TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of occupants in buildings’ energy performance gap: myth or reality?
AU - Mahdavi, Ardeshir
AU - Ampatzi, Eleni
AU - Andersen, Rune Korsholm
AU - Barthelmes, Verena M
AU - Favero, Matteo
AU - Hahn, Jakob
AU - Knudsen, Henrik N
AU - Luna Navarro, A.
AU - Roetzel, Astrid
AU - More Authors, null
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Buildings’ expected (projected, simulated) energy use frequently does not match actual observations. This is commonly referred to as the energy performance gap. As such, many factors can contribute to the disagreement between expectations and observations. These include, for instance, uncertainty about buildings’ geometry, construction, systems, and weather conditions. However, the role of occupants in the energy performance gap has recently attracted much attention. It has even been suggested that occupants are the main cause of the energy performance gap. This, in turn, has led to suggestions that better models of occupant behavior can reduce the energy performance gap. The present effort aims at the review and evaluation of the evidence for such claims. To this end, a systematic literature search was conducted and relevant publications were identified and reviewed in detail. The review entailed the categorization of the studies according to the scope and strength of the evidence for occupants’ role in the energy performance gap. Moreover, deployed calculation and monitoring methods, normalization procedures, and reported causes and magnitudes of the energy performance gap were documented and evaluated. The results suggest that the role of occupants as significant or exclusive contributors to the energy performance gap is not sufficiently substantiated by evidence.
AB - Buildings’ expected (projected, simulated) energy use frequently does not match actual observations. This is commonly referred to as the energy performance gap. As such, many factors can contribute to the disagreement between expectations and observations. These include, for instance, uncertainty about buildings’ geometry, construction, systems, and weather conditions. However, the role of occupants in the energy performance gap has recently attracted much attention. It has even been suggested that occupants are the main cause of the energy performance gap. This, in turn, has led to suggestions that better models of occupant behavior can reduce the energy performance gap. The present effort aims at the review and evaluation of the evidence for such claims. To this end, a systematic literature search was conducted and relevant publications were identified and reviewed in detail. The review entailed the categorization of the studies according to the scope and strength of the evidence for occupants’ role in the energy performance gap. Moreover, deployed calculation and monitoring methods, normalization procedures, and reported causes and magnitudes of the energy performance gap were documented and evaluated. The results suggest that the role of occupants as significant or exclusive contributors to the energy performance gap is not sufficiently substantiated by evidence.
KW - buildings
KW - performance gap
KW - energy
KW - occupant behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103085900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/su13063146
DO - 10.3390/su13063146
M3 - Article
SN - 2071-1050
VL - 13
JO - Sustainability
JF - Sustainability
IS - 6
M1 - 3146
ER -