Showing papers on "Occupancy published in 1990"

Estimating the occupancy of spotted owl habitat areas by sampling and adjusting for bias

Abstract: A basic sampling scheme is proposed to estimate the proportion of sampled units (Spotted Owl Habitat Areas (SOHAs) or randomly sampled 1000-acre polygon areas (RSAs)) occupied by spotted owl pairs. A bias adjustment for the possibility of missing a pair given its presence on a SOHA or RSA is suggested. The sampling scheme is based on a fixed number of visits to a sample unit (a SOHA or RSA) in which the occupancy is to be determined. Once occupancy is determined, or the maximum number of visits is reached, the sampling is completed for that unit. The resulting data are summarized as a set of independent Bernoulli trials; a zero (no occupancy) or one (occupancy) is recorded for each unit. The occupancy proportion is the sum of these Bernoulli trials divided by the sample size. The bias adjustment estimates this occupancy proportion for the estimated number of units on which a pair of owls was present but not detected. The bias adjustment requires the recording of the number of the visit during which occupancy was first detected. The distributional assumptions are checked with five different sets of data.

Live Load for Office Buildings: Effect of Occupancy and Code Comparison

Abstract: The present paper presents results of a live‐load survey in office buildings. A live‐load model for the calculation of lifetime maximum total load is calibrated by using the Sydney survey data. Loading characteristics for government and nongovernment occupancies are compared. Sustained load for government occupancy is observed to be greater. However, as the frequency of occupancy change is much higher for nongovernment occupancies, their lifetime maximum sustained load for small areas becomes larger. For large and medium areas, government occupancy still has higher loading. Three types of extraordinary load are identified. Parameters for all three types of government occupancy have higher values than nongovernment ones. The maximum mean extraordinary load and also the lifetime maximum total load are substantially larger for government occupancy. The 95% fractile lifetime total load predicted by the model is compared with the Standard Association of Australia (SAA) loading code, American Building Officials...

An analysis of conservation features in commercial buildings

Abstract: One purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship in commercial buildings between conservation investments, fuel prices, building occupancy, and building characteristics for new buildings and for existing buildings. The data base is a nationwide survey of energy in commercial buildings conducted by the Energy Information Administration in 1986. Regression estimates of a conservation model of heating and cooling indicate that the number of conservation features installed during construction is a positive function of fuel prices at the time of construction. Retrofits are less responsive to market signals. Regression estimates of a lighting conservation model indicate that initially installed and retrofit measures are equally sensitive to the price for electricity. Conservation policies that work through market signals are probably most effective in encouraging and cooling measures in new buildings and lighting measures in both new and existing buildings. Lighting therefore represents a particularly important opportunity for conservation. The number of conservation features in a building is not statistically related to the type of occupancy (owners versus renter), which implies that conservation strategies are not impeded by the renting or leasing of buildings. This finding suggests that a new analytical framework for analyzing the investment conservation decision is needed.

A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of Two Energy-Efficient Office Buildings

Abstract: A post-occupancy evaluation was made of two energy-efficient office buildings four years after initial occupancy. Building operators, owners, engineers and architects were interviewed to understand how decisions were madethat ultimately affected the energy performance of the two buildings. Tenants were surveyed to assess their satisfaction with their work environment. Findings from the study have shown how different goals and expectations on the part of the principal players led to decisions that have influenced major aspects of the buildings' performance. Interior designers and tenants have negated the energy-saving potential of the daylighting, marketing staff have altered the window characteristics, building operators have operated the building on schedules different from those envisioned by the designers, and building code officials have restricted tenant use of the atria. While many of the findings are specific to these two buildings, the general findings are applicable to office buildings in general, specifically that the operation and use of the building are often more important than the design in determining the overall performance.

An analysis of heating and cooling conservation features in commercial buildings

Abstract: One purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship in commercial buildings between conservation investments, fuel prices, building occupancy and building characteristics for new buildings and for existing buildings. The database is a nationwide survey of energy in commercial buildings conducted by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in 1906. Some simple cross-tabulations indicate that conservation measures vary with building size, building age, and fuel used for building heating. Regression estimates of a conservation model indicate that the number of conservation model indicate that the number of conservation features installed during construction is a positive function of the price of the heating fuel at the time of construction. Subsequent additions of conservation features are positively correlated with increases in heating fuel prices. Given the EIA projection of relatively stable future energy prices, the number of retrofits may not increase significantly. Also, energy efficiency in new buildings may not continue to increase relative to current new buildings. If fuel prices affect consumption via initial conservation investments, current fuel prices, marginal or average, are not the appropriate specification. The fuel price regression results indicate that conservation investments in new buildings are responsive to market signals. Retrofits are less responsive to market signals.more » The number of conservation features in a building is not statistically related to the type of occupancy (owner versus renter), which implies that conservation strategies are not impeded by the renting or leasing of buildings.« less