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Environmental Building NewsTM The Leading Source for Environmentally Responsible Design & Construction A Publication of BuildingGreen, Inc. www.BuildingGreen.com Volume 24, Number 7 · July 2015 look at the large body of scientific Design Strategies for Occupant research that suggests how and why Engagement—and Why They Boost these strategies work. Performance Waste does not equal energy Not all engagement strategies make Researchers reveal simple ways to empower occupants to reduce sense across all areas. For example, a energy, water, and waste. It all starts with good design. strategy that works for waste manage­ ment (which is a “visible” practice By Lindsay Toland and Paula Melton since one can easily see what goes into the recycling bin) could be ineffective Sign, sign, everywhere a sign From Design to for energy use reduction (which is an Blockin’ out the scenery, breakin’ my mind Performance “invisible” practice since one cannot Do this, don’t do that. see kilowatt­hours). For this reason, Can’t you read the sign? A building’s inhabitants and operators we’ll look at design strategies and play a key role in determining –Five Man Electrical Band background research in general while whether or not a building is sustain­ also examining specific work on You’ve completed your models, able: they significantly impact energy energy, water, and waste management. installed low-flow toilets, and use, water use, procurement practices, collected your LEED points. Yay! and waste management practices. Our companion checklist for success­ ful occupant engagement can be But for some reason, a year later, the In this article—which collects the building is using twice as much water shared with building owners and results and conclusions of 51 resources operators as a guide for maximizing as expected. Is it because the fixtures in one place—we’ll lay out five design are faulty? Did the model miss some­ performance based on the ground­ strategies that set the stage for success­ work you’ve laid during design. It thing? Maybe the occupants just can’t ful occupant engagement. Then we’ll be bothered to save the Earth. Any of that could be true, but a grow­ ing body of social science research suggests the most obvious problem is likely to be bad signage—an issue so common in green buildings that you could probably pave the entire road to Hell with useless instructions for dual-flush toilets. Consider this case: researchers study­ ing occupant engagement (the art and science of enabling responsible use of building resources) found a bath­ room stall in which the sign on the wall facing the toilet and the sign on the stall door directly contradicted one another. The instructions on the dual-flush handle were practically illegible, and there was no sign near the toilet handle itself (see photos). Photo: Robert Benson This mess of bad communication is a case study in occupant disengagement. This Payette project at George Washington University is providing the firm with post-occupancy data for future use. Environmental Building News • July 2015 Copyright © 2015 BuildingGreen, Inc. All rights reserved. encapsulates a variety of evidence­ 2. Choose intuitive lighting When designing energy feedback based solutions for empowering systems systems that provide such messages, occupants to internalize sustainable avoid locating them in an infrequently behaviors so the building can be used The demands just keep piling up: visited basement area or mechanical as efficiently as possible. the lighting system has to integrate room. Instead, find ways to ensure with the daylighting design and they’re integral to most occupants’ These resources are presented by the shading system, and automated everyday routines. BuildingGreen in partnership with controls have to respond to occupancy 4. Don’t make flushing the toilet a sustainability consulting company as well. As the complexity builds, YR&G. it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that baffling ordeal none of these sophisticated systems Design to Empower will save the slightest bit of energy In some cases, water conservation Occupants if occupants can’t figure out how to strategies occur in response to the switch the lights on and off when they onset of drought, but these strategies You’re already designing with occu­ need to. Without the ability to control are temporary and do not necessarily pants in mind, but it can be hard to their own lighting, people have been address much more than short­term know what will really stick with most known to sabotage the automation solutions. people once they’ve taken control with “workarounds.” Workarounds Long­term strategies that employ of a space. Researchers in the social like ducts tape over occupancy consistent messaging, on the other sciences and neurology provide in­ sensors. sight into what is most likely to work hand, can help with internalizing a and why. Light switches should be in obvious “conserva tion mentality.” Importantly, locations and intuitive to operate. these long­term strategies should 1. Conduct your own research— This is especially important in rooms focus on performance as well as and act on it that may require options for different conser vation. Low-flow toilets, kinds of lighting, such as auditoriums faucets, or showerheads do not need As we discussed in our recent piece on or conference rooms—the very spaces to sacrifice functionality, so opera­ post­occupancy evaluations, or POEs, where we might be most tempted to tions teams should pay close attention there are a lot of good reasons to install the most sophisticated systems. to both efficiency and effectiveness engage with occupants as they begin before and after installation. to use the spaces you’ve designed for 3. Offer relevant, accessible But designers have an impact on them. One is to inform future design energy feedback what happens once those fixtures decisions. Neurological studies show that people go in as well. Universally formatted, Through interviews, focus groups, are more likely to internalize and well­placed signage (such as per­ surveys, shadow studies, and other absorb information when it is trans­ manent wall plaques) should be data­gathering techniques, designers mitted in a way that is personally used—particularly when it comes can go back to existing projects and relevant and exciting. to dual-flush toilets. It is especially learn what is working and what isn’t. important for the signs to be posted A group at Payette, for example, has Feedback on energy use is especially where the user will see them before the conducted formal research on issues important, as it can highlight the desired behavior is to take place. such as how occupants use collabora­ connection between someone’s daily Just as important? That the signs users tive space, how to create comfortable activities and their energy use. For see during the behavior actually match spaces near glazing without perimeter example, communicating in terms of what’s stated on the plaques. heating, and the part of a lab building monetary savings where scientists actually do most of (in cases where their work. occupants are re­ sponsible for utility Many researchers whose work we payments) or envi­ discuss below have done similar ronmental exter­ research focused on how occupants nalities (e.g., trees interact with energy, water, and required to offset waste systems in their buildings. This emissions) can be work can provide valuable feedback more effective in for more productive collaboration decreasing energy with owners, operations staff, and consumption than occupants on both existing and future communicating in Images: DualFlush and Sloan projects. abstract terms such as kilowatt­hours. These two signs were found by researchers in the same toilet stall, providing exactly contradictory advice about how to save water. Environmental Building News • July 2015 p. 2 5. Remember recycling isn’t a principles that come up consistently Don’t mess with Texas throwaway and that can be broadly applied: “The benefits of engaging with deeply held beliefs is well illustrated by the ‘Don’t mess Decisions about recycling, trash, and • Recognition that everyone is with Texas’ campaign, an initiative designed composting bins are often made by different and there is no one-size- to tackle the growing litter problem in Texas. fits-all solution architects—typically using solely “The advertisers carried out research which aesthetic reasoning. • Use of community-based social showed that the main culprits— young males—were unlikely to respond to messages However, to ensure proper disposal of marketing (CBSM) or some about not spoiling the natural environment. comparable approach different material types, universal bins “Instead, they decided to base the message should be in place: the same recycling • Empowerment through active on state pride, hence the ‘Don’t mess with Texas’ tagline. Within 12 months, the number bins should be used throughout the involvement building, the same trash bins should of litter incidents plummeted by 29%.” be used throughout the building, and • Reliance on collective action and Carrots, Sticks, and Sermons: Influencing the same composting bins should be social norms Public Behavior for Environmental Goals used throughout the building. • Simple, direct, and positive cultural trends; creating a new, appeal­ For example, in a building that allows communication ing “brand” is one possible strategy single­stream recycling, don’t confuse One size fits none to encourage pro­environmental the end user with bins that have round behaviors. openings for cans and bins that have thin openings for paper. The most successful occupant Similarly, people have different engage ment efforts are tailored to motivations for their behaviors, and Similarly, if there are opportunities the audience in question. Designers it’s necessary to know why some­ for creating permanent signage should identify current practices one chooses to take a certain action near waste receptacles (e.g.

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