In this paper, we develop a comprehensive behaviour model for residential buildings that considers the diversity among households. While existing behavioural theories from social and psychological sciences have been used in building research, they often lack technical detail, contextual aspects, and focus primarily on behavioural change. The authors propose an interdisciplinary theoretical model that integrates insights from behavioural science and engineering dimensions. This model aims to link measurable drivers directly to energy outcomes, consider building-related contexts, and reflect the complexity of high-performance buildings. The research consisted of the quantitative analysis of building monitoring data and the analysis of interviews using thematic analysis. The mix-methods approach allowed to obtain new insights into the relationship between the aspects that affect occupants' behaviour. An interdisciplinary model is developed based on the results from the analysis, existing theoretical models used in building research, and previous studies on occupants' behaviour. The model is intended to support the identification of occupants' behaviour drivers, inform user-centric and energy-efficient building design, enhance decision-making for building monitoring and simulations, and aid in various practical applications such as performance assessment and energy contracting.

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This research intended to understand the effect of renovation solutions on occupants’ behaviour, and the effects of the behaviour on the indoor environmental quality of the buildings. The investigation is based on the findings from a short, in-depth monitoring campaign in four apartments in the Netherlands. The results showed that the households studied have different preferences for comfort, as well as ways to interact with the building. The small range of options provided by the systems created some level of dissatisfaction in three out of the four households studied regarding temperature (control), air quality, or noise produced by mechanical ventilation system. The monitoring results confirmed that the apartments were within a good range of thermal comfort, however the residents complained about lack of control over the indoor environment. Furthermore, high CO₂ levels were found in three of the four apartments, especially at night. In these homes, the residents kept the ventilation setting on the lowest due to the noise produced by it, or due to lack of knowledge on the functioning of the system. In addition to the lack of control and lack of knowledge, the residents reported a lack of feedback from the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems to know whether they are working correctly. These results emphasize the need of user-centric design, and the need for people to be able to control their environment. Systems design should consider the actual needs and preferences of the occupants, while interfaces should be designed to provide timely and accurate feedback to the user.

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As the goal-setting in the European Green Deal is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, great efforts have been put to improve the energy efficiency in residential buildings. As residential buildings are towards high energy efficiency, building envelopes are becoming better thermally insulated and systems are becoming more energy-efficient. Therefore, the role of occupants in the actual building performance is becoming more important. However, contradictions exist between the uncertainties caused by occupant behaviour (OB) and the over-simplified consideration of OB in building design. Therefore, this paper aims to present a state-of-the-art of how OB is represented in residential buildings. Through a literature study, this paper first reviews different occupant behaviours and how they are considered in the design and operation of high-performance residential buildings. Modelling methods are categorized by occupant activities. In addition, behavioural theories in the application of analysing building performance are reviewed. How the behavioural theories are integrated with state-of-the-art building technologies is outlined. Finally, challenges and suggestions for representing the interaction between occupants and buildings in the design and operation of residential buildings are discussed.

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Monitoring the energy performance of very low and zero energy buildings is fundamental to evaluate the efforts made to transition into an energy neutral built environment. Post occupancy monitoring has been embedded into current practice, supported by the availability of smart meters and affordable sensor technology. However, there is still a lack of standardised monitoring guidance, which complicates the comparison between projects. In this study, we reviewed reports and publicly available documents related to the monitoring of low energy and zero energy projects in the Netherlands. A total of 12 studies reporting on 65 projects containing 4,400 dwellings were analysed. These included both new and renovated housing built in the last decade. This study aims to provide an overview of actual energy performance in energy renovation projects across the Netherlands. It also analyses the difference with predicted energy performance and analyses the perceptions of residents involved in low and zero energy renovations. It answers questions such as: What energy and behavioural data is being gathered through energy monitoring in the residential sector (related to monitoring low and zero energy buildings/dwellings)? How is the data currently being utilized? What does the data tell us about actual energy use and resident perceptions? How can monitoring be improved to help develop better energy models, and help building owners optimize their investments in energy renovation projects? The results indicate that even though monitoring building performance in the Netherlands could be considered common practice, the results are seldomly reported or communicated. Furthermore, very few projects monitor indoor conditions and occupants’ behaviour. As a consequence, the performance gaps found in these projects are not fully understood. These findings are summarised to provide an overview of the main goals for monitoring from a practical point of view. These findings are used to provide recommendations for monitoring setups according to the final goals.@en

Dwellings and systems are becoming ever more complex. In achieving high energy performances, the interaction among user, building and systems plays an increasingly crucial role. We studied this interaction in 16 recently renovated low-energy dwellings, to advance the field in terms of methods, and to derive pointers for improved renovation concepts. We used sensors to monitor the indoor environment. And we further developed a method that uses questionnaires, diaries and a so-called 'walk through the house' interview technique to gain insights into occupant behaviour and the reasons for the occupants' behaviours. The results show that the observed behaviour was almost always a normal response to the situation, but often not the behaviour that was expected when designing the renovation concept. A major reason for this was the occupants' efforts to reduce discomfort, which was often the result of the renovation solution itself (for example draught, noise or a warm bedroom). So, we found that behaviour was often a quite normal reaction to the renovation solution. We conclude that the resulting underperformances of renovation concepts are caused by technology centred design. We posit that this can be improved by testing renovation concepts in real world situations.

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Renovation projects in social housing tend to focus on diminishing the costs of the renovation. An affordable solution is sought for an average household, thus assumptions are made about the residents' behaviour when calculating the energy performance of the dwellings. However, households have different needs and preferences, and therefore the actual use of the building can affect the achievement of the zero energy goals. In the Netherlands, until 2020, the calculation of the energy performance coefficient (EPC) was necessary to obtain building permission. The EPC was calculated based on standardised occupancy, and took into account the characteristics of the building envelope and installations. Furthermore, the EPV (energieprestatievergoeding, energy performance compensation in English) is an instrument used by housing associations and landlords to recover part of their investments in renovating social housing into (nearly) zero energy homes through a regulated increase in the rent, while protecting the residents from increase on their costs of living. In this research, we used a monitoring case study in the Netherlands to investigate the effect of assumptions made during design regarding occupants' behaviour, preferences, needs and lifestyle on achieving energy neutrality goals. The following questions are answered: What assumptions where made during the design of the building, and how do they differ from actual behaviour?, and what are the consequences of the behaviour for the performance of the building and for the EPV? The objective of this research is to determine the importance of design assumptions in the design and evaluation of zero energy buildings.

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