Implementation of occupant behaviour models into EnergyPlus Simulation Software

Burak Gunay Liam OBrien Ian Beausoleil-Morrison

Outline
Motivation for occupant behaviour modelling A brief-review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS
Design example (operable vs. fixed windows) Operation example (manual vs. automated lighting controls)

Concluding remarks
Unresolved issues and future work

Occupant behaviour modelling: problem and solution

Problem: occupant behaviour has become the leading unknown of building performance as building envelopes and mechanical/electrical systems become more efficient. Reported ranges in energy use:
Residential: as high as a factor of 20 Commercial: as high as a factor of 3
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12 Ottawa House Load Comparison

Factor of 4
# of occupants is a reasonable good predictor; but hard to predict during design

Non-HVAC: Appliances, lighting, hot water

4 (Saldanha, Beausoleil-Morrison, 2012)

Background

5 identical Danish houses; Source: Gram-Hanssen (2010)

Family #3 thought they were very energyconscious

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Seduced by the View

(Urban Green Council, USGBC, 2013)

Their conclusion: we should be critical of highly-glazed facades

Design implications of Occupants

Engineers are risk-adverse and usually assume worstcase conditions for equipment sizing (lights on, fullyoccupied, blinds up, windows gas-fill leaked, etc.)
This leads to significant oversizing -> capital cost and inefficient operating conditions

For net-zero energy buildings, occupant uncertainty pushes renewable energy systems to be bigger
Probability
Uncertainty from occupant behaviour Renewable energy generation capacity for 50% chance of achieving net-zero energy 90% chance of achieving net-zero energy
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Energy Use Occupant effects: 10 to 1000%

Design implications of Occupants

More important than equipment sizing, neglecting occupant behaviour models can lead to sub-optimal design Example: daylight availability alone might tell designers to maximize window area. But accounting for adaptive response (shading), more modest windows can outperform large ones for daylight.

Potential opportunities from occupants

Diverse behaviours can smoothen peak loads Occupants are not powerless sensors of environmental conditions, but active participants We can loosen controls if occupants are in control

Design for comfort and occupant behaviour

Occupant Behaviour Smart Controls

Fixed/Passive Design
But no future opportunities for adjustment; so get it right!
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Design for comfort and occupant behaviour

But extreme care must be taken to not irritate occupants

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Design for comfort and occupant behaviour

Occupant Behaviour Smart Controls Fixed/Passive Design

But disaggregate as much as possible
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Major research questions

How transferable/universal are occupant behaviour models?
9 contextual factors were established in a recent literature review

Is there a risk of optimizing to the wrong occupant behaviour models?

Whats more valuable: low mean predicted energy or low uncertainty?

How should performance uncertainty be represented? And will designers buy in? Will they have confidence in OB models? How do occupants respond to buildings that have been designed/optimized using OB models?
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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial to use occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

A brief-review of the modelling methodologies

There are many independent research groups studying occupant behaviours and presence all over the world. They monitor a group of occupants behaviours and presence for sometime and

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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial to use occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

A brief-review of the modelling methodologies

identify the factors influencing these behaviours (e.g. turning on the lights) and their reversals (e.g. turning off the lights)

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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

A brief-review of the modelling methodologies

often try to come up with mathematical relations (a.k.a. occupant models) between a set of predictors to explain an occupants behaviour. Regression coefficients for a and b can be pictured as the human traits defining our tendency to undertake a behaviour.
Bernouilli

Markov Chains

P( St St 1 ) or P( St )

exp(a bk xk ) 1 exp(a bk xk )
k 1 k 1 n
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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

A brief-review of the modelling methodologies

A major challenge is to integrate these occupant behaviour models in BPS: Barriers to this:
prerequisite knowledge of stochastic processes (e.g., discrete-time vs. discrete-event Markov Chains or Bernoulli random processes or survival models) lack of user-friendly interfaces to develop custom controls in BPS tools (e.g. BCVTB) prior knowledge of imperative programming often BPS users (in industry and even in research) are not fully convinced that occupant models are essential

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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

Implementation of occupant models in BPS

To this end:
18 occupant models for occupants lighting, window, and interior shading use, clothing adjustment, and occupancy were incorporated in EMS application of EnergyPlus. Two tutorials (a design and an operation example) are provided to demonstrate how occupant models can help industry make informed design and operation choices.

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A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS: Operable windows vs. Fixed windows in Ottawa (Annual Res.)

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/product s/reference/14700 22

A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS: Operable windows vs. Fixed windows in Ottawa (Monthly Res)

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

Note the variations in energy use during the shoulder seasons. Occupants do not use their windows too often in the peak heating season.

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A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS: Operable windows vs. Fixed windows in Ottawa (Monthly Res)

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

Energy use in summer months is higher due to cooling. The uncertainty and magnitude of the energy use decreased substantially.

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A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS: Operable windows vs. Fixed windows in Ottawa (Focus on a day in April)

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

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A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS: Lighting Operation in Perimeter Office Spaces in Ottawa

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

Consider a scenario in which the facilities management department is about to determine the operations mode of lighting controls (by simply changing the position of the DIP switches) for the perimeter offices: 1. Manual on and Manual off 2. Automation on&off 3. Automation off and manual onsf

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A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS: Lighting Operation in Perimeter Office Spaces in Ottawa

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

1. Manual on and Manual off Acts as simple occupant control light switches 2. Automation on & off Automatically turns on the lights only when it is less than 500 lux on the workplane and the occupant is present turn off otherwise. 3. Automation off and manual on Automatically turns off the lights when it is more than 500 lux on the workplane or the occupant is absent. Occupants are responsible to turn on.

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A tutorial to use of occupant models in BPS: Lighting Operation in Perimeter Office Spaces in Ottawa

A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial to use occupant models in BPS Unresolved issues and future work

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A tutorial on using of occupant models in BPS: Lighting Operation in Perimeter Office Spaces in Ottawa

With manual control, there is substantial individual variability.

There is clearly no reason to turn on the lights automatically in an office. Things to be corrected are:
when an occupant does not realize the daylight potential. when an occupant leaves the lights on 29 upon departure.

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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

Concluding remarks
State-of-the-art occupant models for lighting, windows, window shades, clothing level adjustments, and presence have been implemented in BPS. A tutorial is included to demonstrate how better design and operation decisions can be achieved using BPS with occupant models. Scalable efforts like this may also initiate a long-term shift in common perception that questions the practicality of occupant models.
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A review of the modelling methodologies Implementation of occupant models in BPS A tutorial on using occupant models in BPS Concluding remarks Unresolved issues and future work

Unresolved issues and future work

The existing occupant models arise from different observational studies. In many cases, the contextual factors during these observational studies were not properly reported. Occupant models are simulated (and calibrated) with discrete-time formalism. This forces users to select a fixed and prescribed time-step (i.e. 5 min). Discreteevent based simulation algorithms will be investigated. All of these models as implemented in EnergyPlus and the tutorial examples will be made publicly available. 32

IEA EBC Annex 66: Definition and Simulation of Occupant Behaviour

90 researchers from a dozen countries Main scope: occupancy, residential, offices

Major objectives:
Establish monitoring protocol Establish modelling protocol Integrate OB models into prominent simulation engines Demonstrate applicability of OB modelling/simulation

Annex66.org

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Thank you! Any questions?

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