Occupant satisfaction with environmental conditions in naturally ventilated and air conditioned offices.

During the past three years, BRE has conducted winter and summer occupant surveys on satisfaction with environmental conditions in 23 buildings. These were a mixture of naturally ventilated and air conditioned buildings. The results presented in this paper are based on a secondary analysis of 5136 completed questionnaires. The aim of the analysis was to determine the effect of ventilation type and season on occupant satisfaction with key environmental parameters: thermal sensation, thermal comfort, humidity, air movement, stuffiness, air quality, lighting and noise. Although 3% more occupants were satisfied with the environment in air conditioned offices than in naturally ventilated ones, this difference does not justify the 60% extra energy consumption and the additional installation and maintenance costs associated with the air-conditioned offices.