(Re)Defining the Utility of Energy in the Built Environment

Abstract: The traditional focus of research at the intersection of energy and the built environment has been to reduce energy consumption without compromising a set of predetermined guidelines (e.g. occupant comfort and well-being in buildings). While improvements have been made in recent years within the confines of this traditional approach, the nexus of energy and the built environment is a complex system of connected subsystems with often competing outcomes. This seminar will encompass three independent, but not exclusive, research projects within this activity area: i) development and implementation of distributed, occupant-driven sensors for granular thermal comfort measurement and feedback; ii) implementation of circular economy principles in the built environment for carbon and resource use minimization; and iii) impact of design and construction decision-making on operational energy demand and fuel poverty in developing countries.

Bio: Duzgun Agdas is a Senior Lecturer of Construction Engineering and Management within the School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment at the Science and Engineering Faculty of Queensland University of Technology. His research interests include building energy efficiency, and infrastructure sustainability and disaster resilience. He is part of the Data Analytics in the Built Environment research group, which aims to find data driven solutions to grand challenges of the built environment.