Research Projects

The proposed research addresses a critical gap in our understanding of the human dimensions that influence energy use and performance of energy-saving devices in the existing stock of commercial buildings. Historically, state and federal efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through demand-side management of commercial buildings have focused on developing more efficient devices and structures, to the near-exclusion of addressing management strategies and occupant behaviors. The proposed work will make use of interviews, surveys, and participant observation in a diverse sample of commercial buildings in California to illuminate actual practices that influence energy consumption in buildings. Understanding these practices will help guide research and policy toward improved technology development, building design, and toward behaviorally-oriented conservation campaigns that fit, or can successively influence, actual social practices. Research results will also support development of new and potentially more powerful, more cost-effective, GHG emissions reduction strategies for commercial buildings with the co-benefits of protecting and even improving occupant health, productivity, and well-being. The focus of this research is on existing buildings as they currently operate in the commercial sector, which has received relatively little attention compared to residential buildings and new building design. Research results will also be useful to inform new building design and retrofits. The essential value of this research is that it moves beyond theoretical understandings to deliver actionable strategies in a context that is networked with the professional, policy-making, and research communities who can promote, implement and refine, them.