One of the principle causes for deviations between predicted and simulated performance of buildings relates to the stochastic nature of their occupants: their presence, activities whilst present, activity- dependent behaviours and the consequent implications for their perceived comfort. A growing research community is active in the development and validation of stochastic models addressing these issues; and considerable progress has been made. But one key outstanding challenge relates to the integration of these emerging prototype models with building simulation in a coherent and generalizable way; meaning that emerging models can be integrated with a range of building simulation software. One promising approach is to integrate stochastic occupancy models within a multi agent simulation (MAS) platform, which communicates directly with building simulation software. My research uses this approach.
This author is supported by the Horizon Centre for Doctoral Training at the University of Nottingham (RCUK Grant No. EP/G037574/1) and by the RCUK’s Horizon Digital Economy Research Institute (RCUK Grant No. EP/G065802/1)