Assessment of users' responses to air change rates in free running office buildings

Abstract

Abstract. Often, building assessments do not account for users' social concerns in relation to buildings' physical characteristics. This study, therefore, assessed the responses of free running office building users to the objective measurements of air change rates in the spaces they occupy. This was done with a view to define a suitable quantitative expression for the social concerns of the users in building assessments, as well as with a view to examine the relationships between the users' responses and the physical characteristics of free running buildings. Measurements were taken in eight low-rise office buildings regarding indoor/outdoor air parameters to capture the air change rates in the buildings. These were done in 50 different spaces within the buildings at different floor levels and different fenestration orientations. The air change rates were correlated along social and physical dimensions with the responses of the occupants captured through questionnaire. Some relationships were observed among the social characteristics of the users and their rating of air change rates in the spaces, but none were statistically significant. Linear regression analysis, however, shows that one of the buildings' physical characteristics has a strong relationship with the users' responses to air change rates.