DEVELOPING AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR BUILDINGS ACCORDING TO USER BEHAVIOUR INDOORS

ALCION ALOSO-FRANK; ERNESTO KUCHEN; YESICA ALAMINO

Bologna

Congreso; PLEA, Passive and Low Energy Architecture; 2015

Building Green Futures + PLEA

Efficient energy use is the most effective measure towards significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to improve the levels of environmental sustainability, and to guarantee the energy supply as a resource for social development. The behaviour of the energy user may seriously affect the running costs of the building, therefore, the user must be considered as an economic variable in the balance of running costs of the building. The purpose of this paper is to develop a tool for assessing how much influence the user has on energy efficiency, considering habits of energy use during the adaptation process of their comfort condition. To achieve this, three buildings with standard spaces are taken into account, users are surveyed and sensor measurements are performed at different periods in the year. Various actions are analyzed as regards the use of air conditioning devices, the opening of doors and windows, control of sunshade and curtains, and clothing modification, among others. The user habit actions are weighted into categories (good/bad) and they are divided into ranges to determine the degree of energy efficiency of the user. Results show that the user is responsible for a 33% decrease in the efficiency level that the building may reach. It is concluded that the use of the tool has a significant importance since it would not only allow obtaining relevant information for measuring rational use of energy but also serve as an awareness and rationalization instrument for users indoors.