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The Future Energy Conference at the Oregon Convention Center on Tuesday featured Portland building industry professionals speaking about how tenant behavior will influence design in the years ahead.

鈥淗ow occupants use buildings is the greatest frontier to conquer for creating truly energy-efficient buildings,鈥� said John Breshears of Architectural Applications.

Breshears, Dennis Wilde of Gerding Edlen and Steven Straus of Glumac addressed specific challenges that arose in the design and development of their firms鈥� energy-efficient buildings.

Phone and computer chargers, and most other things that plug into a wall, consume a lot of energy and are difficult to predict, Wilde said. This problem is multiplied by the increasing density of workers in office spaces and the exaggeration of how much energy is produced by solar panels, Straus said.

Wilde spoke about the challenges ahead for the Oregon Sustainability Center. Project partners are aiming for net-zero energy and water consumption. Technology will decrease the energy requirements of the building about 65 percent below the expected average, Wilde said; however, an additional 10 percent will need to come from changes in tenant behavior.

But how will such behavior be encouraged?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we have, basically, the foggiest idea,鈥� Wilde said.