A influência dos usuários sobre os sistemas de iluminação natural e artificial: estudo de caso de salas da Escola de Arquitetura da UFMG

Abstract

In Brazil, there was an increase of instruments designed for assessing and improving the buildings performance, as the certifications. Despite these advances, we know little about the buildings post-occupancy and there is evidence that the potential energy savings of labeledbuildings doesnt guarantee its effective economy. It happens because of project failures and the way how the buildings are used. By their willingness or not to use the controls available to them, some authors classify users in active or passive. Thus, the present research aims in an interdisciplinary way, through Design methods of behavioral analysis and architecture studies to evaluate the users behavior in the lighting and control of solar incidence systems management. To evaluate this, classrooms and laboratories at UFMG Architecture School were used as case study. The main objective was to analyze how a cycle of influences works: how users influence energy consumption and comfort of buildings with regard to the use of these systems and how the buildings and these systems influence user behavior. Firstly, a diagnosis of the rooms to check daylighting, artificial lighting and sunlight conditions was produced. For user behavior analysis it was done observations on the rooms analyzed, what allowed us to evaluate the barriers and potential for each room and to propose changes on the lighting circuits division, changing switches; replacement of curtains and installing signs with information about the systems. The observations aim was also investigate the behavior differences between large groups of individuals in the classrooms and small groups in the laboratories. It was concluded that the first ones has a "user" behavior, while the others behave as "locals", according to Hertzberger (2010) definition. It was found that there is a hierarchy in use of systems in classrooms, where teachers are the main authors of these changes. The existing systems in general do not meet users expectations, so that at many times, occupants have difficulties in using the systems available to them. It was found that,although provided some benefits, most systems changes did not generate the expected results. It was also found that users tend to act on the systems only when they are disturbed, so the most efficient projects are those who least require users to act on them. Thus, the maincontribution of this work was to identify that the buildings performance is a consequence of the way they are designed and consequently of how they are understood by its users.