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

Paper in proceeding, 2016

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.