Occupant behaviour lifestyles and effects on building energy use: Investigation on high and low performing building features

Occupant behaviour is known to be one of the key sources of uncertainty in the prediction of building energy use. Extended literature reviews linked the large performance gaps between residential buildings with same properties and similar climate conditions to the way occupants interact with the building envelope and systems. Furthermore, in the last decades, more stringent energy codes have led to energy efficient design strategies with the aim of reaching the nearly-zero energy target. The success of these strategies is now heavily dependent on how the occupants interact with the building, or rather, on the energy-related lifestyles they assume. In line with this, the present study employs building simulations to demonstrate the potential impact of different occupant behaviour lifestyles on the energy use of a Mediterranean (i) residential nearly-zero energy building (nZEB) under-construction and a (ii) Reference Building (RB) whose envelope-driven loads dominate the consumption profile.