The inefficient secret of energy-smart 'green' buildings: You

In trying to create the most Earth-friendly, energy-efficient buildings possible, architects and engineers have stumbled on a problem they hadn’t fully understood: You.

Your desktop computer that’s on, even when you’re out to lunch. The power-hogging photo copier in your office and its incessant red light. And then there’s the space heater under your desk, keeping you warm because the building is too cold.
Designers have found ways to make cooling and heating systems more efficient than ever, mainly by using cutting-edge technology and old-school techniques such as natural ventilation. But some of the greenest buildings in the world are undermined by human behavior and the traditions of engineers who design structures, build them and leave them for fallible humans to figure out later.

To make buildings truly sustainable, engineers say they need to sit down with the people who will live and work in their projects.

“Education of the occupants and involvement of the occupants is increasingly important,” says Omid Nabipoor, president of Portland’s Interface Engineering. “They need to buy into strategies and understand how they can change their behavior.”

Oregon Live