NCJ Number
64368
Date Published
1978
Length
85 pages
Annotation
THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS IN GAITHERSBURG, MD., CONDUCTED A STUDY OF THE USE OF INTERNAL SHADING DEVICES IN ITS BUILDING COMPLEX IN CONJUNCTION WITH A RESEARCH PROJECT MONITORING ENERGY USE.
Abstract
THE STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO (1) DETERMINE WHETHER OFFICE OCCUPANTS MANIPULATE THEIR WINDOW BLINDS, AND IF SO, HOW FREQUENTLY; (2) DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP OF IMPORTANT WINDOW ATTRIBUTES (SUCH AS VIEW QUALITY OR SEASONAL CHANGE) TO WINDOW USAGE AS MEASURED BY VENETIAN BLIND POSITION; (3) DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF ENERGY-SAVING OPERATIONS DEPENDENT ON THE MANIPULATION OF VENETIAN BLINDS BY BUILDING OCCUPANTS; AND (4) DEVELOP AND REFINE A METHODOLOGY APPLICABLE TO A VARIETY OF FIELD INVESTIGATIONS OF BUILDING USE BY OCCUPANTS. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT OBSERVED BLIND POSITIONS ARE THE RESULT OF ACTIONS BY OFFICE OCCUPANTS WAS LARGELY SUPPORTED; WHEN BLIND POSITIONS WERE SYSTEMATICALLY ALTERED, THEY WERE RETURNED BY THE OFFICE OCCUPANTS TO THEIR PLACEMENT PRIOR TO THE EXPERIMENTAL CHANGE. WHEN A PREFERRED PLACEMENT WAS ESTABLISHED, THE BLIND WAS NOT LIKELY TO BE MOVED, EITHER FROM DAY TO DAY, OR WITHIN THE COURSE OF A SINGLE DAY. BLINDS ON WINDOWS WITH NORTHERN EXPOSURES WERE KEPT OPEN TO A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER DEGREE THAN THOSE WITH SOUTHERN EXPOSURE. HOWEVER, BLIND PLACEMENTS COULD NOT BE READILY EXPLAINED IN TERMS OF VIEW QUALITY OR SEASONAL CHANGE. EXPERIMENTING WITH ENERGY-SAVING PROCEDURES WAS SHOWN TO BE FEASIBLE, JUDGING FROM THE RESPONSE OF OFFICE USERS AND THE MAINTENANCE STAFF TO SEEMINGLY ARBITRARY CHANGES IN BLIND POSITION. A RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IS OFFERED. BAR GRAPHS, TABLES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS ACCOMPANY THE TEXT. (MHP)