Development and application of a tool to assess occupancy-adaptive building strategies

目前，办公楼的设计和运营都是基于它们已被充分占用的假设。相比之下，各种社会和技术趋势导致了更低的居住水平。因此，在低入住率和不同入住率的情况下，它们的能源使用通常不会显著减少。例如，**建筑通常在接近满员的假设下进行照明、通风、供暖和制冷。通过这个项目，我们将开发一个软件工具，通过各种设计策略和技术来量化能源浪费和节能潜力，从而大大提高建筑物的使用适应性。**这项研究对整个加拿大社会具有重要意义，因为由于建筑运行效率低下，能源使用和相关的温室气体排放和运营成本（通常接近50%）显著过高。这个特殊的项目是针对设计新建筑的设计师和其他顾问的，因为他们能够影响建筑是否能很好地适应部分占用。更具体地说，该项目将直接使行业合作伙伴Stantec受益，Stantec是加拿大最大、最具影响力的工程咨询和服务公司之一。这项研究将使他们能够在建筑设计和技术方面做出基于证据的决策，从而为他们提供与其他公司相比的竞争优势。该项目将使加拿大在未来几十年里拥有更具弹性和适应性的建筑。

Office buildings are currently designed and operated under the assumption that they are fully occupied. In**contrast, various societal and technological trends are resulting in much lower occupant levels. As a result,**their energy use typically does not significantly decrease under low and varying occupancy levels. For instance,**buildings are often lit, ventilated, heated, and cooled under the assumption of near-full occupancy. Through**this project, we will develop a software tool to quantify energy wastage and potential for energy savings**through various design strategies and technologies that greatly improve buildings' occupancy-adaptability.**This research is of great importance to Canadian society as a whole because of the significant excessive energy**use and associated greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs (often approaching 50%) resulting from poor**building operational efficiency. This particular project is aimed at designers and other consultants who design**new buildings, as they are able to influence whether a building adapts well to partial-occupancy. More**specifically, this project will directly benefit the industry partner, Stantec, which is among the largest and most**influential Canadian engineering consulting and services firms. The research will equip them to make**evidence-based decisions on building designs and technologies, thus providing them with a competitive edge**over other companies. This project will benefit Canada by yielding a more resilient and adaptable building**stock for the decades to come.