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A. Mahdavi, H. Teufl, C. Berger:
"Application of the ecological valency concept to buildings' environmental control systems";
Talk: 10th Int. Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings (X IAQVEC2019), Bari, Italy; 2019-09-05 - 2019-09-07; in: "Proceedings of the 10th Int. Conference on Indoor Air Quality, Ventilation and Energy Conservation in Buildings (X IAQVEC2019)", U. Berardi (ed.); (2019), Paper ID IAQ2, 6 pages.

Building quality specification and certification tools and processes typically focus on energy efficiency criteria. Thereby, it is commonly assumed that buildings' overall features (e.g., geometry and properties of the building fabric, thermal quality of the building envelope components) together with the assorted environmental control systems such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning) and lighting system are configured and operated such that appropriate indoor environmental conditions are maintained. Less attention has been paid to conception,
description, and specification of the degree to which buildings' offer the occupants the opportunity to effectively and conveniently control the environmental conditions in their immediate surroundings. As such, most buildings are typically equipped with a number of elements and devices (such as windows, blinds, luminaires, radiators, and fans) to control indoor environmental conditions. The availability, effectiveness,
and usability of control devices and their human interfaces constitute arguably an essential aspect of built environments quality and performance. We refer to this aspect as buildings' indoor-environmentally relevant "Ecological Valency" (EV) or the "affordance". It can be interpreted as a descriptor of buildings' responsiveness toward inhabitants' needs and requirements. Despite its critical importance, there is currently a lack of systematic evaluation or certifications procedures for objective characterization of indoor environments' EV as related to the
availability and effectiveness of control devices and their human interfaces. The present contribution explores thus the potential for designing and implementing formal procedures toward measurement and certification of indoor environments' EV.

(no german Kurzfassung)
Building quality specification and certification tools and processes typically focus on energy efficiency criteria. Thereby, it is commonly assumed that buildings' overall features (e.g., geometry and properties of the building fabric, thermal quality of the building envelope components) together with the assorted environmental control systems such as HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning) and lighting system are configured and operated such that appropriate indoor environmental conditions are maintained. Less attention has been paid to conception,
description, and specification of the degree to which buildings' offer the occupants the opportunity to effectively and conveniently control the environmental conditions in their immediate surroundings. As such, most buildings are typically equipped with a number of elements and devices (such as windows, blinds, luminaires, radiators, and fans) to control indoor environmental conditions. The availability, effectiveness,
and usability of control devices and their human interfaces constitute arguably an essential aspect of built environments quality and performance. We refer to this aspect as buildings' indoor-environmentally relevant "Ecological Valency" (EV) or the "affordance". It can be interpreted as a descriptor of buildings' responsiveness toward inhabitants' needs and requirements. Despite its critical importance, there is currently a lack of systematic evaluation or certifications procedures for objective characterization of indoor environments' EV as related to the
availability and effectiveness of control devices and their human interfaces. The present contribution explores thus the potential for designing and implementing formal procedures toward measurement and certification of indoor environments' EV.