|
1000
|
Abstract/Summary
|
-
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Purpose</jats:title>
<jats:p>The environmental and economic benefits of applying smart approaches for the control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings have been extensively investigated and documented in the literature. However, considering the paradigm shift from environmental and economic concerns towards broader sustainability considerations, as well as the lack of studies covering the social pillar, this study presents a scoping review to identify the social impacts attributed to the use phase of smart HVAC control systems in commercial buildings.</jats:p>
</jats:sec><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Methods</jats:title>
<jats:p>The relevant literature, originating from both academic and grey literature sources, were identified and reviewed through a meticulous search, data charting and analysis process, in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI)’s Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The inclusion criteria, categorised into ‘participants’, ‘concept’, ‘context’ and ‘types of evidence sources’, were first determined. A search strategy and a three-stage screening process were then applied to locate and analyse the relevant records.</jats:p>
</jats:sec><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Results and discussions</jats:title>
<jats:p>In total, 133 records were included in this study. From this review, five main social themes were identified, namely, thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), privacy, security and employment. Both consumers and workers emerged as the stakeholder groups that were related to the use of smart HVAC control systems. The social impacts related to thermal comfort were measured by means of a wide range of indicators, but only a limited number of suitable indicators have been identified for other social themes. In general, the deployment of smart HVAC control systems resulted in positive outcomes for thermal comfort, IAQ and employment. Conversely, for both privacy and security, the users of buildings were reported to be negatively impacted.</jats:p>
</jats:sec><jats:sec>
<jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title>
<jats:p>Measures to alleviate negative social repercussions, as well as potential indicators to measure the use phase social impacts related to smart HVAC control systems, have been proposed and discussed. Further research is needed to evaluate how existing and prospective indicators can be used for assessing these use phase social impacts of smart HVAC control systems in a manner that is consistent with the social life cycle assessment methodology.</jats:p>
</jats:sec>
|
