Influence of the use and occupancy pattern of multifamily housing on the building’s consumption

Abstract

This study aims to identify the pattern of use and occupancy of the users of multifamily social housing and compare it with the pattern determined by INI-R Standard. Furthermore, we seek to evaluate the energy consumption of the building with and without energy efficiency measures in both use and occupancy scenarios. A survey was conducted with social housing occupants in a cold climate in southern Brazil to define the use and occupation pattern. The energy consumption of a representative project was determined according to INI-R Standard. An economic analysis was performed. The results identified important differences between the scenarios, such as the number of residents, room occupancy hours, and use conditions of the housing. Energy consumption in the scenario with the adapted use and occupancy pattern was 23.7% and 34.2% lower in the representative project without and with the energy efficiency measures, respectively. In both scenarios, the project with the efficiency measures showed a positive Net Present Value and a discounted payback of 5.7 years. It was concluded that the adapted use and occupation pattern was the most realistic in this study.

Keywords:
Pattern of use and occupation; Social housing; Nearly zero-energy building; Energy consumption; Economic analysis