Concern: find a way to broaden educational method for addressing comfort in

typical working environment, recognizing that the choices are difficult to deal with
Educating user of working environment; their understanding of comfort in
working environment
Last year: funded to look at large cross section of Interior Environmental Quality
(IRQ)
Made proposal to SIBS: to investigate broader scale issues of creating
education tool for addressing office workers and academic environment
(specifically through workshops, then measure performance standards against what
the workshop would present)
1. Educational tool: questionnaires and workshops developed
a. Develop worker profiles of the users (with sample testing & energy
measurements), then give advice to what can/cant be accomplished
2. Data assessment behind the scenes (to see relationship in lighting and plugloads)
a. ACEE estimates largest loads in building are ones unaccounted for
generally and associated with individuals in the room
b. The issues may affect policy as well as how individuals work in their
environment
Goal: stand-alone, replicatable model; will ultimately be taken apart and be
reframed in specific areas but ultimately, it will focus more on the workshops
because then, its less easy to be taken apart (especially the ideas and framework)
Main Deliverable(s): refinement of workshops
Funded by sibs this year to do a pilot study on workshop framework, then
refine the study around other climate zones, similar building types, etc. (refined
based on the types of users involved)
This pilot study will end in June
Will use spaces in different buildings that theyve collected energy
performance profiles already (for each of the zones that theyre
going to look at so that they can compare this data to the data
gathered down the road)
3 groups to study: 1) blind group (not given much information about
their comfort and energy use), 2) slightly informed on their comfort
conditions are about (common lecture on human comfort) and 3)
given an added bonus of giving individual control/responsibility of
energy use and how that affects perceived comfort of occupants
and their understanding of it (empowering the individuals in these
groups)
Hypothesis: each of the sample sessions will show a greater refining of the
lowering of the energy profile of these spaces
For every watt of energy used, there are 6 oz. of CO2 emissions going into the air

Were taking the small sample to broaden it to a more national level, to expand it to
this level of RFP
Experts in environmental and behavioral study (Kansas State); sociology expert
here at UNCC
Sustainable 4 square: watts, water, waste, & transportation (your own
transportation to & from)
BOMA wants to see these in a larger picture (expanded) bigger
picture but the home life is different than most people view their
work life, so theyre focusing on work life?
Larger budget: release time for faculty (senior personnel always cost more, which
there will be plenty of with this project 5-6 senior personnel expected), graduate
students for more work (funding for their tuition as well as their work time),
instrumentation devices measuring energy uses i.e. wireless data point on each
desk measuring energy use and collecting data, budget for travel, indirect costs
implemented by university (51% of any direct cost goes back to the university in
indirect costs so adding a lot to the costs already because of use of facilities,
overhead, etc. on campus while project is going on)
Range of $ theyre hoping for in the grant: $1-2 million (will be spread
out over 4-5 years)
If more than 1-2 institutions involved (i.e. Kansas State of NY City College
joining): they may set up and start doing a pilot off of the grant, so they would have
a part of the budget for that start-up program (independently funded out of the
bigger grant)
Under the umbrella of SIBS: applying under the umbrella of an existing university
collaborative research center with mandate of looking at behavioral implications on
environment
Rob Cox: director for the Center for Integrated Environmental building (?) on
campus
Electrical and computer engineering

Data they need access to: data stream coming out of devices
Obstacles to getting this data: protecting the data (i.e. not selling data) the
pilot study wont have that problem because were in house, but it would need to
be considered when on a larger scale (for the larger grant); takes time to get the
approval from the human research board on campus to do any sort of research
involving humans and human behavior
Theyre focusing on individuals energy use and comfort/environmental
responsibility because after 40 years of having a separately controlled thermostat,
for example, not individually controlled still means that comfort is not where it
should be.

Individuals reducing the energy load will also chip away at the energy use in
the big picture (domino effect)
Bigger piece to the puzzle: there is plenty of smart equipment out there, but how
smartly are we using this technology and equipment?

Historically, energy load profiles:

1. Let us know individually how we are doing
2. Competition with another group on lowering the profile
Trying to find where they can refine this process, measuring and using energy.
International scale:
Germans doing better than we are in energy efficiency and developing this area;
British were the first to build councils and criteria for energy efficiency (their
political system allows them to be more proactive than ours capitalism in the USA
drives how we use our research base and policy)
Partnering with engineering, social sciences (allows us to go into other areas of
research to try and find more opportunities)
*this project will be primarily focused on commercial architecture (i.e.
business/company/working buildings)
Power Companies: Interest from Piedmont Energy vs. Duke Energy
Piedmont more interested in human behavior than duke; duke energy is more
interested in looking more into areas that individuals have control over and how
energy can be reduced at home