ASHRAE Journal - November 2020 - 24

TECHNICAL FEATURE

windows open even when it is not required, to the detriment of heating and cooling energy, and reported being
receptive to allowing occupants to open a certain percentage of windows based on the outdoor temperatures.
However, many interviewees noted that they use separate lockboxes in the multi-occupant rooms or common
spaces to prevent users from fighting over temperature
setpoints. They also do this to prevent occupants from
misusing these building systems.
While the interviewees were split on whether or not
giving occupants more control may help improve occupant comfort, all were hesitant about implementing any
sort of occupant-centric controls ranging from simple
presence-based switching of lighting systems to full
model predictive control,2 due to the perceived lack of
evidence that they could be executed without negatively
impacting energy performance.
Most interview participants indicated that hot and
cold complaints are the most frequent complaint type
in their facilities. They usually receive this type of complaint year-round, though more frequently in extreme
conditions. Participants noted more frequent complaints during the switchover period from heating to
cooling and vice versa. Thermal complaints increase in
prevalence in the mornings after operating the buildings in free-cooling mode.
When asked about the frequency of communicating
with building occupants, most energy management
personnel reported they usually indirectly communicate
with occupants via their subordinates or the building
technicians on a daily or weekly basis. Sometimes facility managers receive online comfort-related feedback
directly from the tenant representatives. Before starting
a renovation project or if there are any action-oriented
special issues, the facility managers visit and communicate with building occupants in person. On the other
hand, building operators usually communicate with
building occupants daily or at least three times a week.
Regarding nontechnical challenges the participants
face in improving energy efficiency in their facilities,
most participants said that dealing with finances is the
most challenging part of executing any renovation or
retrofit work in their facility. Participants also reported
that they encounter the challenge of motivating occupants to undertake energy-efficient behaviors, as well
as tackling the constraints of the HVAC control system
with occupant expectations and engaging occupants
24

ASHRAE JOURNAL

ashrae.org

N OVEM BER 2020

in occupant comfort survey. Energy manager participants noted that building operators are often stuck in
their own ways and are not always keen to adapt to new
technology.
The interview identified the issue of "energy champions" in the energy management sectors as a barrier to
successful implementation of energy-efficiency strategies in their facilities. This problem is well supported by
the statement made by Hooke, et al.,3 that overreliance
on a single energy champion is risky. Sometimes, the
so-called energy champion does not want to implement
energy-efficiency strategies in their facilities because
they know there is a risk of poor execution and resulting
comfort consequences.
A few other nontechnical challenges were also identified through this questionnaire survey. These include
dealing with procurement, leadership issues in the
operations team, a communication gap between energy
and operations team, motivation toward customer service and technological knowledge enhancement and
execution of long-term strategic plan.

Participant Responses
Figure 2 presents an overview of responses for some of
the questionnaire items regarding participants' perception of occupant needs and comfort and their attitudes
toward various operational performance goals.
Figure 2a shows that the majority of interviewees
believe their managed buildings' occupants are comfortable. However, as the use of spaces changes over
time, sometimes it becomes difficult for them to satisfy
occupant comfort. Five interviewees expressed mixed
feelings regarding their understanding about the needs
of building occupants. This is because of conflicting
information coming from occupants. Several of these
interviewees noted that yearly or quarterly comfort
surveys reflected lower than expected occupant satisfaction within buildings, even when complaint calls are
minimal between surveys. They postulated that by offering such sporadic surveys, occupants seize this limited
opportunity to "lash-out," as smaller issues can fester
during this time.
Additionally, collocating the type of complaint and the
exact location within the building presents an organizational and technological hurdle when trying to address
localized problems (e.g., drafts, glare, etc.). One participant expressed a desire for a way to gather consistent,

https://www.ashrae.org/

ASHRAE Journal - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - November 2020