Are green buildings more satisfactory and comfortable?

Abstract

Much of the emphasis to date in green building development has been on optimizing energy and resource efficiency. Very little was known about user perception and satisfaction in green buildings. To make up these drawbacks, this paper presents a large-scale occupant survey in first generation green buildings in China. When comparing the green and non-green buildings, the analysis showed a big difference. Some green buildings enjoyed higher satisfaction and comfort, while some green buildings attracted lower satisfaction and comfort. This research suggests that green building users were more forgiving of their buildings; they were more likely to balance the good features against the bad to reach their overall assessment, which has important implications to sustainable design and research.