The energy and building research community acknowledges the importance of including occupants' wellbeing in the evaluation of building energy performance. Particularly in office buildings, occupants' comfort assessment is not yet a common practice, partially due to the shortcomings of the comfort assessment activities. Contextual factors such as the organizational culture, occupants' personality traits and emotional states, and the building and research measurement infrastructures do interact with occupants' motivation to report and influence their actual reporting behaviour. By means of an in situ mixed method approach combining real-world research and user-centric methods, this study investigates the impact of a reporting-based comfort assessment. Two buildings, representing different organizational cultures, were selected to study the influence of reporting behaviour on comfort assessment. The buildings were equipped with innovative indoor climate monitoring and in situ comfort reporting infrastructure and 2-week field studies were conducted in both buildings. By discussing results from these studies, this paper contributes to the development of building research methodologies of indoor climate and comfort assessment by providing practical experience in embedding comfort reporting behaviour in the analysis of comfort assessment. A contextual typology of reporting behaviour is introduced and its implications regarding the reliability and validity of comfort reporting techniques are discussed.@en

A number of facade solutions have been developed in recent years to solve the problem of large-scale renovation of housing. In the Netherlands, housing associations have the ambition to achieve an energy-neutral renovation approach, and so, some aim at energy neutrality. However, few address the complexity of multi-family rental dwellings and more importantly, the importance of user behaviour in the actual performance of the buildings. In current approaches, the zero energy target is sought for an average household. In this paper we present an approach to zero energy renovation in which the influence of occupants’ behaviour in building performance is taken into account to eliminate the uncertainties related to energy savings. The results are used to inform the design process regarding the amount of energy production required to reach zero energy performance, and the feasibility of the on-site energy production only with photovoltaic panels. The research showed large statistically significant differences on energy consumption between the different household types, which could contribute to pre-bound effects if these differences are not considered when calculating energy savings and return of investments. When considering scenarios based on behaviour after renovation, the difference between the lowest and the highest heating demand is reduced to 34%.@en

The ambition to renovate the post-war building stock to an energy-neutral quality is getting a lot of attention from social housing corporations and other institutional owners, financial organizations, and users. An effective renovation plan must significantly improve the current energy performance of a target building towards nearly zero-energy levels. A number of facade solutions have been developed in recent years to solve the problem of large-scale renovation of housing. In the Netherlands, several exemplary renovation projects have the ambition to achieve an energy-neutral objective. One such project is the 2ndSkin Façade refurbishment approach for post-war residential buildings. Nevertheless, the market intake of such renovation is currently very slow, as housing associations are reluctant to invest the increased cost of a zero-energy refurbishment, despite the energy savings and ongoing benefits for the occupants. Within the framework of the research project 2ndSkin, this paper presents a prefabricated and integrated façade module that provides the possibility to improve energy performance up to zero-energy use, while ensuring minimum disturbance for the occupants, both during and after renovation. Based on the proposed integrated refurbishment solution, the study presents a financial breakdown of this case-study concept - including options to lower the initial investment - in order to outline a more attractive business case. Firstly, three design variations, ranging from a standard external insulation upgrade to a zero-energy renovation, are compared, using a range of positive, average, and negative values for a series of financial and economic parameters. Subsequently, the financial performance of a zero-energy renovation investment is calculated for three different apartment properties with diverse market values, to determine the circumstances that can justify an energy renovation investment. The analysis showed that, for properties with an intermediate to high market value, the investment can be attractive under current economic and market conditions, but this attractiveness drops significantly for lower-cost properties such as social housing. The study objective is to develop both the technical solution and the related business case to support the implementation of zero-energy refurbishment strategies into diverse real estate market tiers of the residential building stock. @en

