Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Influence of factors unrelated to environmental quality on occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings

Schiavon, Stefano; Altomonte, Sergio

Influence of factors unrelated to environmental quality on occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings Thumbnail


Authors

Stefano Schiavon

Sergio Altomonte



Abstract

Occupant satisfaction in office buildings has been correlated to the indoor environmental quality of workspaces, but can also be influenced by factors distinct from conventional IEQ parameters such as building features, personal characteristics, and work-related variables. A previous study by the authors analyzed occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings on a subset of the Center for the Built Environment survey database featuring 21,477 responses from 144 buildings (65 LEED-rated). The data suggested that, when evaluated comprehensively, there is not a practically significant influence of LEED certification on occupant satisfaction. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact on users’ satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings of factors unrelated to environmental quality, including consideration of office type, spatial layout, distance from window, building size, gender, age, type of work, time at workspace, and weekly working hours. The results show that such factors statistically significantly influence the difference in occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings, but the effect size of such variations is, for most, practically negligible. However, tendencies were found showing that LEED-rated buildings may be more effective in providing higher satisfaction in open spaces rather than in enclosed offices, in small rather than in large buildings, and to occupants having spent less than one year at their workspace rather than to users that have occupied their workplace for longer. The findings suggest that the positive value of LEED certification from the point of view of occupant satisfaction may tend to decrease with time.

Citation

Schiavon, S., & Altomonte, S. (in press). Influence of factors unrelated to environmental quality on occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings. Building and Environment, 77, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.03.028

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 30, 2014
Online Publication Date Apr 12, 2014
Deposit Date Jul 26, 2016
Publicly Available Date Jul 26, 2016
Journal Building and Environment
Print ISSN 0360-1323
Electronic ISSN 1873-684X
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 77
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.03.028
Keywords Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Occupant Satisfaction, Survey, Post-Occupancy Evaluation, Indoor Environmental Quality, Non-environmental factors
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/727086
Publisher URL http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132314000882
Contract Date Jul 26, 2016

Files





Downloadable Citations