Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Occupants’ Decision-Making of Their Energy Behaviours in Office Environments: A Case of New Zealand(1/02/2023) Weerasinghe AS; Rasheed EO; Rotimi JOBUnderstanding how occupants behave and interact with building systems is vital to energy efficiency in buildings. The building occupants’ behaviours are complex and influenced by diverse factors. A deep understanding of the underlying environmental, contextual, social, and psychological factors is the first step of many in establishing the relationship between the indoor environment and occupants’ behaviours. The current study investigates the influence of occupants’ perceived indoor environmental comfort, the availability of control, and the social-psychological impacts on occupant behaviours in a New Zealand context. The data were collected through online surveys, and 99 office occupants responded. A machine learning technique was applied to identify the critical factors influencing the decision-making of occupant behaviours. Of the occupant behaviours considered in the study, adjusting windows, doors, shades and blinds, and drinking beverages were mostly practised (>70%) while adjusting lighting, personal fans, thermostats/heaters, and computers (40–70%) was moderately practised by occupants. The availability of specific user controls was the main predictor of most occupant behaviours, followed by social-psychological factors such as actual knowledge, perceived knowledge, behavioural interventions, subjective norms, organisational support, personal norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioural control. The indoor environmental parameters such as indoor temperature, indoor air quality, natural light, and inside noise were highlighted as most influential in decision-making for occupant behaviours. Additionally, the demographic factors: gender, work duration, days at work, and permanence/temporariness of workspace, were also impactful. Knowing the complexity of occupants’ decision-making with respect to their behaviours helps building managers use this sensitive information to enhance building energy performance and enable more energy feedback to the occupants to raise their awareness. Such information is helpful for creating an intelligent environmental control system loop with eco-feedback and establishing occupant-centric buildings or features.Item Comparative Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) study of Green and Traditional Industrial Buildings in Sri Lanka(Elsevier, 2021) Weerasinghe AS; Ramachandra T; Rotimi JOBItem Towards sustainable commercial buildings: An analysis of operation and maintenace (O&M) costs in Sri Lanka(Emerald Publishing Limited, 14/09/2020) Weerasinghe AS; Ramachandra T; Rotimi JOBPurpose Rising energy costs and increasing environmental concerns are catalysts for introducing sustainable design features in buildings. Incorporating sustainable design features in commercial buildings cannot be overstated because it could confer benefits to the investor (owners) and occupants. This study aims to develop a model that could aid in the prediction of operation and maintenance (O&M) costs from the knowledge of building-design variables. There is little evidence that design variables influence the O&M costs of buildings. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between design variables and O&M costs in commercial buildings with the intent of developing a cost model for estimating O&M costs at the early design phase. Design/methodology/approach The study was approached quantitatively using a survey strategy. Data for the study were obtained from 30 randomly selected commercial buildings in the CBD in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Pareto's 80/20 rule, correlation and regression analysis were performed on the data to prove the statistical relationships between the buildings' O&M costs and their design variables. Findings The study found that 12 significant O&M costs elements contribute to about 82% of total O&M costs. Repairs and decoration had a strong correlation with building shape. Furthermore, the regression analysis found that O&M costs values were primarily dependent on the building size (the gross floor area and height of the buildings). The gross floor area and height handled over 73% of the variance in the O&M costs of commercial buildings in Sri Lanka. Originality/value These findings are a useful insight into the principles for design economies that could contribute to more sustainable commercial buildings.