Improving indoor environmental quality (IEQ) for occupant health and well-being: A case study of Swedish office building

Abstract

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a major domain of building conditions relating to occupant comfort, health and well-being. Especially in the office environment, IEQ can influence work productivity positively. Within the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), goal 3 good health and well-being, and goal 8 decent work and economic growth are the two areas where IEQ can significantly contribute. To better design sustainable office buildings in line with the agenda 2030, the study aims to examine occupant satisfaction, health and work in a newly renovated office building which is labelled by the BREEAM certification scheme Silver. Occupant preferences of IEQ comparing to the current conditions were also explored to provide advice for future design. The results show that occupant satisfaction with IEQ has not well achieved and in the office environment occupants prefer warmer temperature, more fresh air, less noise, and more daylight. We also find that perceived IEQ is extensively related to occupant health and work productivity. It concludes that in such a newly renovated office building as a high-performance building, there are still many problems from the indoor environments. Therefore, improvements are needed to gain occupant satisfaction and positively influence occupant health, well-being and work productivity.

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.