Big Data and Occupants' Behavior in Built Environments: Introducing a Game-Based Data Collection Method

Energy-related human behavior in buildings is difficult to define and quantify, yet critical to our understanding of total building energy consumption. It substantially influences energy consumption and saving. In the United States, residential and commercial buildings account for more than 70% of the total electrical energy consumed in the country. This paper explores the implementation of an online energy game, e-footprints, which aims to collect data about occupants' energy consumption and saving, and summarizes the feedback related to the first prototype of the user interface. The game was tested with 110 international students. The study focuses on the visualization, aesthetics, and usability of the e-footprints energy game, as these are the important elements of a player's interaction with the user interface and greatly influence the game play and the data that can be gathered. The paper concludes with a summary of the findings and general recommendations that may be useful for others using serious online urban planning games.