Impact of Occupant Behavior on Thermal Performance of the Typical-Composite Walls of a Building

Abstract

Composite walls are widely used in the external walls of buildings for their favorable thermal performance in building energy efficiency. However, the thermal performance difference under various occupant behaviors’ impacts is often ignored. This study aims to investigate the influence mechanisms of occupant behaviors on typical composite wall thermal performance in the heating rooms with combined numerical and experimental methods. Firstly, the methodology of inherent heat transfer matrix analysis is introduced to predict the original thermal performance by solving the characteristic value. Secondly, a four-in-one platform of grid-wall including four typical composite walls, single-layer insulation, exterior insulation, interior insulation, and intermediate insulation is built for the specific analysis. Thirdly, based on the specified conditions of typical walls and occupant behaviors, field test and numerical simulation are used to validate the theoretical analysis. The results reveal that the original thermal performance of composite walls may be greatly influenced under behavior intervention. It also indicates that the occupant behaviors are significant to building energy efficiency, especially in the actual operations of energy efficient buildings with composite walls.