This paper aims to understand and characterize occupant behaviour from a perspective of air conditioner (AC) usage. Therefore, it analyses data collected via a questionnaire applied throughout the Brazilian territory, which resulted in 3,259 valid answers explored by non-parametric statistical methods. The main results obtained were: (i) 89% of interviewed occupants prefer naturally ventilated environments at home; (ii) their preference impacts their behaviour, as those who prefer naturally ventilated environments tend to ventilate their house instead of turning on the air conditioner; (iii) climate and family income influence the availability of appliances, i.e. 93.2% of the high-income groups have at least one AC at home in extremely hot climates; (iv) there are groups with a tendency of high AC use, especially those who use AC often, also use it for a longer period of time; and (v) there is a significant difference between the setpoint temperature used in different climates; for instance, the lowest setpoint temperature is used in the hottest climate. This paper intends to contribute to a better understanding of occupants’ preferences and behavioural tendencies, especially in Brazilian residences and hot climates, while showing the influence of variables like family income and climate on such issues.

本文旨在从空调的使用角度来理解和表征乘员的行为。因此，它分析了通过在整个巴西领土上使用的问卷调查收集的数据，从而通过非参数统计方法得出了3259个有效答案。获得的主要结果是：（i）89％的受访住户喜欢在家中自然通风的环境；（ii）他们的偏好会影响他们的行为，因为那些喜欢自然通风环境的人往往会为自己的房屋通风而不是打开空调；（iii）气候和家庭收入会影响家用电器的可用性，即93.2％的高收入人群在极端炎热的气候条件下在家中至少有一个空调；（iv）某些人群经常使用交流电，尤其是经常使用交流电的人群，也可以使用更长的时间；（v）在不同气候下使用的设定温度之间存在显着差异；例如，在最热的气候中使用最低设定点温度。本文旨在帮助人们更好地理解乘员的偏好和行为倾向，尤其是在巴西居住和炎热的气候中，同时展示诸如家庭收入和气候等变量对此类问题的影响。