A critical review of occupant energy consumption behavior in buildings: how we got here, where we are, and where we are headed

Occupant behavior has been widely considered as one of the key influencing factors on building energy consumption. The complexity of its formation mechanism and the dynamic interaction with buildings have aroused extensive discussion. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive and systematic review to provide a panorama of occupant energy consumption behavior research. This research, therefore, aims to (1) explore the evolution of occupant behavior research; (2) investigate the knowledge base and knowledge domains of occupant behavior research; and (3) identify the current research gaps and propose future research directions. Bibliometric approach and content analysis were applied to review 2791 relevant articles published from 2001 to 2022. It was found that the focus of occupant behavior research has evolved from simple discussion of individual occupant behavior at the beginning to systematic and information-based approach to complex behaviors. A total of 45 key research keywords and 10 knowledge clusters were identified. Eight future research directions were finally recommended based on the identified researcher gaps, including algorithmic innovation, multi-source heterogeneous data fusion, interdisciplinary, extension and standardization of behavioral models, diversification of building types, synergism of individual and collective perspective, and novel intervention strategies. This research differs from previous ones because it could minimize the subjectivity and bias compared to traditional manual review. The results of this research can provide potential researchers with sufficient knowledge in this field and inspire them with future directions, which contributes to further achieving energy-saving goals from the perspective of occupants' interaction with buildings.