Human-centric green building design: the energy saving potential of occupants’ behaviour enhancement in the office environment

Buildings energy efficiency is highly dependent on occupants’ energy and environmental lifestyle. In this view, this work aims at identifying the potential benefits of human-based energy retrofit strategies, namely human behaviour triggering actions and associated energy awareness, through large-scale surveys and calibrated building dynamic simulation. In detail, a questionnaire is submitted to office occupants to understand workers’ energy behaviours, indoor environmental perception, and identify tailored triggering actions. Therefore, different occupant behaviour scenarios involving energy wasteful and efficient human-building interactions are modelled when implemented in a case study office building in Italy. Findings show that the elimination of energy wasteful behaviours may involve building energy need reduction up to 17%. Furthermore, triggers aimed at driving energy efficient human control of HVAC setting and natural ventilation provide further annual performance improvement. Therefore, motivating occupants to change behaviour is a challenge to reduce energy consumption while improving indoor environmental conditions and cost-energy benefits.