The missing link which was already there: building operators and energy management in non-residential buildings

Abstract

Purpose – This paper analyses the daily activities of building operators and how they mediate between end‐users and technological systems in order to make “their” buildings energy efficient.

Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data consists of four selected cases of non‐residential buildings of different sizes.

Findings – The paper argues that building operators have the possibility of improving energy efficiency with or without extensive user involvement and with or without advanced technological systems.

Originality/value – Starting from the practitioners' point of view a new perspective on the link between facilities management and energy efficiency emerges, which calls into question approaches which focus on either the behavioral or the technical side of a building's energy consumption.