Fostering Energy Efficiency and BehAvioural Change through ICT

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Using virtual choreographies to identify office users' behaviors to target behavior change based on their potential to impact energy consumption

Publication . Cassola, Fernando; Morgado, Leonel; Coelho, António; Paredes, Hugo; Barbosa, Antonio; Tavares, Helga; Soares, F. J.

Reducing office buildings’ energy consumption can contribute significantly towards carbon reduction commitments since it represents ∼40% of total energy consumption. Major components of this are lighting, electrical equipment, heating, and central cooling systems. Solid evidence demonstrates that individual occupants’ behaviors impact these energy consumption components. In this work, we propose the methodology of using virtual choreographies to identify and prioritize behavior-change interventions for office users based on the potential impact of specific behaviors on energy consumption. We studied the energy-related office behaviors of individuals by combining three sources of data: direct observations, electricity meters, and computer logs. Data show that there are behaviors with significant consumption impact but with little potential for behavioral change, while other behaviors have substantial potential for lowering energy consumption via behavioral change.

2022-06-14Journal article

Open access