A decision framework for energy use reduction initiatives in commercial buildings

Energy consumption in commercial buildings and the resulting production of green house gas emissions continues to be one of the major challenges facing the United States. With more than 80 percent of the energy consumed by buildings occurring during their operational phase, most policies and programs over the last decade have focused on the design requirements for new and renovated buildings to ensure reductions in energy use during building operation. These policies are primarily focusing on the technical aspect of building systems, ignoring the role played by occupants' behavior, and most importantly how to influence this behavior to reduce energy consumption. Various approaches have proven to be effective in inducing behavioral changes such as energy conservation campaigns, financial incentives, feedback techniques, and others. This paper presents an agent-based approach to modeling these methods, simulating their impact on occupants' behavior, and predicting their effect on building energy use and costs.