STUDENTS' SATISFACTION AND PERCEPTION OF INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN LECTURE THEATRE

Abstract

Due to the modernisation of facilities, introduction of energy saving campaigns, and increasing comfort requirements of occupants, maintaining ideal indoor air quality levels of a space has been of growing importance and difficulty. Regardless of the type of space and occupant, poor indoor air quality has the ability to directly impact the occupants’ satisfaction and perception of indoor air quality. This dissertation examined the influence of the indoor conditions – Carbon Dioxide, Volatile Organic Compounds, Particulate Matter 2.5, and Temperature – on students’ satisfaction and perception levels in a lecture theatre. A quasi-experiment study design was adopted in this study and a mix of both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in data collection. From this study, it was determined that the indoor carbon dioxide concentration may be used as a proxy of indoor air quality by serving as an indicator of ventilation sufficiency. In addition, inadequate indoor conditions have a larger negative influence on students’ perception than satisfaction. Furthermore, certain conditions were identified to have significant influence on students’ subjective judgement. This includes lack of ventilation, which may be identified by CO2 concentrations more than 1900ppm, Particulate Matter 2.5 concentrations less than 4μg/m3, and temperatures less than 22°C. The trends, impacts, and relationships were identified through descriptive and statistical analysis methods to ensure high accuracy of results. Limitations and recommendations for future study regarding this subject will also be discussed at the end of the dissertation.