TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of occupant behaviors on energy retrofit: A case study of student dormitories in Tehran
AU - Jami, Shady
AU - Forouzandeh, Nima
AU - Zomorodian, Zahra Sadat
AU - Tahsildoost, Mohammad
AU - Khoshbakht, Maryam
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - The growing interest in reducing energy consumption and the associated environmental impacts are promoting energy efficiency in buildings. Comprehensive energy consumption models affected by occupant behavior are needed to assess the techno-economic implications of adopting energy conservation measures (ECM). In this study, occupant energy behavior (OEB) in university dormitories was determined based on field studies. The main contribution of this study is to identify the sensitivity of OEB scenarios (austerity, normal, energy spender) on energy savings via energy retrofit and present a decision-making tool to help prioritize ECMs based on payback and thermal comfort improvements. ECMs could improve energy efficiency by 32%, 56%, and 60% with the energy spender, normal, and austerity OEB models, respectively. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the ECMs does not follow a consistent pattern. The most effective actions in the normal OEB models are wall insulation and airtightness, and in the energy spender models, HVAC and lighting systems are the most effective ECMs. The integrated analysis of ECMs including energy savings, thermal comfort improvement, and paybacks is required considering different OEB scenarios because our study showed that an ECM might be a mid-cost in the case of energy spender, and a low-cost ECM in the case of austerity users.
AB - The growing interest in reducing energy consumption and the associated environmental impacts are promoting energy efficiency in buildings. Comprehensive energy consumption models affected by occupant behavior are needed to assess the techno-economic implications of adopting energy conservation measures (ECM). In this study, occupant energy behavior (OEB) in university dormitories was determined based on field studies. The main contribution of this study is to identify the sensitivity of OEB scenarios (austerity, normal, energy spender) on energy savings via energy retrofit and present a decision-making tool to help prioritize ECMs based on payback and thermal comfort improvements. ECMs could improve energy efficiency by 32%, 56%, and 60% with the energy spender, normal, and austerity OEB models, respectively. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the ECMs does not follow a consistent pattern. The most effective actions in the normal OEB models are wall insulation and airtightness, and in the energy spender models, HVAC and lighting systems are the most effective ECMs. The integrated analysis of ECMs including energy savings, thermal comfort improvement, and paybacks is required considering different OEB scenarios because our study showed that an ECM might be a mid-cost in the case of energy spender, and a low-cost ECM in the case of austerity users.
KW - Energy conservation measures
KW - Occupant behavior
KW - Thermal comfort
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089688900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123556
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123556
M3 - Article
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 278
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
M1 - 123556
ER -