Occupancy

Information about Occupancy

Occupancy is a defined legal term in building construction and building codes. It refers to the use or intended use of a building or part thereof for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely-related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented or leased, or otherwise in-use. The lack of occupancy in this sense is a vacancy.

Building code

It is possible to have multiple occupancies (or building uses) within one building. For instance, one may have a high-rise building, where the lower levels are occupied by retail stores, whereas the upper levels could be residential.

Wherever the dividing line is between different occupancies within one building, one must construct a particularly integral fire barrier referred to as an occupancy separation with a defined Fire-resistance rating, which is subject to stringent bounding. Typically, the code requirements for an occupancy separation are more stringent than for other fire-barriers, even with an identical fire-resistance rating. For example, if an occupancy separation carried a two-hour fire-resistance rating, one may, in some jurisdictions, not be able to de-rate its closures, such fire doors or firestops. A normal two-hour fire separation, may conceivably be fitted with 90-minute fire doors, whereas the occupancy separation would not be granted such reprieve.

Firestops in occupancy separations are also more likely to be required not only an equal fire protection rating (a fire-resistance rating for closures) but must also provide a temperature rating, such that the components of the firestop systems, including the penetrants, are not permitted to rise in temperature above 140Â°C (284Â°F) on average or 180Â°C (356Â°F) on any single point, so as to lower the likelihood of auto-ignition on the unexposed side. In this manner, occupancy separations are treated similarly to fire walls, which have the further task of limiting fire-induced building collapse, on the unexposed side.

In this sense, there are two occupancies in most single-family homes: the garage and the living space of the home. Because automobile gasoline or petrol is flammable, an occupancy separation is often required between the two, should there be a vehicle fire. Water heaters and central heating are often placed in this space as well, for their use of natural gas, propane, or other fossil fuels in combustion. This also helps to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Building utilisation

Occupancy can also refer to the number of units in use, such as hotel rooms, apartment flats, or offices. When a motel is at full (100%) occupancy, a NO VACANCY neon sign is often turned on (though the sign often still says VACANCY at other times). Office buildings and apartments in particular aim for full occupancy, but if too many are built in an area this is often not the case. Completely vacant buildings can also attract crime, and are eventually targeted for redevelopment or at least renovation.

Occupancy can also mean the number of persons using an undivided space, such as a meeting room, ballroom, auditorium, or stadium. As with building codes, fire-protection authorities often set a limit on the number of people that can occupy a space, primarily because they must be able to leave the building through the available number of exits in a reasonable amount of time, without tripping or trampling each other in a panicked stampede, possibly blinded by smoke. The integrity of a structure may also be at stake, because too many people will put excessive weight and other forces, leading in some cases to a collapse.

An occupancy sensor is a device that can tell if someone is in a room, and is often used in home automation and security systems. These are typically more advanced than motion sensors, which can only detect motion.

Other meanings

In transport engineering, occupancy can refer to:

The number of passengers occupying a vehicle.
The percentage of time in which a detector is occupied by a vehicle.

Function

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single-family detached home, or single-family home or detached house for short, also variously known as a single-detached dwelling or separate house
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A home is a place where a person, family, or group of people live or spend much of their time, or where a person feels safe or comfortable.

Concept

While a house (or other residential dwelling) is often referred to as a "home," the concept of home is broader than a
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automobile (from Greek auto, self and Latin mobile moving, a vehicle that moves itself rather than being moved by another vehicle or animal) or motor car (usually shortened to just car) is a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor.
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Gasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of aliphatic hydrocarbons and enhanced with aromatic hydrocarbons toluene, benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines.
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Inflammability is the ease with which a substance will ignite, causing fire or combustion. Materials that will ignite at temperatures commonly encountered are considered inflammable, with various specific definitions giving a temperature requirement.
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car fire, or auto fire, is one of the more common causes of fire-related property damage. There is roughly one motor-vehicle fire every 96 seconds in the USA^[1].
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Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. Typical domestic uses of hot water are for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and space heating. In industry both hot water and water heated to steam have many uses.
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Central Heating may mean:

Central Heating (Grand Central album)
Central Heating (Heatwave album)

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