A STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF AN INDIVIDUALLY-CONTROLLABLE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT ON THE IAQ SATISFACTION.

Abstract

There is an increasing number of reports on offices having room temperatures which are lower than occupants’ comfort levels. The need for individual control has also been an issue because the thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) satisfaction may differ from one occupant to another. However, to increase room temperatures, certain measures are needed to maintain the IAQ and to satisfy the needs of all occupants. This study aims to understand the effect of having individually-controllable devices at workstations on the IAQ satisfaction of occupants by carrying out an experiment that includes a series of scenarios with varying conditions. Personalised ventilation (PV) and desk fans were used in the experiment. Objective measurements were carried out at intervals during each scenario to analyse mainly the carbon dioxide, VOCs and temperature of the room while subjective measurements which were also collected at the same time were to analyse mainly the subjects’ IAQ satisfaction and perceived air quality (PAQ). The results showed that air movement seem to have played a role in altering the PAQ of subjects. By using both PV and desk fans, the elevated room temperature could be compensated through the air movement provided. Furthermore, most of the scenarios had a higher temperature than 26.0°C and yet subjects were still satisfied with room temperature provided. This pushes the limits of energy savings of offices through increasing room temperatures.