The Influence of Residential Behavior on Dwelling Energy Consumption and Comfort in Hot-Summer and Cold-Winter Zone of China—Taking Shanghai as an Example

Abstract

Human behavior plays a key role in building energy consumption, especially in residential buildings. Residents in the hot-summer and cold-winter zone of China tend to use energy in a “partial-time, part-of-the-space” manner. With the improvement in people’s living standards, the energy consumption of residential buildings in this region has been increasing. Exploring the building energy efficiency methods that suit the local residents’ energy use habits while ensuring building comfort levels is of great importance. This paper investigates the impact of living behavior on residential energy consumption and comfort in this region, focusing on personnel-in-room conditions, use of air-conditioning equipment, and window opening. Firstly, a questionnaire survey was conducted to analyze the energy use behaviors and the mentality of residents in the Jiangsu–Zhejiang–Shanghai Area of China. Then, based on the current situation of the household structure in Shanghai, 10 households were selected and monitored for a period of 8 months. Their energy use patterns were summarized to obtain a standard sample. Finally, the energy consumption simulation software DeST 2.0 was used to analyze the impact of each usage element on comfort and energy consumption. A dual-index evaluation of energy consumption and comfort is proposed for the first time. This paper found that respondents placed about a 6:4 important ratio on “comfort” and “energy efficiency” in their dwellings and that the importance placed on comfort increased from low-energy to high-energy households. Behaviors such as “gathering more in the living room” and “open windows as much as possible in the summer and appropriately in the winter” were more beneficial to both comfort and energy efficiency.