Assessments of indoor environmental quality on occupant satisfaction and physical parameters in office buildings

Abstract

The indoor environmental quality is of major interest for occupants in office buildings. This study is to identify the benchmarking values of physical parameters for indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of office buildings and explore the influences of outer climate conditions on the perceived IEQ. The recommended values from selected research articles are compared and classified in different hierarchies against thermal environment satisfaction level, air quality, illuminance and acoustic. A case study in five office buildings carried out in Switzerland is analysed from onsite physical measurements and occupant questionnaires. The results summarize the optimal ranges of selected physical parameters with three IEQ comfort levels. The differential and consistent outcomes in previous studies are verified. Outer climate parameters show potential correlations and influences with the satisfaction of IEQ aspects and weighting factors. In conclusion, it is lacking a standardized index and clear benchmarking values regarding both criteria requirements and local information.

Quan Jin

Senior researcher

Quan Jin is Senior Researcher in the research group Sustainable Building at the Division of Building Technology, and in the Area of advance Energy. She conducts research on indoor environmental quality from multiple disciplinary perspectives, and their impact on building energy efficiency and occupant health and comfort. The goal is to create tools and knowledge to improve human well-being and productivity in sustainable buildings while minimizing the energy consumption.

Holger Wallbaum

Full Professor, Vice-Head of Department and Vice-Dean for Research

Holger is a Full Professor in sustainable building at the Division of Building Technology, research group Sustainable Building, and in the Area of advance Building Futures. Holger works within sustainable building on concepts, tools and strategies to enhance the sustainability performance of construction materials, building products, buildings as well as entire cities.