Buildings often use more than double as much energy and water than is predicted by statistical models. This discrepancy does not typically result from faulty modeling software, but from a single variable that is difficult to quantify: occupant behavior. The way occupants live and work in their buildings is critical to the overall performance of a building and is something that is often overlooked. This presentation by Lauren Riggs and Lonny Blumenthal demonstrates how the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is attempting to address the following question: how can we enable occupants to exhibit efficient behavior in commercial and residential building spaces in order to improve overall building performance? By creating a pilot credit entitled, “Occupant Engagement”, the USGBC seeks to create a framework within the LEED Rating Systems that will encourage a culture of sustainability and resource conservation for occupants in LEED certified projects. This credit rewards project teams for implementing innovative, occupant engagement mechanisms that systematically empower occupants to become aware of and responsible for their own energy and water consumption, waste disposal habits, and other actions that affect the overall performance of the building. Additionally, this presentation will provide an update on the research presented last year at the Climate, Buildings and Behavior Symposium, where USGBC presented on the work done within the CBB Metrics working group.
Follow along with the presentation by downloading it here.