Occupant behaviours and environmental preferences in Home-Office environments versus conventional office environments; reflections from the pandemic.

Rababa, Barah and Ampatzi, Eleni ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8902-5452 2022. Occupant behaviours and environmental preferences in Home-Office environments versus conventional office environments; reflections from the pandemic. Presented at: CATE 2022, Edinburgh, 5-6 September 2022. Published in: Roaf, Susan and Finlayson, Will eds. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Comfort at the Extremes: Covid, Climate Change and Ventilation. Ecohouse Initative Ltd., pp. 602-626.

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Abstract

This pandemic has changed our work styles and our everyday interactions with the built environment. This paper focuses on differences in thermal comfort perceptions and behaviours between home-based and conventional office settings and discusses the consequences of its findings on domestic energy use in the UK in the context of extreme circumstances and beyond. Data were collected using a web-based questionnaire and online follow-up interviews. The 106 responses to the questionnaire captured the frequency of some adaptive behaviours. The in-depth interviews revealed a wide range and diverse adaptation strategies that people exercise when working from home, while these coping strategies were very limited in conventional offices. Moreover, discussions with energy and built environment experts shed light on the potential implications of working from home. These implications could contribute to raising awareness of people of energy-efficient houses, this could be buying new energy-efficient properties, refurbishing houses, and installing innovative energy-saving measures. The findings of this study indicate that occupants were satisfied with working from home, and the main elements they prefer for a future home office are energy-efficient airtight windows and good ventilation. Participants tended to apply low-cost strategies, related to the heating routine and practices. For example, reducing thermostat temperature or the heating duration. Further research could usefully propose an energy-efficient home office with the technological and personal behaviours and the upgraded standards revealed in this study.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Other)
Status:	Published
Schools:	Architecture
Publisher:	Ecohouse Initative Ltd.
ISBN:	9781916187641
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	24 September 2022
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2022 15:07
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/152825

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