Advanced Co-simulation Framework for Assessing the Interplay between Occupant Behaviors and Demand Flexibility in Commercial Buildings

Published

September 2, 2024

Author(s)

Zhelun Chen, Jin Wen, Yicheng Li, L James Lo, Gabriel Grajewski, Vance (Wm.) Payne, Steven T. Bushby, Amanda Pertzborn, Zheng O'Neill, Zhiyao Yang, Caleb Calfa

Abstract

With buildings contributing significantly to electricity usage, enabling demand flexibility becomes a challenge, especially when accounting for occupant comfort. This study introduces an advanced co-simulation framework that integrated a range of models: the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system model, the building zone load model, the indoor airflow model, the supervisory control model, and the occupant comfort and behavior model. Using this framework, we conducted a case study using a typical small office building model from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Commercial Prototype Building Models. Specifically, we focused on three areas: (1) the impact of indoor airflow modeling on energy use, occupant comfort, and behaviors, (2) the impact of occupant behaviors on demand flexibility, and (3) occupant comfort and behaviors under demand response events. The results were analyzed by evaluating key performance indicators, including the energy use, the flexibility factor, the duration of occupant discomfort, and the duration of specific occupant behaviors. Our findings indicated variations in energy usage and occupant comfort within demand flexibility events, marked by uncertainty boundaries. We concluded that this framework is suitable for analyzing typical commercial buildings and their HVAC systems in terms of demand flexibility potential under the impact of occupant behaviors.

Citation

Science and Technology for the Built Environment

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1080/23744731.2024.2394357

Local Download

Keywords

demand flexibility, occupant behaviors, commercial buildings HVAC, grid-interactive efficient buildings, thermal comfort

Citation

Chen, Z. , Wen, J. , Li, Y. , Lo, L. , Grajewski, G. , Payne, V. , Bushby, S. , Pertzborn, A. , O'Neill, Z. , Yang, Z. and Calfa, C. (2024), Advanced Co-simulation Framework for Assessing the Interplay between Occupant Behaviors and Demand Flexibility in Commercial Buildings, Science and Technology for the Built Environment, [online], https://doi.org/10.1080/23744731.2024.2394357, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=957032 (Accessed October 9, 2025)