How Often Do You Open Your House Windows When Heating is ON? An Investigation of the Impact of Occupants’ Behaviour on Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings
AbstractCurrently, there are many initiatives to thermally insulate buildings on the assumption that the more insulated the building is, the more efficient in terms of energy conservation it will perform. Many assessment systems assume a linear relationship between building insulation and energy conservation. The drawback of such hypotheses is that they ignore the effect of occupants’ behaviour in their conclusions. In this study, the authors will examine the effect of people’s behaviour, particularly windows’ opening, as a behavioural pattern of occupants. It aims to study the impact of occupant’s behaviour on energy consumption of residential buildings and to identify the key factors that influence occupants’ behaviour; thus, providing ideas for improving energy efficiency by suggesting enhanced policies, approaches and techniques. The findings suggest that occupants’ behaviour could have a greater influence on the energy efficiency of buildings in some cases when compared with their thermal insulation due to opening of windows in cold weather which causes air infiltration.