Categorization Framework and Survey of Occupancy Sensing Systems

A large share of the energy usage in buildings is driven by occupancy behavior. To minimize this usage, it is important to gather accurate information about occupants’ behavior and to improve sensing systems for gathering such information. However, as research on occupancy sensing systems goes beyond basic methods with an increasing diversification, there is a clear need to enable adequate comparison of these systems and their properties. The systems which differ in methods and properties also lack a categorization framework for classifying different options. This article proposes a categorization framework constructed from analyzing and comparing existing sensing systems to address these needs. The classification framework is being constructed from a literature survey of 51 papers and articles presenting 46 different occupancy sensing systems. It is intended that this framework can enable developers to better benchmark and evaluate sensing system, enable organizations to identify trade-offs for adopting sensing systems and aid researchers in scoping out future research in the area.