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• A POE-integrated simulation method is proposed to address energy occupant behavior. • Opening windows and operating AC were found to co-exist which affects simulation accuracy. • The new method improves energy simulation accuracy by 14% for domestic areas. • The method improves energy simulation accuracy by 16% for total building areas. Occupant behavior plays a critical role in building energy consumption, particularly in residential buildings. However, occupant behavior is complicated and varies significantly from case to case. Also, energy modeling of high-rise buildings is far less explored than that of low- or medium-rise buildings. This paper aims to improve accuracy in building energy simulation by utilizing Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) data to calibrate energy model. Drawing on a review of the literature of occupant behavior and building energy modeling, the paper provides a calibration method of integrating POE data into an energy model, which is demonstrated using a real-life typical 40-storey residential building in Hong Kong. The developed method addresses seven updated input parameters, namely, schedule, devices, air-conditioners, windows, lights, domestic hot water, and cooking. By comparing the two energy modeling processes, i.e. with and without POE input, and their resultant estimated energy consumption, the paper quantifies the impact of occupant behavior on building energy consumption. Annual metered data together with energy bills obtained from the POE were utilized to validate the models. The results show that the use of the developed POE-integrated method helped to improve accuracy in energy consumption prediction by 14% for the total building floor area and by 16% for the total residential area. From examining the impacts of the seven input parameters, the paper reveals the key energy use sensitive occupant behaviors within high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong. These include: the number of residents in each unit; adoption of window type and split type of air-conditioners; window and air condition operation modes; cooking time on weekdays and weekends; and time spent on hot water showering. The developed method can assist building designers and services engineers to estimate building energy use more accurately and provides a scenario analysis tool for clients and facility managers to develop effective energy conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Hong Kong, conventional air-conditioning (AC) systems cause a high energy consumption and poor indoor thermal comfort. This paper investigated the AC load profiles of three typical local commercial buildings, i.e. office, hotel and retail, and examined the energy consumption of liquid desiccant cooling system (LDCS) for these buildings. Simulation results showed that the cooling load contributed to more than 98% of total annual load, with high latent load proportion from March to September. The high reheating ratio, i.e. from 60% to 90%, is found to be the main reason for the poor thermal comfort. Therefore, the LDCS which could handle sensible and latent loads separately was proposed. However, the electricity-driven LDCS was found not suitable for local commercial buildings. significant energy saving could be achieved by the solar-assisted LDCS system with thermal storage, when the installation area for solar collectors is larger than the minimum required one, i.e. 9.7m2/(kWm−2) for office and 12.7m2/(kWm−2) for hotel buildings. Energy saving of different system types with different installation areas was also studied. The solar-assisted LDCS shows more energy saving in winter but less in summer. Results and conclusions can be useful for researchers and local engineers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]