  Before 2020, the way occupants utilized the built environment had been
changing slowly towards scenarios in which occupants have more choice and
flexibility in where and how they work. The global COVID-19 pandemic
accelerated this phenomenon rapidly through lockdowns and hybrid work
arrangements. Many occupants and employers are considering keeping some of
these flexibility-based strategies due to their benefits and cost impacts. This
paper simulates various scenarios related to the operational technologies and
policies of a real-world campus using a district-scale City Energy Analyst
(CEA) model that is calibrated with measured energy and occupancy profiles
extracted from WiFi data. These scenarios demonstrate the energy impact of
ramping building operations up and down more rapidly and effectively to the
flex-based work strategies that may solidify. The scenarios show a 4-12%
decrease in space cooling demand due to occupant absenteeism if centralized
building system operation is in place, but as high as 21-68% if
occupancy-driven building controls are implemented. The paper discusses
technologies and strategies that are important in this paradigm shift of
operations.
