engleski

A Framework to Predict Feedback-Related Behavioural Intention of Occupants in Advanced Control Systems in Buildings

The advanced control systems in buildings such as human-centered predictive control, aim to shift the focus towards the occupants’ needs and wants rather than just the building energy performance. Hence, to increase occupant satisfaction and to balance the trade-off between high automation level and control access in buildings, direct feedback from the occupants on the perceived indoor comfort conditions can be used to include the occupants’ preferences in the control algorithm. This feedback is reported through an online interface, where the feedback-reporting in itself presents a kind of behaviour. An interdisciplinary research approach is needed to address the assumptions of the feedback-reporting process and the complex and multifactorial nature of human behaviour. Thus, building upon theoretical frameworks such as the Theory of Planned Behaviour, in this research, an extended framework of this theory will be presented to predict the impact of external variables such as user trust, user preference, and other factors on the intention of the occupants to report feedback. The study uses a survey as a tool and the data are analysed with Structural Equation Modelling using Smart PLS statistical software. The results show that the proposed framework model achieves an explained variance of R2=59.6% for the intention of the occupants to report feedback. Additionally, the main drivers and influences of the feedback- reporting intention are elicited, showing that the main direct influence is the occupants’ attitude towards reporting (path weight β=0.293 and p<0.001). The other impacting factors are the perceived ability to report feedback (β=0.240 and p<0.001), the social impact (β=0.238 and p<0.001), and the user-trust (β=0.240 and p<0.001). On the other hand, the user preferences for control access or demand-response engagement, do not have a direct impact on the intention of the occupants to report feedback (p>0.05), but there is an indirect impact through the attitude (p<0.01). The identification of the influencing factors enables the tailoring of interventions to stimulate the engagement level of the occupants with the controllers.

Human-centered building control, extended Theory of Planned Behaviour, human behaviour, occupant feedback, Structural Equation Modelling

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