Big Data and Occupants’ Behavior in Built Environments: Introducing a Game-Based Data Collection Method
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 146, Issue 2
Abstract
Energy-related human behavior in buildings is difficult to define and quantify, yet critical to our understanding of total building energy consumption. It substantially influences energy consumption and saving. In the United States, residential and commercial buildings account for more than 70% of the total electrical energy consumed in the country. This paper explores the implementation of an online energy game, e-footprints, which aims to collect data about occupants' energy consumption and saving, and summarizes the feedback related to the first prototype of the user interface. The game was tested with 110 international students. The study focuses on the visualization, aesthetics, and usability of the e-footprints energy game, as these are the important elements of a player's interaction with the user interface and greatly influence the game play and the data that can be gathered. The paper concludes with a summary of the findings and general recommendations that may be useful for others using serious online urban planning games.
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Acknowledgments
Thank you to Santhi Buddhabathini for her valuable contribution in implementing the e-footprints energy game and to architecture undergraduate student Evan Harris for the design of the three-dimensional visualizations of the second prototype of the game. For their feedback on the prototype implementation, I thank the mixed interdisciplinary group of researchers working on the Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (PIRI) project titled Big Data and Sustainable Decision-Making in the Cities. This work was partially funded by the PIRI project, Iowa State University. I appreciate the support given by Marina Reasoner in organizing the testing with 110 international students. Thank you to Stephen Poplin for his edits and language improvements of this text.
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Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 146 • Issue 2 • June 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 1, 2019
Accepted: Jul 23, 2019
Published online: Mar 19, 2020
Published in print: Jun 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Aug 19, 2020
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