A study of running set-points and user IEQ satisfaction perspectives in the Norwegian commercial building stock

Norwegian building regulations refer to the NS-EN 15251 and the NS-ISO 7730 to define indoor climate criteria in new buildings. For example, the standards prescribe a temperature band of 20-26°C for a normal office situation. Any HVAC engineer or facility manager would however willingly state that office buildings in practice are run with a much smaller temperature dead-band, and that building occupants would complain if temperatures were as high as 26°C. Studies of the North American building stock have found that temperature dead-bands in practice are as small as 1-2 °C, and over-heating and over-cooling occurs frequently (Brager, Zhang, and Arens 2015). There is, however, no published evidence stating the actual temperature dead-bands set points used in the operation of Norwegian office buildings. Nor is there any published material describing how facility managers view the indoor climate preferences of their occupants, or which perceptions and procedures they have for user interaction. This kind of knowledge about the Norwegian building stock and facility management practice is considered to be an important reference for the development of new technologies and business models for reducing energy demand and improving occupant comfort. An interview of 10 facility management coordinators or supervisors was conducted. The answers revealed that the mean temperature dead-band is about 2 °C in Norwegian office buildings. Further, the results indicate that this dead-band could be widened without increasing the number of complaints from occupants. The respondents’ perceptions of users IEQ preferences were shown to be partly divergent from those of researchers and building designers, although for some aspects they are convergent. The respondents also reveal a relatively low focus on systems, solutions or technology which could improve user interaction, but at the same time show a high focus on being able to provide quick, personal and local help to the occupants when a problem or complaint of importance arises. In general, the knowledge and focus of the respondents reflect that they are highly tuned to the voice of their users, tenants, customers, operation managers and the individual building. They seem to a lesser extent tuned towards indoor climate research and theory, although this varies among the respondents. The results are systemized, presented and discussed in the paper and may provide a reference for use in the future development and understanding of the industry.