Missing ingredient in energy-efficient buildings: People

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://news.wsu.edu/2014/12/02/missing-ingredient-in-energy-efficient-buildings-people/

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Missing ingredient in energy-efficient buildings: People[/font]

December 2, 2014
By Tina Hilding, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture

[font size=3]Julia-Day-80PULLMAN, Wash. – More than one-third of new commercial building space includes energy-saving features, but without training or an operator’s manual many occupants are in the dark about how to use them.

...

She was a WSU graduate student in interior design when she walked into an office supposedly designed for energy efficiency and noticed that the blinds were all closed and numerous lights were turned on. The building had been designed to use daylighting strategies to save energy from electric lighting.

After inquiring, Day learned that cabinetry and systems furniture throughout the building blocked nearly half of the occupants from access to the blind controls. Only a few determined folks would climb on or under their desks to operate the blinds.

“People couldn’t turn off their lights, and that was the whole point of implementing daylighting in the first place,” she said. “The whole experience started me on my path.”

...[/font][/font]

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.11.003

[NYC_SKP]

1. This is most definitely a problem.

Sadly, only operations people are provided instructions for using any smart features like occupancy sensors when really everybody should be educated.

But the story brings up another problem:

Which is more likely to have an impact: Automatic controls that people don't need to think about, or people who are taught to internalize energy saving behaviors?

I lean toward the latter, though both can be used in combination.