Framework to Evaluate Energy-Saving Potential from Occupancy Interventions in Typical Commercial Buildings in the United States

Abstract

Occupancy-focused interventions to reduce building energy use have been shown to be effective but often result in unsustained energy reductions. In addition, these interventions have rarely been applied to commercial buildings. Research on residential buildings has linked the success of these interventions to the buildings’ social structures. However, the results cannot be directly applied to commercial buildings given their complex social structures formed by independent entities (i.e., companies) with different organizational structures and cultures within a building. In this paper, an agent-based modeling framework is developed to (1) provide a more realistic representation of social subnetworks in commercial buildings, (2) model interactions between occupants and the resulting peer pressure to change their energy-use characteristics based on the relative agreement interaction model, and (3) evaluate the efficiency of occupancy interventions for different subnetwork characteristics on a typical medium-sized office building in the United States. Statistical analyses are performed and recommendations made on how to improve energy conservation from occupancy interventions by as much as 24.7%. The contributions of this research to the fields of computing and energy conservation are significant and can be used to shape future occupancy interventions for more effective and sustained energy reductions in commercial buildings.