Abstract
In recent years, the European Commission has introduced stringent restrictions regarding energy use to tackle climate change. Simultaneously, the IEA called for a reduction in gas imports from Russia, further influencing occupants’ behaviour in indoor environments and targeting their actions at energy savings. A study conducted by the OECD has confirmed that the increase in energy prices resulting from the recent energy crisis has significantly influenced user behaviour. The natural gas consumption in the EU dropped 20.1% during the period August-November 2022, compared to the average demand for the same months between 2017 and 2021, while the energy prices dramatically increased. During the winter of 2022–2023, the Danish government adopted the EU’s restrictions to lower the indoor temperature to 19 ℃ in public buildings.
Thus, the proposed study has a dual objective. A theoretical framework about the correlation between contextual and personal factors related to the energy price, occupants’ behaviour, and comfort is investigated. Based on a systematic literature review, we analysed 615 papers based on the title, abstract, and keyword screening. An AI-supervised tag extraction process revealed that the terms “price” and “income” were present respectively in 9% and 11% of the selected indoor environmental papers. It demonstrates an interest in the role that personal and contextual domains play in shaping the perception of indoor environments. Furthermore, a positive trend in the annual publication suggests an extension of the inclusion of economic factors as criteria for thermal comfort analysis since 2018. The relevance of that correlation was supported by a questionnaire about the impact of the Danish energy strategy on daily habits and the willingness to pay for an improved indoor environment. Approximately 60% of individuals show a significant inclination to spend between 50–100 DKK/day to live in an indoor environment at 21 ℃ favouring a certain thermal comfort to energy saving.
Thus, the proposed study has a dual objective. A theoretical framework about the correlation between contextual and personal factors related to the energy price, occupants’ behaviour, and comfort is investigated. Based on a systematic literature review, we analysed 615 papers based on the title, abstract, and keyword screening. An AI-supervised tag extraction process revealed that the terms “price” and “income” were present respectively in 9% and 11% of the selected indoor environmental papers. It demonstrates an interest in the role that personal and contextual domains play in shaping the perception of indoor environments. Furthermore, a positive trend in the annual publication suggests an extension of the inclusion of economic factors as criteria for thermal comfort analysis since 2018. The relevance of that correlation was supported by a questionnaire about the impact of the Danish energy strategy on daily habits and the willingness to pay for an improved indoor environment. Approximately 60% of individuals show a significant inclination to spend between 50–100 DKK/day to live in an indoor environment at 21 ℃ favouring a certain thermal comfort to energy saving.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Multiphysics and Multiscale Building Physics : Proceedings of the 9th International Building Physics Conference (IBPC 2024) Volume 2: Urban Physics and Energy Efficiency |
| Editors | Umberto Berardi |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Publication date | 2025 |
| Pages | 599-606 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-981-97-8308-3, 978-981-97-8311-3 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-981-97-8309-0 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
| Series | Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering |
|---|---|
| Volume | 553 |
| ISSN | 2366-2557 |
Keywords
- Contextual factors
- Comfort model
- Occupant behaviour model
- Price variable
- PRISMA
