Design challenges in energy conservation strategies for shared spaces
Year: 2017
Editor: Anja Maier, Stanko Škec, Harrison Kim, Michael Kokkolaras, Josef Oehmen, Georges Fadel, Filippo Salustri, Mike Van der Loos
Author: Withanage, Chathura; Blessing, Lucienne; Wood, Kristin
Series: ICED
Institution: Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore
Section: Design for X, Design to X
Page(s): 179-188
ISBN: 978-1-904670-93-3
ISSN: 2220-4342
Abstract
Business and service buildings, mainly consisting of shared spaces, account for 38% of the total Singapore energy consumption. However, compared to energy use studies in private spaces (i.e., apartments, houses, etc.), there are far fewer studies on shared spaces. This paper describes the results of a user study conducted in four cohort classrooms at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). The user study was designed to gain insights into students' attitudinal and behavioural changes in response to energy feedback displays placed in their classrooms, and an inter-cohort classroom energy competition with monetary incentives. The research questions: (RQ1) which factors shape energy use behaviour and (RQ2) which factors shape energy users’ responses to interventions aimed at sustainable behaviour, were formulated to explore shared space energy use behaviours. The results show that social dynamics, contextual forces such as policies on resource usage, and personal capabilities are playing roles in shaping energy use behaviours as well as shared space users’ responses to interventions.
Keywords: Design for X (DfX), Sustainability, User centred design, Ecodesign