A Study of Occupant Engagement: Energy Reduction Using an Online Competition Dashboard

This article illustrates how occupant behavior in commercial office spaces can influence building energy performance and reduce energy consumption. The article discusses results of a two-week inter-office competition using online energy management and visualization software where seven Perkins+Will offices were engaged in this activity. The purpose of the competition was to reduce office energy use and to examine how energy use visualizations influence occupants’ behaviors. Actual energy savings depended on the size of the office, number of employees as well as environmental and climatic context.

keywords: occupant engagement, actual energy performance, metering and monitoring, dashboard, community based social marketing, behavior change