Dynamic Office Environments on the Users Terms

Based on the specific conditions of the case enterprise Implement Consulting Group the project explores the consequences of a “free seating” organization of the working environment. Free seating allows space-savings and thereby energy savings because more employees share fewer working stations.

Data and simulations in this report shows, that further major heat savings will be made possible by implementing variable temperature zones. Annually, Implement would be able to save around 10% of their heat consumption corresponding to 104.000 kWh or 68.900,00 DKK. If the temperatures in the zones are lowered with one degree, the calculated annual savings are increased to around 24%. Both cases result in a minor increase in electricity consumption for ventilation operated according to room temperature.

Introducing variable temperature zones in a dynamic office environment thus allows for important heat savings.
 
The qualitative analysis points out challenges and underlines the importance of being attentive to the quality of the space each employee is offered, and especially how it corresponds to the needs for caring out changing tasks.

The project develops a concept for an interface where machine learning combines the indoor climate

preferences of the individual employee with calendar information of current tasks and offers the employee suggestions for suitable, available working stations through an app. The energy savings will typically be of a size that makes the development of an app cost-effective.

If employees are presented with several choices between different areas with available working stations, varying temperature zones can become part of what qualifies the different working stations – and thus ensure employee satisfaction.

Companies who wish to obtain energy savings and increase employee satisfaction, by giving employees a free choice between fewer seats, should be particularly attentive to:

• Explore whether it will be useful to introduce varying temperature zones that qualify for different types of work in the company’s building.
• Optimize the quality of the space available for employees, in ways that makes it suitable for
• different types of tasks. For example, areas can be designed especially for concentrated individual work, collaboration or meetings with externs.
• Support an app or a similar system that makes it easy and simple for the employee to find the way to an available working station, suitable for the current task.
• Via machine learning and/or IoT solutions to integrate indoor climate preferences and indoor climate data in the suggestions of working stations made for to the employee.