Occupant behavior effects on energy-saving measures and thermal comfort in severe cold areas

The complexity of human behavior is often underestimated when evaluating building heating energy consumption, especially in severe cold areas. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the heating energy consumption and thermal comfort of different modes of occupant behaviors by focusing on Inner Mongolia, a cold region, as the research object. Using the results of a questionnaire survey to determine the activity of typical families in this region, five occupant behavior models were constructed. On this basis, simulations were conducted to determine the energy consumption of different behavior patterns using DeST-h software. The findings show that the effect of energy savings is much more significant than the loss of thermal comfort. However, not all energy-saving measures are effective, as different external temperatures cause differences in the energy consumption results of varying behavior patterns. Specifically, when the outside temperature is high, excessive energy-saving behavior is not effective for overall energy savings, and when the outside temperature is low, energy-saving actions, such as indoor heat preservation and zone temperature control, provide significant results. On this basis, strategies were identified to achieve a balance between energy-saving measures and thermal comfort in buildings using gas wall-hanging furnaces in cold region areas.