Ten questions concerning participant engagement in building energy research

• Articulates the moral and practical value of meaningful participant engagement • Illustrates success and failure with examples from field research projects • Proposes ten tenets of respectful, meaningful participant engagement • Identifies resources and actionable steps for researchers to implement principles Human-building interactions are a critical component of the energy consumption in buildings. User perspectives on technology design and building use are therefore essential to achieving the intended energy efficiency and occupant comfort. As such, meaningful participant engagement in energy research is vital to unlocking insights required to ensure building design and operation serve occupants’ needs and priorities. In this paper, we make the moral and practical case for meaningful participant engagement in energy research, built on a foundation of respect. Research that follows these principles will yield findings that inform energy policies and programs that are effective, equitable, and reflective of diverse experiences across communities of users. We address ten key questions related to participant engagement in building energy research: 1) why participant engagement is needed; 2) why engagement should be representative; 3) why respect is important to participant engagement; 4) why meaningful and substantive engagement should be prioritized by researchers; 5) how to define successes and failures in participant engagement; 6) what are the ten proposed tenets of respectful engagement; 7) what are examples of successes in participant engagement; 8) what are examples of failures in participant engagement; 9) what are the risks of poor participant engagement; and 10) what resources and next steps are needed to progress towards upholding the proposed tenets of respectful engagement. Through these questions, we provide a holistic guide to both understanding and implementing effective and fruitful participant engagement in building energy research.