CAREER: Multi-Level Occupancy Intervention, Simulation and Education for Energy Reduction in Existing Buildings

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1349921 (Menassa). Despite significant advances in technology, existing buildings are still the highest consumers of energy and emitters of harmful greenhouse gases. While it is argued that education and information sharing are appropriate occupancy intervention strategies for energy reduction, no empirical research has been done to understand (1) how different building occupants respond to intervention strategies, (2) what occupancy characteristics influence this response, (3) how to supplement education with other strategies to achieve long term energy reduction, and (4) how simulation can be used to develop a functional and educational environment for building stakeholders. The goal of this CAREER grant is to address this gap in research and education to achieve a fundamental understanding of what occupancy characteristics and social relationships play a key mediation role to induce significant energy use reduction in buildings. The investigator will perform basic research, design appropriate tools, and develop educational materials to enable effective implementation of energy reduction intervention strategies at the occupancy level in buildings. This research is targeted to result in fundamental contributions to understand the mediation role that building occupancy MOA (Motivation, Opportunity and Ability) and SNT (Social Network Topology) play in determining the effectiveness of intervention strategies. This is to be achieved through a scientific approach to quantitatively measure the occupancy MOA and SNT. Additional important targeted contributions of this project are to identify the key fundamental differences among various energy intervention strategies aimed at building occupants, and to establish a correlation between the effectiveness of these strategies and specific building clusters. This would significantly reduce time and effort required to choose and implement energy intervention strategies in buildings by providing a fundamental scientific understanding of what intervention strategies can be applied for given occupancy MOA and SNT characteristics. Finally, the proposed research targets to develop, test and validate a model that allows decision makers to understand how reducing energy in their buildings is influenced by the buildings? occupancy MOA levels, SNT and proper selection of intervention strategies. This approach to understanding and modeling the mediation role that occupancy MOA and SNT play in processing information included in intervention strategies aims to result in effective, economical and sustainable approaches to reduce energy use in buildings. The dissemination of the project results through different media will seek to have a significant impact of educating decision makers about which intervention strategies to choose to achieve long term and effective energy reduction in their building. As part of this project, the investigator will leverage existing resources at the University of Michigan to achieve full integration of her research and educational activities. These resources include: (1) The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching in Engineering (CRLT-Engineering), (2) the NSF-funded Michigan Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (MI-LSAMP), (3) the Office of Engineering Outreach and Engagement (OEOE) and Marian Sarah Parker Scholars (MSP) Program, and (4) the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). The latter three collaborations will allow the investigator to mentor underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines, with them potentially moving on to pursue graduate degrees. Beyond traditional education, the results of this research will be disseminated through online course offerings to practicing professionals.