Hybrid Simulation of the Assessment of the Impact of External Interventions on Comfort and Occupant Behavior in Intelligent Buildings

This paper presents a hybrid simulation model that integrates EnergyPlus and AnyLogic as a test bed for studying the link between energy consumption and occupant behavior in buildings. More specifically, this model proposes to simulate occupant behavior in terms of environmental profiles, indoor activities, perception of thermal comfort, ability to adjust setpoint temperature (thermostat) and clothing, as well as external incentives or inducements used to influence energy consumption. Anylogic is used to simulate occupant behavior, and EnergyPlus is used to simulate the building environment (thermal control and energy consumption). An interface developed in Python is used to coordinate the two simulation models. One of the main innovations of the occupant model presented here concerns the occupant's sensitivity to external intervention, such as the occupant's ranking in terms of energy consumption relative to other occupants in the modeled building. Eventually, other external interventions will be modeled, such as economic incentives. Preliminary results show the model's sensitivity to the environmental profile of a skittish occupant. These results also show the sensitivity of the occupant model to the type of interventions considered here in terms of their ability to influence occupant behaviour and energy consumption. Ultimately, the aim of this project is to design an approach capable of managing and reducing the energy consumption of building occupants in real time, by coordinating the use of external interventions according to their environmental profile and their sensitivity to the use of nudges.