Building occupancy analytics based on deep learning through the use of environmental sensor data

Balancing indoor comfort and energy consumption is crucial to building energy efficiency. Occupancy information is a vital aspect in this process, as it determines the energy demand. Although there are various sensors used to gather occupancy information, environmental sensors stand out due to their low cost and privacy benefits. Machine learning algorithms play a critical role in estimating the relationship between occupancy levels and environmental data. To improve performance, more complex models such as deep learning algorithms are necessary. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) is a powerful deep learning algorithm that has been utilized in occupancy estimation. However, recently, an algorithm named Attention has emerged with improved performance. The study proposes a more effective model for occupancy level estimation by incorporating Attention into the existing Long Short-Term Memory algorithm. The results show that the proposed model is more accurate than using a single algorithm and has the potential to be integrated into building energy control systems to conserve even more energy.