This book presents the state of the art of two areas: intelligent residential buildings and the
behaviour of their occupants. These areas need to be treated together in order to develop new
concepts for buildings which are more efficient more comfortable and more healthy. The
concept of intelligent building is associated with the creation of a management system that
takes into account the requirements of the occupants in terms of thermal comfort and their
daily activities maintaining good indoor air quality and minimizing energy consumption. In
commercial or office buildings these systems are already at an intermediate stage of
implementation. However in the residential sector they have yet to be significantly
implemented. In mild climates where the interactions of the occupants with the building
mechanisms are the primary way to ensure adequate comfort and ventilation the importance of
occupant behaviour studies and their incorporation in the algorithms of the intelligent
buildings becomes even more crucial. This book offers new concepts on how to bring these
aspects together.
