Occupant Satisfaction and Comfort in Green Buildings: A Longitudinal Occupant Survey in a Green Building in the Subtropical Climate in Australia

Abstract

Understanding occupant expectation and feedback is an important part of building performance evaluation. This paper explores occupant satisfaction change during a 10-year period in a green building located in the subtropical zone. Occupant satisfaction at two timestamps, three and ten years after project completion, were compared. It was observed that occupant satisfaction regarding indoor air quality (IAQ), noise and overall building comfort remained unchanged during the 10-year post-occupancy period. This finding suggests that perceived IAQ, noise, and overall satisfaction with buildings may not be biased by point-in-time of surveys, the year weather or sample characteristics. However, satisfaction scores regarding the two parameters of lighting and thermal comfort are likely to be subject to change over time. The change in satisfaction scores in relation to thermal comfort and lighting might be explained in various ways. The change of climate and sky conditions, and different sample characteristics were the two assumptions considered worthy of further investigations. The study found some evidence of a possible correlation between year weather and occupant satisfaction responses. The study also showed that green buildings with natural ventilation may be more susceptible to climate change impacts.