Comparative studies of the occupants' behaviour in a university building during winter and summer time

The paper focuses on the assessment of indoor comfort and the energy consumption in a University building, during winter and summer time. The examined building belongs to the Cyprus University of Technology, it is located in coastal city of Limassol and it is used for teaching and offices. The main aim of the paper is to make a comparative study of the occupants’ behaviour and its effects on the building’s energy consumption, as well as on the indoor thermal and optical comfort, between winter and summer season.  
ASHRAE Standards (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air conditioning Engineers) are used through a questionnaire campaign and the thermal comfort of occupants’ is analysed with the indicator of PMV (Predicted Mean Vote), and PPD (Predicted Percent of Dissatisfied People). The occupants’ answers are analyzed using SPSS (Superior Performance Software System) software. 
The study and measurements are carried out during the summer and winter months of 2012 and 2013, respectively. The air temperature, the relative humidity and the levels of lighting of the building are monitored using temperature, humidity and lux meter tools. The data are collected on a daily basis for two weeks, during the period of the two seasons. The monthly energy consumption cost is calculated based on the bills of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus for 2012.  
The recorded measurements; the completed questionnaires are analysed for both seasons, summer and winter. From the analysis of results, comparative studies of the occupants’ behavior for the two seasons conclude to various patterns of effects on the thermal and optical comfort of the building, as well as on its energy consumption.