Veronica Soebarto | The University of Adelaide (original) (raw)

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Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 00038628 2014 976537, Jan 2, 2015

ABSTRACT The research presented in this paper was conducted in order to test whether the thermal ... more ABSTRACT The research presented in this paper was conducted in order to test whether the thermal preferences of occupants in low-energy houses are influenced by their environmental values. This was done through a 12-month thermal comfort study and Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI) of 40 households in dwellings of non-standard construction located within two very different Australian climates: cool temperate – Melbourne and hot humid – Darwin. The results show that the occupants of these dwellings considered conditions comfortable often outside of the accepted adaptive thermal comfort limits and suggest that the conditions people find acceptable may be influenced by their underlying environmental values. These results indicate that greater acknowledgement of atypical preferences in the mandatory assessment of building thermal performance is needed.

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Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 00038628 2014 986433, Jul 16, 2014

ABSTRACT Occupants in ‘green’ buildings have high expectations; generally anticipating improved c... more ABSTRACT Occupants in ‘green’ buildings have high expectations; generally anticipating improved comfort conditions, an element which also impacts on their perceived health and productivity levels. This paper presents a recent post-occupancy evaluation of a number of ‘green-rated’ and ‘non-green-rated’ commercial office buildings in Adelaide, South Australia. Occupant surveys and internal environment monitoring were conducted to assess the perceived and actual thermal, visual and aural comforts, and also health and productivity. This paper focuses on occupants' satisfaction in response to seasonal temperature conditions with survey results showing that green-rated buildings exhibit equal and in some cases decreased occupant satisfaction of internal thermal conditions when compared to non-green-rated buildings. Responses to thermal comfort questions were reviewed against actual temperature measurements logged within the buildings. It was found that altering building temperature set points based on ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 would likely result in improved occupant satisfaction of thermal conditions with the potential to reduce energy consumption.

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014

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Energy and Buildings, 2015

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Energy and Buildings, 2015

ABSTRACT In assessing the energy efficiency of a house design, particularly methods incorporating... more ABSTRACT In assessing the energy efficiency of a house design, particularly methods incorporating building performance simulation, assumptions are made about how the occupants operate the building. Often these assumptions are standardised to simplify the assessment process with the intention of enabling a straight forward comparison between designs. Assessment of performance using standardised operations may pose a disadvantage to house designs that are intended for households who are likely to operate the house outside of the assumed norm. This paper examines occupant behaviour in low energy houses in the context of the Australian regulatory house energy rating scheme and, using simulation, demonstrates the impact of alternative occupancy settings on the validity of the predicted house energy rating. The results clearly show that current occupant assumptions within the scheme fail to adequately reflect actual heating and cooling practices in low energy dwellings and, as such, overestimate energy consumption within these households. Based on these results it is suggested that, for equitable assessment of these households, settings within the simulation engine used for assessment must be modified to align with actual user behaviour.

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Building and Environment, 2014

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Urban Climate, 2014

ABSTRACT Knowledge of climate dependency of building energy consumption is useful for predicting ... more ABSTRACT Knowledge of climate dependency of building energy consumption is useful for predicting the impacts of climate change and urban heat island on energy demand and associated carbon emissions, and to evaluate and improve building energy performance. Climate dependent electricity consumption is examined in this study for four office buildings in Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia with a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. Influences of both outdoor temperature and specific humidity on building electricity consumption are analyzed using the multiple linear regression, based on both sub-daily and monthly electricity consumption data. The results indicate that there is a daytime mean temperature threshold of around 17 °C, above which, electricity consumption increases with air temperature. Specific humidity also contributes to interpreting the temporal variability of office hour electricity consumption. Daytime temperature and specific humidity together determine 80–90% of office hour electricity consumption variation for days with mean daytime temperature above the threshold temperature. Office building daily electricity consumption can be examined with monthly electricity consumption data of a period of three years. The results also suggest that heatwaves may increase office building electricity demand by up to 50%, and that one degree warming can increase annual office electricity consumption by 2% in Adelaide.

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