Influence of Thermal Comfort on Energy Consumption for Building Occupants: The Current State of the Art

Abstract

Thermal comfort is a complex issue in the built environment due to the physiological and psychological differences of each individual in a building. There is a growing worry over the environmental implications of energy use as a result of the warming of the global climate and the growth in the number of instances of extreme weather events. Many review articles have been written, but these reviews have focused on a specific aspect of occupant behavior and thermal comfort. To research the trends of thermal comfort and energy, this research adopted mixed reviews, i.e., quantitative and qualitative, to understand the state-of-the-art factors affecting the thermal comfort of occupants concerning energy, different occupant modeling approaches, functions, and limitations. The in-depth qualitative discussion provides deeper insights into the impacts of occupant behaviors, factors affecting thermal comfort, and occupant behavior modeling approaches. This study classified occupant behaviors into five categories: occupant characteristics, perceptions of the occupant, realistic behaviors, heat gain, and occupant interactions with the system. It also went further to classify the factors affecting the thermal comfort of users based on past works of literature. These include structural, environmental, and human factors. It was concluded that factors that have the most significant impact on energy are human, structural, and environmental factors, respectively. In addition, most of the occupant behavior modeling approaches that have been used in past studies have pros and cons and cannot accurately predict human behaviors because they are stochastic. Future research should be conducted on thermal comfort for different building functions by examining the varied activity intensity levels of users, especially in educational or commercial buildings. Additionally, a proper investigation should be carried out on how thermal insulation of structural members influences thermal comfort. These should be compared in two similar buildings to understand occupant behavioral actions and energy consumption.

Investigating the Role of Thermal Comfort Perception on Negotiating Heritage Conservation and Energy Efficiency Decisions through System Dynamics

“…The impact of thermal comfort on energy consumption stands out as one of the most critical parameters in the literature, receiving considerable attention compared to other energy-related topics [28,29]. The factors affecting thermal comfort are categorised as human, structural, and environmental, and it has been determined that human factors have the most significant effect on energy consumption [30,31]. Since people spend nearly 90% of their time indoors, thermal comfort is potentially one of the most determining factors influencing the quality of the indoor environment, thereby affecting their interactions and perceptions of buildings [32].…”

Impact of the Climate Background of Students on Thermal Perception: Implications for Comfort and Energy Use in University Lecture Theatres

“…Another study also showed that even a 1 degree decrease in indoor temperature provides a 10% energy saving [9]. In a systematic literature review, it was mentioned that occupant behaviour is one of the main factors affecting energy consumption [30] in higher education buildings [31]. Since there is a relationship between energy consumption and comfort in buildings, defining the building user profile and understanding their expectations and behaviour is important both in terms of comfort and energy saving.…”