Investigating the Indoor Environment Quality Parameters and Their Relationship with Occupants’ Satisfaction in Office Buildings: A Review

Masoud Esfandiari,Suzaini Mohamed Zaid,Muhammad Azzam Ismail

doi:10.22452/jdbe.sp2017no1.15

Masoud Esfandiari, Suzaini Mohamed Zaid + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.22452/jdbe.sp2017no1.15

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Abstract

The relation between indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and occupants comfort has become a critical area of research through building life cycle. The importance of the relationship becomes highlighted when IEQ has a strong influence to change people behaviour through its nature specifically in places like an office building where the productivity of occupants remains at the top of everything. In this regard, this manuscript documented the parameters of the indoor environment quality which has a strong influence on occupants’ comfort. Through critical review of literature, it has been found that IEQ parameters as thermal, noise, light and air quality could strongly affect the human comfort and health while having a critical role in energy consumption in the building. Moreover, there is a complicated relation among IEQ parameters which make it difficult for a designer to find a balance among them regarding occupants’ comfort and productivity and this complication is more confusing in green construction. Many post occupancy evaluation (POE) studies in both conventional and green buildings have carried out, but almost none of them indicated a full satisfaction with IEQ parameters simultaneously. Therefore, this paper investigated among IEQ parameters and their correlation with each other pertaining to occupants’ satisfaction, health and productivity in office buildings with different methods of construction.

Highlights

AND LITERATURE REVIEWThe common endeavour of human beings across the globe and through the timeline of human is to create a comfortable indoor environment at any circumstance to satisfy people
The effect of indoor environment passes from just health and satisfaction to occupants productivity in office buildings, as it suggested by a number of researches like Issa et al (2011); Niemelä et al (2002)., only a few symptoms of discomfort have a significant consequence on occupants’ productivity reduction Vischer (2008) believes that indoor environmental quality (IEQ) characters as thermal, visual, acoustic, indoor air quality (IAQ), office layout, etc. physically and psychologically affect human behaviour
The literature review highlighted the fact that IEQ has several parameters as thermal comfort, light quality, acoustic quality, IAQ, office layout, etc

Summary

Introduction

The common endeavour of human beings across the globe and through the timeline of human is to create a comfortable indoor environment at any circumstance to satisfy people. Any technical flaw or weakness into the building system regarding the indoor environment condition could bring a sickness or negatively affect human health, or in the worst-case scenario being exposed to this condition for a long-time has a potential to create a fatal or terminal effect on human health. ASHREA (2010) guideline, indicated people spend about 80-90% of their time indoors and many studies highlighted the fact that characteristics of the building have an effect on human health, comfort, satisfaction and wellbeing (Abbaszadeh et al 2006; Altomonte et al 2013). As a result, building performance has a critical role for human behaviour and it has become a vast area of research focus for researchers (Al horr et al 2016)

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