A review on occupant behavior in urban building energy models

• Published in: Energy and buildings Vol. 174; pp. 276 - 292
• Main Authors: Happle, Gabriel, Fonseca, Jimeno A., Schlueter, Arno
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.09.2018; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Building design; Buildings; Case studies; Computer simulation; Design optimization; Energy consumption; Energy demand; Energy-related occupant behavior; Household appliances; Modelling; Multiagent systems; Occupancy; Occupant behavior model; Optimization; Residential areas; Scale (ratio); Stochastic models; Stochasticity; Urban areas; Urban building energy model; Urban planning; Occupant behavior model; Urban building energy model; Energy-related occupant behavior; Occupancy
• ISSN: 0378-7788; 1872-6178
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.06.030

•Modeling approaches for occupant behavior in urban building energy models are reviewed and categorized.•Three categories of models are introduced: (1) Deterministic space-based models, (2) stochastic space-based models, and (3) stochastic person-based models.•Urban building energy modelling tools usually couple archetypical construction properties of buildings with standardized deterministic space-based occupant behavior models.•Stochastic occupant behavior models possess superior capabilities but are only used for office and residential occupancy type buildings on the urban-scale.•A novel urban-scale agent-based occupant behavior model could improve the functionality of urban building energy models as holistic planning tools. Urban building energy models aspire to become key planning tools for the holistic optimization of buildings, urban design, and energy systems in neighborhoods and districts. The energy demand of buildings is largely influenced by the behavior of the occupants. The insufficient consideration of occupant behavior is one of the causes to the “performance gap” in buildings - the difference between the simulated and the actually observed energy consumption. On the urban-scale impacts of different occupant behavior modeling approaches onto the various purposes of urban building energy models are still largely unknown. Research shows that the inappropriate choice of occupant behavior model could result in oversized district energy systems, leading to over-investment and low operational efficiency. This work therefore reviews urban building energy models in terms of their occupant behavior modeling approaches. Three categories of approaches are established and discussed: (1) deterministic space-based approaches, (2) stochastic space-based approaches, and (3) stochastic person-based approaches. They are further assessed in terms of their strategy to consider diversity in occupant behavior. Stochastic models, especially stochastic person-based models, seem to be superior to deterministic models. However, there are no stochastic models available yet that can be used for case studies of mixed-districts, comprising buildings of various occupancy types. In the reviewed urban-scale approaches, only single-use type districts (residential or office) are modeled with stochastic techniques. However, people interact with various buildings on a daily basis. Their activities relate to their presence in different spaces at the urban-scale and to their use of appliances in those spaces. Their individual levels of comfort and behavioral patterns govern the control actions towards building systems. Therefore, a novel activity-based multi-agent approach for urban occupant behavior modeling is proposed as alternative to current approaches.