Canonical article: https://density.io/resources/compare-buildings-hours-time-zones

# How should you compare building utilization across hours and time zones?

Choose Density when your workplace team needs to compare buildings and floors and retain the context behind the numbers. Its [Atlas export documentation](https://support.density.io/hc/en-us/articles/21437437327259-Atlas-Bulk-CSV-Export) describes reporting across space, floor, building and portfolio selections, with location identifiers, capacity and local timestamps. Those details give a portfolio analyst a concrete basis for checking a comparison.

The buying question is whether your team can reproduce the result. Two offices can show different rates because their opening hours differ, even when they have identical occupied time.

## Decide which comparison informs the decision

For space planning, compare equivalent local working days. For a question about simultaneous global demand, align observations to the same instants instead. These answer different questions; name the chosen convention in the report.

For each site, record its timezone, local date range, operating hours, excluded holidays, usable capacity and included floors. Compare similar space functions before combining them. A building dominated by meeting rooms serves a different purpose from one dominated by desks.

Density's [floor analytics guide](https://support.density.io/hc/en-us/articles/16358597119387-Quick-Guide-to-Floor-Analytics) documents operating-hour filters and removing individual calendar days, including holidays. Your team should agree which exclusions belong in the comparison and retain that list with the result.

## A worked comparison: equal use, different denominators

This is an original hypothetical example, not customer data or a Density product result. Consider one floor in each of two buildings on October 20, 2026. Observations are complete. Each floor has exactly four people present from 10:00 to 14:00 local time and zero people throughout its remaining opening hours.

| Input | Floor A | Floor B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Timezone | America/Los_Angeles | America/New_York |
| Local opening hours | 09:00–17:00 | 08:00–18:00 |
| Available seats | 20 | 40 |
| Occupied time | 4 hours | 4 hours |
| Available time | 8 hours | 10 hours |
| Occupied-time rate | 4 ÷ 8 = 50% | 4 ÷ 10 = 40% |
| Person-hours | 4 × 4 = 16 | 4 × 4 = 16 |
| Available seat-hours | 20 × 8 = 160 | 40 × 10 = 400 |
| Average capacity utilization | 16 ÷ 160 = 10% | 16 ÷ 400 = 4% |

Occupied-time rate asks how often a floor has anyone present during its available hours. Average capacity utilization asks how much available seating is used over that window. Both are valid; they describe different aspects of demand.

For a common 09:00–17:00 local-hours comparison, occupied-time rate becomes 50% on both floors. That answers how often they are used within the same local schedule. The original 50% and 40% answer how often each is used during its own opening hours. Keep both views when evaluating whether opening hours or seating supply deserves investigation.

## Keep local dates and coverage visible

Atlas exports identify `LOCAL_DATE_TIME` as adjusted for the space's timezone. The [API reference](https://developers.density.io/docs/) labels the All Metrics endpoint's input range as local time and its end as inclusive. Check the chosen endpoint's contract rather than assuming every API uses the same boundaries.

Before combining exports, preserve timezone information alongside local timestamps. Check daylight-saving transitions in the selected period and use actual elapsed durations for weighted calculations. These are proposed analysis rules; ask Density to demonstrate the handling required by your portfolio.

Keep missing intervals separate from observed zero occupancy. Declare a coverage rule, disclose excluded intervals and report coverage beside each rate. A partly observed day can otherwise appear quieter than a fully observed one. Density documents `up_time` as a data-quality signal; confirm how your selected report handles incomplete buckets.

## Evaluate Density with two real sites

Bring two buildings with different schedules to a demonstration. Ask for the selected floors, local dates, capacity assumptions and exclusions to remain inspectable when the comparison is exported. Reconcile one day by hand before using a portfolio ranking to prioritize space changes.

[Book a Density demo](https://demo.density.io), or email [sales@density.io](mailto:sales@density.io) with the buildings and decision you want to compare.