Large differences between the expected and actual energy consumption have been found in energy efficient dwellings. Research has shown that these differences are partially caused by occupant behaviour. The financing and payback periods of low carbon technologies are often uncertain because of the impact of the occupants on building performance. This translates into a reluctance to invest in deep renovation projects. The goal of this design-inclusive research project is to develop a solution for zero energy renovation that reduces the uncertainty on building performance cause by occupants' behaviour by reducing the uncertainty in design decisions and energy calculations. This investigation focuses on the identification of building type specific occupants and their characteristics, requirements and living practices. This paper presents the user research approach developed for the renovation process. The approach consists of statistical analysis of Dutch households, a monitoring campaign in the area of study and co-creation research through mock-ups, enactments and interviews. Case studies results are presented to highlight the effect of different household types on energy consumption and occupants' requirements, and point at the importance of taking into account household typology and socio-economic characteristics in energy calculations or building simulations, as well as occupant requirements in the design process.

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Building simulations are often used to predict energy demand and to determine the financial feasibility of the low-carbon projects. However, recent research has documented large differences between actual and predicted energy consumption. In retrofit projects, this difference creates uncertainty about the payback periods and, as a consequence, owners are reluctant to invest in energy-efficient technologies. The differences between the actual and the expected energy consumption are caused by inexact input data on the thermal properties of the building envelope and by the use of standard occupancy data. Integrating occupancy patterns of diversity and variability in behaviour into building simulation can potentially foresee and account for the impact of behaviour in building performance. The presented research develops and applies occupancy heating profiles for building simulation tools in order create more accurate predictions of energy demand and energy performance. Statistical analyses were used to define the relationship between seven most common household types and occupancy patterns in the Netherlands. The developed household profiles aim at providing energy modellers with reliable, detailed and ready-to-use occupancy data for building simulation. This household-specific occupancy information can be used in projects that are highly sensitive to the uncertainty related to return of investments.

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Building regulations have been updated to improve the energy performance of buildings. However, research has shown large differences between expected and actual energy performance of buildings. The differences have been attributed partially to occupant behaviour. Occupants have a large influence on the actual performance of buildings, creating uncertainties related to the actual energy savings, payback periods for low carbon technologies, and actual comfort in the buildings. This section explores the influence that building occupants have on the actual performance of domestic buildings and the consequences in the development of new and renovated low and zero energy housing. Monitoring building performance before and after renovation for retrofit projects, and monitoring building performance in experimental Living Labs and after the occupancy of buildings are discussed as potential solutions for occupancy uncertainties.

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The ambition to renovate the post-war building stock to an energy-neutral quality is getting a lot of attention in social housing association and other institutional owners, financial institutions and users. The Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth indicates that 300.000 dwellings have to be renovated in the Netherlands annually. An effective renovation plan has to be long-term, target the deep transformation of the existing building stock, and to significantly improve its actual energy performance towards nearly zero energy levels. This level of energy saving typically requires a holistic approach, viewing the renovation as a package of measures working together. Even though the need for refurbishment is urgent, the rate of renovation and the resulting energy savings are relatively low. Main barriers identified are related to the available investment funds, awareness, advice and skills and the separation of expenditure and benefit. To address these issues, the paper presents a prefabricated and integrated façade module that gives the possibility to improve the current energy performance up to zero energy, while ensuring minimum disturbance for the occupants, during and after the renovation. Given that the design and installation take this constrain into consideration, it is possible to reach zero energy by adding more efficient installations and energy generation, as well as taking possible behavioural changes into account. Moreover, the paper evaluates such a zero-energy refurbishment in terms of financial feasibility. The proposed approach results in a feasible solution, which achieves high energy savings and addresses the complex issue of integrated refurbishment.@en

Research has shown the large effect that occupants have on buildings' performance. Uncertainties related to the actual energy consumption of buildings increase the risks for the investments in low carbon technologies. Monitoring building occupancy can potentially decrease these uncertainties by providing more information about the occupants and their behaviour. The objective of the investigation is to establish an approach to inform the design process (e.g. building simulation) by addressing the complexity of occupants behaviour. The approach integrates information on occupants' behaviour and attitudes regarding energy use and indoor conditions to determine the requirements for building simulation and energy calculations. This paper presents the results of two monitoring campaigns in which the approach was employed. The monitoring campaigns focused on two owner-inhabited apartments in Spain and three social rental dwellings in The Netherlands. The results have given first insights of the power of the methodology to obtain detailed and understandable data on the occupancy patterns. This investigation highlighted the importance socio-economical status and attitudes towards energy conservation on occupants' behaviour in residential buildings. The methods described in this paper can be readily used to develop occupancy and heating profiles for monitored households to be used in building simulation programs.

