Modelling transient occupant loads for offices

Occupant load profile of the space is an essential parameter for planning facilities, operations, water and energy consumptions of a building. In view of growing concerns on the effectiveness of building designs, in terms of space utilization, equipment sizing, energy performance and consumption, occupant loads have been specified in some building regulations, design guides and codes of practice. However, an occupant load would be varied from time to time and difficulties would be encountered in determining it to certain accuracy at the building design stage. This paper proposes a mathematical model to generate time-variant design occupant loads using Monte-Carlo simulations, with the model parameters determined from a year-round occupant load assessment in a typical high-rise office building in Hong Kong. Example occupant load profiles for some offices were generated to demonstrate the application of the model. The model would be useful in determining the occupant load profiles of some office buildings in Hong Kong.