Application of the InTIME Methodology for the Transition of Office Buildings to Low Carbon—A Case Study

Abstract

The COP21 Paris Agreement requires urgent abatement of 80% of the current fossil-based energy consumption to keep global warming below dangerous levels. Heating loads in commercial buildings can be reduced by retrofitting the building envelope, upgrading the efficiency of heating equipment, implementing energy management strategies, substituting renewable energy sources, and influencing energy-saving behavior. However, achieving the downshift of gas or coal heat is a wicked problem. The Interdisciplinary Transition Innovation Management and Engineering (InTIME) methodology was applied to address the wicked problem of district heating of campus buildings of the University of Canterbury, in Christchurch, New Zealand. The carbon downshift scenario requires a reduction in coal purchase by 80% from the first year through the engineering of adaptive measures for facility operators and occupants. Accordingly, a successful downshift of fossil-fuel energy would depend on the effective adaptation of the office workers. Adaptation plans to facilitate demand participation and sustained worker productivity could be designed once the actual heating behaviour is known. The contribution of this work is a novel fossil fuel abatement concept: the Targeted Heating Energy—Assessment and Intervention Design (THE-AID), which focuses on the assessment of the heating behavioural patterns of office workers. Building services engineers can use the THE-AID concept to develop adaptation plans through intervention design and resource facilitation focused on building occupants. THE-AID projects could achieve significant emissions reduction in the near term at a low cost and increase resilience to heat supply disruptions.