Burak Gunay recently had his paper titled “Implementation and comparison of existing occupant behaviour models in EnergyPlus” accepted by the Journal of Building Performance Simulation. This paper discusses the implementation of 20 existing occupant behaviour models into EnergyPlus and also compares them. These include presence/occupancy, light use, blind movement, window opening/closing, and a clothing model.

The paper is available here, while the models in txt (idf format) can be downloaded for free. The models were developed in EMS (Energy Management System) and can be directly used in virtually any EnergyPlus model, provided that the naming is consistent. To use the models, simply copy and paste some or all of the models’ EMS code into the idf file of your EnergyPlus model.

The project was funded by Natural Resources Canada and NSERC and was improved with feedback from IEA EBC Annex 66 researchers.