Tenant Behaviors Have Big Impact on Energy Use

New research shows that a building’s operations and occupants’ behavior may have a greater impact on a building’s overall energy use than design characteristics, according to the New Buildings Institute’s study Sensitivity Analysis: Comparing the Impact of Design, Operation, and Tenant Behavior on Building Energy Performance.

Developed jointly with Ecotope in Seattle, the study provides an overview of how buildings use energy and what aspects of buildings’ energy performance deserve more attention in design, operation, and policy strategies.

“The perception that energy performance is relatively set once the building is designed and constructed is not valid," said Mark Frankel, NBI’s technical director. “In fact, a significant percentage of building energy use is driven directly by operational and occupant habits that are completely independent of building design, and in many cases these post-design characteristics can have a larger impact on total energy use than many common variations in the design of the building itself.”

Building envelope, heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, and lighting are key areas where a property’s design team can impact a building’s efficiency. Utilizing best practices in envelope and lighting design can save at least 40 percent of total building energy use, while poor practices can increase energy use up to 90 percent in all climate zones, according to the report.

However, occupant behavior may have an even greater impact on overall energy use. In many instances, increasing tenants’ and operators’ awareness of best practices can have an impact. For example, the installation of sub-metering and energy-use dashboards can help building tenants better understand and reduce their energy use.