Indoor environmental quality and occupant satisfaction in green-certified buildings

Green building certification systems aim at improving the design and operation of buildings. However, few detailed studies have investigated whether green rating leads to higher occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality (IEQ). This research builds on previous work to address this. Based on the analysis of a subset of the Center for the Built Environment Occupant Indoor Environmental Quality survey database featuring 11,243 responses from 93 LEED-rated office buildings, we explored the relationships between the points earned in the IEQ category and the satisfaction expressed by occupants with the qualities of their indoor environment. We found that the achievement of a specific IEQ credit did not substantively increase satisfaction with the corresponding IEQ factor, while the rating level, and the product and version under which certification had been awarded, did not affect workplace satisfaction. There could be several reasons for this lack of relationships, some of which are outside the control of designers and beyond the scope of rating systems based primarily on design intent. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges and priorities that building professionals, researchers, and green building certification systems need to consider for moving us towards more comfortable, higher performing, and healthier green-rated buildings

Indoor Environmental Quality: Lighting and Acoustics

Buildings are characterized by a mixture of environmental factors—(hygro)thermal, olfactory, luminous, and acoustic—that are commonly encapsulated under the banner of indoor environmental qualities (IEQ). Although a substantial amount of research has been done on the effects of IEQ on comfort and satisfaction of building users, the complex physical, physiological, and psychological processes underlying human responses to environmental stimuli are yet to be fully characterized. Among environmental forces, light and sound contribute significantly, individually and combined, towards the regulation of physio-psychological well-being, being most influential to perception and behavior. This article presents the current state-of-the-art of knowledge in lighting and acoustics, describing the challenges that need to be tackled for a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of the luminous and aural environments on the comfort, performance, and health of building users