Why Did You Turn On That Light

The overarching goal of this paper is to study if certain contextual factors out of the variables that a researcher is interested in has causal influence on human-building interaction for a building under design. To limit the scope of the study, we concentrate on causal analysis of light switch behavior (i.e., an occupant switching on or off a light) in office buildings. Due to the lack of high-fidelity in data obtained from empirical and lab experiments, we relied on Stated Choice Experiments (SCEs) using Immersive Virtual Environments (IVEs) to collect data on human-light switch interaction. IVEs have shown to have the capability to render realistic virtual experiences to subjects and evoke responses from them for data collection. As far as we know, existing literature taking into account the causal effects of different contextual factors on light switch behavior is limited. The study enhances the knowledge on the various factors influencing the use of office lighting systems by occupants’ and provides quantitative evidence and reference for building designers to design comfort environments for occupants with low energy footprint.