Occupants’ Decision-Making of Their Energy Behaviours in Office Environments: A Case of New Zealand

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dc.citation.issue3
dc.citation.volume15
dc.contributor.authorWeerasinghe AS
dc.contributor.authorRasheed EO
dc.contributor.authorRotimi JOB
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-30T01:26:43Z
dc.date.available2023-06-30T01:26:43Z
dc.date.issued1/02/2023
dc.descriptionCopyright: © 2023 by the authors
dc.description.abstractUnderstanding 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.
dc.description.publication-statusPublished
dc.identifier.citationSustainability (Switzerland), 2023, 15 (3)
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/su15032305
dc.identifier.eissn2071-1050
dc.identifier.elements-id459866
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10179/18379
dc.relation.isPartOfSustainability (Switzerland)
dc.subject.anzsrc12 Built Environment and Design
dc.titleOccupants’ Decision-Making of Their Energy Behaviours in Office Environments: A Case of New Zealand
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.notesNot known
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Sciences
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Sciences/School of Built Environment
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