Application of the ecological valency concept to buildings’ environmental control systems

Mahdavi, Ardeshir; Teufl, Helene; Berger, Christiane

doi:10.1088/1757-899x/609/4/042022

Cited by 4 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…There is arguably a lack of generally agreed-upon evaluation procedures for this aspect of buildings' indoor environment, namely its controllability by building users, or -in the terminology of Human Ecology -its "Ecological Valency" (EV) [59]. The potential for designing and implementing formal procedures toward measurement and certification of indoor environments' EV [46,54,60] will be actively pursued by Annex 79 researchers.…”

Section: Categorization and Assessment Of Control-oriented Building Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing IEA EBC annex 79: Key challenges and opportunities in the field of occupant-centric building design and operation

O’Brien

Wagner

Schweiker

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

170

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Despite the fact that buildings are designed for occupants in principle, evidence suggests buildings are often uncomfortable compared to the requirements of standards; difficult to control by occupants; and, operated inefficiently with regards to occupants' preferences and presence. Meanwhile, practitioners-architects, engineers, technology companies, building managers and operators, and policymakers-lack the knowledge, tools, and precedent to design and operate buildings optimally considering the complex and diverse nature of occupants. Building on the success of IEA EBC Annex 66 ("Definition and simulation of occupant behavior in buildings"; 2013-2017), a follow-up IEA EBC Annex 79 ("Occupantcentric building design and operation"; 2018-2023) has been developed to address gaps in knowledge, practice, and technology. Annex 79 involves international researchers from diverse disciplines like engineering, architecture, computer science, psychology, and sociology. Annex 79 and this review paper have four main areas of focus: (1) multi-domain environmental exposure, building interfaces, and human behavior; (2) data-driven occupant modeling strategies and digital tools; (3) occupant-centric building design; and (4) occupant-centric building operation. The objective of this paper is to succinctly report on the leading research of the above topics and articulate the most pressing research needs-planned to be addressed by Annex 79 and beyond.

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Section: Categorization and Assessment Of Control-oriented Building Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing IEA EBC annex 79: Key challenges and opportunities in the field of occupant-centric building design and operation

O’Brien

Wagner

Schweiker

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

170

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thermostats provide the users with the opportunity to communicate the preferred value of the pertinent control variable to the system (i.e., desired room temperature). Table 2 provides a schematic overview of a number of indoor-environmentally relevant control devices together with the physical processes they can influence [29,30]. Note that in this table, complex building systems are represented only in terms of their terminals that is the point at which building-scale systems interface with individual rooms or zones.…”

Section: Controllability As An Indoor-environmentally Relevant Quality Attribute Of Buildingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, perceiving affordances is suggested to be associated with the initiation of actions. This implies " denotes a primary process mode, "o" stands for the secondary process mode (or side effect), and "-" denotes no (or insignificant) influence (modified based on [29,30]).…”

Section: Ecological Valency As the Primary Theoretical Construct For The Characterization Of Indoor Environments' Responsiveness To Occupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furth ceiving affordances is suggested to be associated with the initiation of actions A schematic depiction of selected control devices (and terminals of control systems), together with the main mass and energy transfer processes they can modulate. Thereby, "✓" denotes a primary process mode, "o" stands for the secondary process mode (or side effect), and "-" denotes no (or insignificant) influence (modified based on [29,30]).…”

Section: Ecological Valency As the Primary Theoretical Construct For The Charact Indoor Environments' Responsiveness To Occupants' Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This implies ol devices (and terminals of control systems), together with the main mass te. Thereby, "✓" denotes a primary process mode, "o" stands for the secenotes no (or insignificant) influence (modified based on [29,30]). rior des…”

Section: Ecological Valency As the Primary Theoretical Construct For The Characterization Of Indoor Environments' Responsiveness To Occupmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An Occupant-Centric Theory of Building Control Systems and Their User Interfaces

2021

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This paper presents an occupant-centric theory of buildings’ indoor-environmental control systems and their user interfaces. Buildings typically can have multiple devices and systems to maintain indoor-environmental conditions within certain ranges in order to meet occupants’ health and comfort requirements. Therefore, it is important to understand what those ranges are exactly, who defines them, and for whom. Health and comfort sciences offer some broad directions concerning desirable indoor conditions. These are typically formulated in various codes, standards, and guidelines in terms of target values or the set points of control variables. However, preferable conditions may differ at different times and for different individuals. Another question concerns the agency responsible for maintaining the preferred conditions. In some settings, conditions may be centrally controlled via the buildings’ automation systems, whereas in other settings, occupants might have the possibility to control their immediate surroundings. Given these qualifications, the objective of the present inquiry can be stated more precisely. We outline a human-ecologically inspired theory pertaining to the occupants’ perception of and interaction with a building’s indoor-environmental control systems and their user interfaces. Specifically, we explore the operationalization potential of the proposed theory as a compact assessment protocol for the evaluation of buildings’ responsiveness to occupants’ preferences. Initial experiences with the derivative protocol are promising. Nonetheless, in order to be fully applicable in practice, certain challenges must be addressed. These specifically include the need for more robust procedures toward the translation of occupants’ subjective judgments into quantitative evaluation scales.

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Toward a theory-driven ontological framework for the representation of inhabitants in building performance computing

Mahdavi

Wolosiuk

Berger

2023

Journal of Building Engineering

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Application of the ecological valency concept to buildings’ environmental control systems

Cited by 4 publications

References 3 publications

Introducing IEA EBC annex 79: Key challenges and opportunities in the field of occupant-centric building design and operation

Introducing IEA EBC annex 79: Key challenges and opportunities in the field of occupant-centric building design and operation

An Occupant-Centric Theory of Building Control Systems and Their User Interfaces

Toward a theory-driven ontological framework for the representation of inhabitants in building performance computing

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