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An international review of occupant-related aspects of building energy codes and standards

O'Brien, W; Tahmasebi, F; Andersen, RK; Azar, E; Barthelmes, V; Belafi, ZD; Berger, C; ... Zhou, J; + view all (2020) An international review of occupant-related aspects of building energy codes and standards. Building and Environment , 179 , Article 106906. 10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106906. Green open access

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Abstract

In light of recent research, it is evident that occupants are playing an increasingly important role in building energy performance. Despite the important role of building energy codes and standards in design, the occupant-related aspects are typically simple and have not kept up with the leading research. This paper reviews 23 regions’ building energy codes and standards by first comparing their quantitative aspects and then analyzing their mandated rules and approaches. While the present paper focuses on offices, general recommendations are applicable to other building types as well. The review revealed a wide range of occupant-related values, approaches, and attitudes. For example, code-specified occupant density varies by nearly a factor of three between different codes. This underlines the need for development of advancement in occupant behavior modeling approaches for future occupant-centric building performance codes and standards. Moreover, occupants are often referred to only implicitly; underlying expectations about energy-saving occupant behavior from building occupants varies greatly; and, only a few codes address occupant feedback and system usability. Based on the findings of the review, a set of initial recommendations for future building energy codes is proposed.

Type: Article
Title: An international review of occupant-related aspects of building energy codes and standards
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106906
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.106906
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Building codes, Occupant behavior, International review
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10098710
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