Research around the world has shown that user behavior has a major impact on energy use and the indoor environmental quality. The purpose of this master's thesis is to examine the impact of user behavior on comfort and energy use in the offices of an anonymous company (12 offices, 42 employees). A qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed, which included a combination of systematic literature review with identification of influencing factors and parameters, employee surveys, observation of employee behavior (temperature and ventilation rate settings of the ceiling convector, light switching, blind positioning, window opening) and measuring of parameters of the indoor environmntal quality (temperatureand relative humidity of the indoor air, carbon dioxide concentration). Measurements, surveys and observations were performed in the cooling (July, August, 2020) and heating periods (December, 2020). Based on the analysis of the results, we proposed measures to improve the indoor environmntal quality and reduce energy use.On average, 8% of people were dissatisfied in the summer period (category B of the indoor environment) and 12% in the winter period (category C). Regardless of the period, more respondents perceived poor air quality inthe afternoon than in the morning, and the windows mostly remained closed (the average daily CO2concentrationwas 1477ppm in the summer period and 1404ppm in the winter period). The results of surveys and observations showed that the decline in occupant comfort and the increase in energy use are directly correlated. During the cooling season, opening windows lowers the concentration of CO2 in the room, and simultaneously allows hot air to enter the room, which increases energy use and at the same time reduces comfort, as people become overheated. Users were opening windows and turning on the cooling convector concurrently. With a computational example we showed that the energy use in the case of recuperation in the summer period is two times lower, and in the winter period up to 12.5 times lower. A combination of measures, which includes the correct design of the building, the selection of efficient ventilation systems and the awareness of users, proves to be the right approach towards reducing energy useand achieving comfort in the indoor environment.
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