Documenting occupant models for building performance simulation: a state-of-the-art

Journal of Building Performance Simulation, vol. 15, pp. 634–655

Abstract

The number of occupancy and occupant behaviour models developed for building performance simulation (BPS) has steadily increased for the past four decades. However, their use is still limited in practice. This is partly due to the difficulty in understanding their utility and to the challenges related to their implementation into BPS. Both problems can be attributed to the lack of a framework for their description and communication. In this paper, we fill this gap by introducing a framework to document occupant models, that represents the state-of-the-art of available information on the topic. The framework consists of four blocks (description, development, evaluation, and implementation) and can also be regarded as a guideline to help researchers communicate their models transparently. Based on a systematic review, we verify to which degree existing academic papers on occupant models meet the framework, thus providing a self-critical assessment of the state-of-the-art of occupant models’ documentation.

Authors 9

1. Marika Vellei corresponding

   Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Ingénieur pour l'Environnement · La Rochelle Université

   Affiliation as printed

   LaSIE (UMR CNRS 7356), La Rochelle University, La Rochelle, France

2. Elie Azar

   Khalifa University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

3. Karol Bandurski

   Poznań University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland

4. Christiane Berger

   Aalborg University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

5. Salvatore Carlucci

   Cyprus Institute · Norwegian University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

   Energy, Environment and Water Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus

6. Bing Dong

   Syracuse University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA

7. Matteo Favero

   Norwegian University of Science and Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

8. Ardeshir Mahdavi

   TU Wien

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Building Physics and Building Ecology, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria

9. Marcel Schweiker Aachen Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine Medical Faculty

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany