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The excessive simplification of occupant behavior is considered as the most important factor that affects the uncertainty of building performance simulation, thus affects the reliability and generalizability of simulation-based design and forecast. In this paper, occupant behavior in air-conditioned office buildings of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region was investigated and defined. Copies of 873 questionnaires about the occupant behavior in air-conditioned office buildings in the PRD region were collected to study the relationship between indoor environment quality and adaptive behaviors. Eight typical office occupant schedules were defined via K-means clustering method. A probability prediction model of cooling temperature set-point was established by using the Ordinal Logistic Regression method. According to the different control modes of air conditioning, window, blind and lighting equipment, four types of typical behavior patterns were proposed using the K-prototype clustering method, which could be developed into 20 typical occupant behavior styles of office buildings in the PRD region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Windows are responsible for the largest amount of energy loss related to building envelope. Past studies on the energy consumption of windows have mainly focused on residential and commercial buildings, while few studies have explored the energy consumption of windows in educational buildings. The sizes and locations of classroom windows affect not only the building energy consumption but also the indoor environment quality, which is an issue that needs to be balanced. This paper takes a classroom in Guangzhou as the object. Under the premise of meeting the lighting standards of the classroom, two parameters—window height and sill height —were simulated in different corridors of north–south and east–west classrooms to analyse the impact of their changes on the indoor environment as well as energy consumption based on the parametric platform Grasshopper and its plug-ins Ladybug and Honeybee. The energy consumption of a number of fenestration combinations on both sides of the classroom was optimized automatically by genetic algorithm, and the sizes and positions of windows that benefitted energy savings were obtained. In the best case ~16.6% of energy consumed in a whole year can be saved compared with the worst case. This conclusion can provide a quick decision-making process for the design of window shapes for the purpose of energy savings in the early design stage of educational buildings in the Pearl River Delta such that energy savings can be quickly and clearly guaranteed in the subsequent window configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different functional areas within general hospitals have varying environmental requirements, with relatively high energy consumption. A comprehensive evaluation of the operational performance's rationality is of great significance in hospitals' energy conservation efforts. This study conducted an annual post-occupancy evaluation of a general hospital located in a hot summer and cold winter area in east of China. Two hundred and seventy-eight valid online satisfaction questionnaires, sixty valid point-to-point questionnaires, indoor environment data of each typical season, and energy consumption data were obtained. The overall indoor environment of the selected hospital met the standard requirements. The results showed that occupant satisfaction was influenced by gender, working hours, and length of stay. The annual energy consumption level of this building was 84.7 kWh/m2, which is significantly lower than that of other public general hospitals in China and general hospitals in developed countries. The energy consumption of the inpatient department was directly related to the hospital days, with an increase of 12.2 kWh/m2 for every 1000 additional hospital days. A new indoor environment quality (IEQ) model and a new comprehensive evaluation model for energy efficiency were established. Overall, the outpatient department exhibited superior performance compared to the inpatient department. These evaluation models can help owners and decision-makers in the identification of environmental performance in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hainan province is the only tropical and island province in China, with the unique climatic and geographical features. It has a different energy performance in public buildings from those in the inland areas. This paper investigated the current situation of energy consumption of the sampled public buildings, including 26 hotels, 24 office buildings and 7 department stores, through analyzing utility billing data, on-site survey and measurement, and site operational records. The breakdowns of energy consumption found out that the electricity dominated the energy consumption for all the sampled buildings and the air conditioning system played a key role in the energy consumption of major building services. By analyzing the main factors for building energy consumption, the annual average energy use indexes were calculated to be 141.63kWh/m2, 87.70kWh/m2, and 166.95kWh/m2 for hotels, office buildings and department stores, respectively. Besides, the comparison between Hainan province and other areas revealed that the building energy consumption of this tropical province was at a low level. Because indoor environment quality can influence the health and work efficiency of humans in buildings, field tests on the indoor environment quality were also carried out, and the performance of indoor environment quality was rated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Indoor environment quality is simultaneously determined by thermal, acoustic, and luminous environments and air quality. This paper reports the findings of field studies conducted in public buildings in Beijing and Shanghai in 2008 and 2009. The studies included measurements of indoor environmental parameters such as air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, CO2 concentration, illumination intensity, and A-weighted sound pressure levels, as well as investigations of the occupants’ satisfaction with these indoor environments. A predictive model for evaluating overall satisfaction with the indoor environment was developed based on the analysis of the relationship between occupants’ satisfaction and the different environmental parameters. This model can provide a valuable reference for building designers as they compare different schemes by helping them choose designs favored by most people. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]