Interaction between occupants and sustainable building techniques

Sustainable building techniques focus on the minimisation of the environmental impacts of material use, energy consumption and water consumption. However, when occupants behave towards certain techniques in a way that differs from the intentions of the designer, the minimisation of environmental impacts might be counteracted. In this paper a theoretical framework for the interaction between human systems and artifact systems is presented. First, characteristics of the artefact system are described that might influence the interaction with the human system. The artefact system consists of the dwelling, the sustainable building techniques that are present in the dwelling and the environment. Second, characteristics of the human system are described that are relevant to the interaction with artefacts. The human system consists of a household and the individual members of a household. Finally, the interaction between both systems is elaborated. This framework forms the basis for a research project about the behaviour of occupants towards heat recovery balanced ventilation systems. The aim of this research project is to gain insight into the actual behaviour of occupants, the factors that influence behaviour and the influence of behaviour on the environmental performance of balanced ventilation systems.