Occupants’ Satisfaction toward Indoor Environment Quality of Platinum Green-Certified Office Buildings in Tropical Climate

Abstract

The quality of the indoor environment has become a vital component for buildings due to the time spent indoors. To this extent, the performance of the indoor environment is considered as part of the greenery criteria by green rating schemes such as the Green Building Index in Malaysia. This study aims to investigate and assess the quality of the indoor environment of Platinum-certified office buildings in a tropical climate. This research applied a case study approach over two Platinum-certified office buildings. Post-occupancy evaluation is employed integrating full-scale measurement with an occupants’ survey. The measurement was carried out from May to August, and 112 questionnaires were retrieved to evaluate occupants’ satisfaction with aspects of the indoor environment. Thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustic, lighting, furniture, and cleanliness are considered as the main study variables. The findings of full-scale measurement indicated high relative humidity, and low air velocity and illuminance. While occupants reported overall indoor environment quality (IEQ) comfort, a significant correlation of variables was observed. The main sources of dissatisfaction were identified as overcooling around 24 °C, high relative humidity (RH), around 70% RH, glare, and background noise around 51.9 dB. Statistically, a significant difference between occupants’ responses to IEQ of two cases was identified, although both buildings are labelled with a Platinum certificate.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation’s (POE) Applications for Improving Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ)

“…The authors of [ 160 ] compared green office buildings with different levels of energy consumption intensity, using light measurement as a rating indicator. The authors of [ 161 ] analyzed the IEQ of platinum, green-certified office buildings in Malaysia, assessing thermal comfort, indoor air quality, acoustics, lighting, furnishings and cleanliness.…”

Exploring green office buildings at Sebelas Maret University: A study on students’ perception

“…The classification system for performance ratings is as follows: (a) Platinum denotes scores over 86 points, (b) Gold represents scores ranging from 76 to 85 points, (c) Silver encompasses scores between 66 and 75 points, and (d) Certified designates scores from a minimum of 50 points up to 65 points. This suggests that the IEQ of office buildings that have achieved Platinum certification should exhibit a superior level of quality in comparison to structures that have not obtained any certification [10]. Buildings have many types that indicate energy consumption.…”

“…The self-reported most crucial reason for conserving energy in the workplace is concern for the environment, followed by consideration for the organization's finances, satisfaction with one's activities, and enhancement of the organization's public profile [9]. Green rating schemes use the evaluation of indoor environmental performance as a component of their criteria for greenery [10]. Improving the efficiency of building stock can be achieved through the implementation of building restoration and regular maintenance.…”

Global Research Trends on Building Indoor Environmental Quality Modelling and Indexing Systems—A Scientometric Review

“…is one of the research clusters in this research theme. Green buildings' energy efficiency and indoor environment have been widely examined in many countries [65,96,97]. Chokor et al [98] evaluated LEED-certified buildings by collecting electricity data for cooling and heating with IEQ satisfaction (furniture, thermal comfort, space, layout, water efficiency, acoustic quality, IAQ, cleanliness, lighting level, and facility maintenance).…”