Advances in research and applications of energy-related occupant behavior in buildings

Occupant behavior is now widely accepted as contributing to the significant uncertainty in building energy use. Currently the cognition of influences of occupant behavior is quite insufficient both in building design and energy retrofit, leading to limited understanding and inappropriate over-simplification. This paper introduced the most recent advances and current obstacles in quantifying the impact of occupant behavior on building energy use. The major themes include advancements in data collection techniques, analytical and modeling methods, and simulation applications which provide insights into behavior energy savings potential and impact.