A systematic literature review of user interaction with energy-efficient solutions in indoor environment

Even though the design of buildings and technologies have been mainly focused on reducing energy use, there is still a discrepancy between predicted and actual energy saving due to user behavior. There is a need of understanding the behavior and relevant factors of using energy-efficient solutions. Energy-efficient solutions in an indoor environment can be defined as building characteristics such as retrofitted buildings, passive houses, solar panels, or technologies such as energy-efficient air conditions, lighting systems, thermostats, or hot water utilities. This literature review focuses on evaluating aspects of user interaction from a multidisciplinary approach. The main objective is to identify how the interaction between user and energy-efficient solutions has been studied. A systematic literature review was conducted according to Prisma guidelines using Scopus and Web of Science databases for cross-disciplinary search. The selection criteria focused on previous studies’ theoretical frameworks and findings on reciprocal interaction between human and energy-efficient solutions regarding energy consumption. The literature research would give a broader understanding of human-building interaction and its impacts on buildings’ energy use. The findings would provide further information on human factors regarding developing energy-efficient solutions on buildings, hence contributing to sustainable cities (SDG 11) and reducing energy consumption (SDG 12).