The Potential for the Use of the Occupants’ Comments in the Analysis and Prediction of Building Performance

Baird, George; Dykes, C.

doi:10.3390/buildings2010033

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The present study fills the research gap by examining the relationship between occupants' satisfaction and indoor environment quality, and the effect the problems experienced with noise level may have on general satisfaction and the perceived acoustic quality in LEED-certified and conventional residential buildings. Similarly to [10,30,31], for example, this study falls into the category of post-occupancy evaluation by using the subjective opinion of users in the evaluation of indoor environment and building performance.…”

Section: Green Buildings and Acoustic Quality Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Acoustic Quality and Effect on Occupants’ Satisfaction in Green and Conventional Residential Buildings

Zalejska‐Jonsson

2019

Buildings

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The study presented in this paper focuses on the subjective opinions of occupants of multistory residential buildings by examining the relationship between occupants’ satisfaction and indoor environment quality, and analysing the effect the problems experienced with noise level may have on general satisfaction and the perceived acoustic quality. The analysis is based on data collected through surveys addressed to adults living in green and conventional buildings. The results show that occupants are very satisfied with their apartments, and subjectively rated acoustic quality received very high scores. The responses indicate that noise from neighbours has been experienced relatively seldom by occupants; however, the analysis shows that it is the factor that has the strongest effect on satisfaction with acoustic quality. We have found that the environmental profile of a building has a significant effect on general satisfaction expressed by occupants; however, this effect has not been confirmed for acoustic quality.

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Section: Green Buildings and Acoustic Quality Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Acoustic Quality and Effect on Occupants’ Satisfaction in Green and Conventional Residential Buildings

Zalejska‐Jonsson

2019

Buildings

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“…Zalejska-Jonsson (2012) also advocates using interviews with property managers to gather contextual information about a building. Baird and Dykes (2012) reported a ratio of negative comments to positive comments and suggested that when "the ratio exceeds a value of 10:1… clearly there are issues requiring attention." Similar ratios will be reported throughout the chapter, as well as analysis of the usefulness of this method.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Almost all respondents offered at least one comment, with only 5.5% (n=9) offering no comments. For context, in commercial and institutional buildings 34% of people commented in Baird and Dykes (2012), suggesting that residential respondents are far more likely to comment. Of the 700 comments received, 255 offered praise while 445 offered criticism, for an overall ratio of 1.8:1.…”

Section: Response Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The importance of understanding occupant behaviour in buildings: exploring the nexus of design, management, behaviour, and energy use in green, high-rise residential buildings

Brown¹

2021

Preprint

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The quest to ‘green’ the built environment has been ongoing since the early 1970s and has intensified as the threat of exceeding 450 ppm of atmospheric carbon dioxide has become more real. As a result of this, many contemporary residential high-rise buildings are designed with hopes of achieving carbon emission reductions, while not sacrificing occupant satisfaction, or property value. Little is known about how the occupants of these buildings contribute to the energy and water consumed therein, nor the effects that these design aspirations have on occupant satisfaction. The present study relies on data collected in four recently built, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] certified, high-rise, residential buildings in Ontario, Canada. Using various sources of data (i.e., from energy and water submeters, questionnaire responses, interviews, and physical data relating to each suite) the extent to which physical, behavioural, and demographic variables explain suite-level energy and water consumption was explored. Energy use intensity differed by a factor of 7 between similar suites, electricity by a factor of 5, hot water by a factor of 13, cooling by a factor of 47, and heating by a factor of 67. Results show that physical building characteristics explain 43% of the heating variability, 16% of the cooling variability, and 40% of electricity variability, suggesting that the remainders could be a result of occupant behaviour and demographics. It was also discovered that 52% of respondents were not using their energy recovery ventilators [ERV] for the following reasons: acoustic dissatisfaction, difficulty with accessibility of filters, occupant knowledge and preferences, and a lack of engagement with training materials. Results suggest that abandoning mechanical ventilation in favour of passive ventilation could actually lead to greater satisfaction with indoor air quality and to decreased energy consumption. Using content analysis of questionnaire comments, the utility of contextual factors in understanding energy use and satisfaction in the study buildings, as well as their value in producing feedback for designers and managers, was explored. Combining quantitative and qualitative datasets was an effective approach to understanding energy use in this understudied building type.

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“…They have lower construction costs, allowing for significant space savings and, according to designers, facilitate communication between workers, thus, improving collaboration, as well as the exchange of ideas. Unfortunately, many studies show that few workers love to work in them since the buzz of chatter is distracting and there is the lack of privacy that is necessary to work quietly [1][2][3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Noise Detection in Open-Plan Offices Using Recursive Partitioning

2018

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Open-plan offices have lower construction costs, allowing for significant savings in space and, according to designers, facilitate communication between workers, thus, improving collaboration, as well as the exchange of ideas. For these reasons, this type of office has become widespread, while highlighting numerous limitations and various problems. These include the control of anthropic and electromechanical noise. In this study, measurements of the noise emitted by a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system were carried out in an open-plan office. The average spectral levels in a 1/3 octave band were compared through correlation analysis, to identify any redundant data. A model was then adapted to evaluate the importance of the variables, in order to classify the characteristics, by importance. To reduce the number of predictor variables, a selection analysis of the characteristics was carried out. A subset of predictors was extracted to be used to produce an accurate prediction model. Finally, a model based on recursive partitioning, to detect the operating conditions of an HVAC system, was developed and applied, so as to provide insights into the development and application of this technique, in these contexts. The high accuracy of the model (Accuracy = 0.9981) suggests the adoption of this tool for several applications.

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The Potential for the Use of the Occupants’ Comments in the Analysis and Prediction of Building Performance

Cited by 14 publications

References 10 publications

Perceived Acoustic Quality and Effect on Occupants’ Satisfaction in Green and Conventional Residential Buildings

Perceived Acoustic Quality and Effect on Occupants’ Satisfaction in Green and Conventional Residential Buildings

The importance of understanding occupant behaviour in buildings: exploring the nexus of design, management, behaviour, and energy use in green, high-rise residential buildings

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Noise Detection in Open-Plan Offices Using Recursive Partitioning

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