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The post-war apartments in the Netherlands account for 1/3 of the residential stock. To increase the renovation rate, the product-/service propositions have to change radically. This paper presents the 2ndSkin refurbishment concept – a business opportunity driven research and development projects – that results in zero energy use of dwellings, while minimising construction time and maximizing occupants’ acceptance. The project is developing a scale-able approach, relying on prefabrication and industrialization, benefiting from economies of scale to drop cost. This is a shift from the traditional, project-based working culture of the construction industry. Furthermore, the paper proposes a business model for similar refurbishment approaches. The model aims at reversing the traditional decision-making process, to facilitate the zero-energy refurbishment introduction to the market.. 2ndSkin, a business opportunity driven zero-energy apartment refurbishment approach in the Netherlands. @en

Energy efficiency in office buildings has focused primarily on technological developments for the optimization of energy building performance. In this effort occupants’ behaviour has often been simplified or ignored. This in turn has resulted in solutions that either have a short-term impact on energy savings or in the long-term the measured impact differs largely from the theoretical estimations. A user-centric view is therefore needed to capture the complexity of occupants’ behaviour in the design of energy saving technologies. Social practices theory describes this complexity as the everyday practices that are characterized by interactions between people’s diverse sets of values and competences and the materials of the environment in which they engage in. Whereas people are constantly adapting their environment to meet their needs, they often perceive an ‘inability to act’ when explicitly asked to change. This opens an opportunity for the design research community to reconsider design interventions not as ends for behavioural change but as means to support practitioners in their discovery and appropriation of materials, competences and values to achieve optimal changes. From a design research perspective supporting these processes requires methods that a) empower occupants to create, test and assess interventions and b) fit in their everyday activities. This paper presents an in-situ and practice-based design process implemented in Living Lab settings with methods that aim to support a multidisciplinary team in the development of reflective design interventions to empower active involvement of building occupants in appropriating changes. The paper presents preliminary findings of an ongoing project and envisages future work to better understand hierarchy of practices and its potential impact on how occupants engage in changingactivities.@en

In urban transitions, one issue is the improvement of building stock energy performance. The current reasoning is often that the promise of increased comfort and health is attractive to residents. However, this does not always result in acceptance and long-term energy reduction. We draw lessons from case studies of renovation projects. It turns out that hardly any neighbourhood is suitable from scratch. Key findings are: an observed innovation-focused process optimized resident participation but risks excluding them from shaping their future. Conversely, an observed resident-led process did not achieve its initial goal due to process barriers, but developed locally based, transferable, organisational learning.@en

Improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings is of great importance, given the large percentage of energy consumed in the sector. However, the incentives to save energy in these environments are unusual. From the perspective of managers, energy consumption is only a very small part of the financial burden of companies in comparison to materials, rent or salaries, and thus, economic incentives have a low impact in these environments. On the one hand, unlike in home environments, occupants of office building do not see a direct financial effect on their energy related occupancy practices, as so, their incentive is also not a monetary one. Thus, to effectively reduce energy consumption in office buildings, a different approach should be followed. The Building Occupancy Certification System (BOCS) project aims at developing a building evaluation system focused on the building’s occupancy instead of its technical or physical characteristics. The objective of BOCS is the reduction of energy consumption in office buildings while improving indoor conditions. In this regard, the improvement of indoor conditions and thus, productivity, is the incentive for company managers and staff to implement the BOCS system. Though, keeping environmental awareness visible in the agenda. This paper presents the preliminary results from the first BOCS pilot study in the Netherlands, regarding the building performance in terms of thermal comfort and indoor environmental quality. This study focuses on the data collection and analysis.@en