics

6. “People, not machines, make the decisions that affect energy use. Insight into the human dimension of energy use is key to better understanding future energy trends and how to act effectively to manage them.” Schipper and Meyers, Energy Efficiency and Human Activity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993
“The building worked perfectly before you put academics in it.”
Engineer, ANU

7. FENNER SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY
Video (web): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1DP7-phzrw

10. Estimated range of energy savings
Direct feedback (including smart meters) 5–15 %
Indirect feedback (e.g. enhanced billing) 2–10 %
(Ref: European Environment Agency)

11. Fenner School - Modeling vs Demonstrated energy performance
Energy Use Modelled(unoccupied) Demonstrated
Lighting 9.5 MwH 19.48 MwH
Mech Services 28.01 MwH 57.88 MwH
Cooling 2.4 MwH 10.1 MwH
Plug in N/A 41.56 MwH
Reference: Research by Clare Paynter (FSES)

12. Anecdotal findings
•Organisational barriers to change (policy, process, work loads)
•Generational differences
•Lack of targets that drive efficiency
•Dependence on technology. (Automating out occupant behaviour)
•Poor understanding of sustainability design and operations

13. REBOUND EFFECT?
The term 'rebound effect' serves to explain how energy efficiency measures can lead to increasing the energy used, thereby minimising the expected impact from initial savings.
The literature reviewed suggests that the rebound effect exists and is to be expected but the ability to accurately quantify the size of the effect remains challenging. In addition it is not sufficient to justify delaying investments in energy efficiency and behaviour change measures. Moreover, the effect is expected to decrease over time as needs are fulfilled.

19. Examples from Cornell University
Presentation material by:
Ying Hua,
Assistant Professor, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University

20. Campus building POE studies

21. Study highlights•Focus on actual delivered performance •Emphasis on user perspectives and feedback channels/loop•Attention to interaction between building occupants and green design•Attention to generating impact on practice, and •Creating learning and research opportunities for students

22. Campus building POE studies: Goals

23. Campus building POE studies: Methodology

24. Topics: Integration between daylightingand electric lighting systems, effectiveness of façade design strategies, and personal control for supportive high-quality visual environment for work while minimizing lighting energy consumption in lab building. Topics: Thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, sense of privacy in relation to building programming and zone orientation, sources of dissatisfaction, personal control, and spatial mapping of POE data. Campus building POE studies: Deliverables for different audiences

25. Campus building POE studies: Deliverables for different audiences

27. Long-term goal: to change POE from a costly one-off practice to a continuous information collection process to inform building operation and retrofit decision making.

28. Other forms of dissemination: Guest Editor:Special Issue on Post- Occupancy Evaluation (POE). Intelligent Buildings International. Vol. 5, No. 3. Hua, Y.(2013) Understanding POE for future building practices. Editorial for the special issue (p133- 134).

29. Other forms of dissemination (cont’)

30. “Comfort is an elastic and highly negotiable socio-cultural construct.” (Chappells& Shove, 2005). “Different definitions of comfort lead to different conjunctions of technology and practice (more and less sustainable ones).” (Chappells, 2011) Discussion on behavior-related energy demand issues

31. (Re‐)Define comfortAccess to nature (tolerance & expectation) Level of controlAdjustment (CLO, metabolism, energy in-take, etc.) Awareness (& “peer pressure” --culture) Negotiation (e.g. in a shared work space) Organizational factors (dress code, working day) Symbolic meaning –quality, statusDiscussion on behavior-related energy demand issues

32. (Re‐)Define comfort therefore the energy demand for conditioning buildingsDefinition of “quality” Efficiency vs. effectivenessBoundaries/interface of indoor-outdoorImpact from information availabilityPart of an adaptation processDiscussion on behavior-related energy demand issues

33. Close the feedback loopReal time information to occupantStakeholder engagementKnowledge creation & managementindividual levelbuilding levelCompany level (design, engineering & service firms) Professional levelDiscussion on gaps in research and practice

34. Student engagement: Examples

35. Student project in DEA6250: Human Dimensions of Sustainable BuildingDashboard evaluation & design for collaborative sustainable building practiceStudent engagement: Examples

36. •Sustainable Building Connection•Energy Corps at Cornell University•Student Chapter of International Facility Management Association•Cornell University Sustainable DesignStudent engagement: ExamplesSupport for students’ extra-curricula activities

37. Discussion and Questions
Thank you!
This webinar has been recorded and will be available on the ISCN website for future reference.