Abstract
Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS) offer the potential to enhance indoor environmental quality; thereby impacting job performance and employee well-being in office buildings. However, this class of co-benefits is often overlooked when investigating investment priorities during building design stage. This study aims at testing a novel approach to evaluate BACS co-benefits in office buildings on a case study. Improved daylight utilization and connection with the outside environment positively affect productivity, well-being and tenants are willing to pay more for well-lit offices. Automated and manual blind control are analyzed and compared using building performance simulation software EnergyPlus to determine their impact on visual comfort and link this with the related co-benefits. Results show that automatic blind control generally maintains higher UDI-a values. The positive impact is more evident on south-facing facades. A life cycle cost analysis has been performed for one office configuration to determine the co-benefits. This case experienced additional 29 h of comfortable lighting under automatic control which can be associated with a 0.032% productivity increase and 0.1% reduced sickness absence over the year.