SOME FACTORS AFFECTING OCCUPANT SATISFACTION OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (IEQ) IN GREEN MARK CERTIFIED VERSUS NON-GREEN MARK CERTIFIED OFFICES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

There has been considerable research that has established the relationship between indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of an office building with productivity and the health of the occupants. However, there is little research that explores the effects of the difference in that green certification has on the satisfaction of IEQ parameters.

The aim of the dissertation is to establish the affected satisfaction of office occupants on indoor environment parameters according to the certification of the offices. The main objective is to determine how the satisfaction of occupants’ IEQ parameters is affected by the difference in certification for the offices.

From the findings of the literature, the hypothesis of this study is established. H1 – There is significant difference in level of satisfaction for at least one common indoor environment parameter between GM certified offices and non-GM certified offices.

From the data analysis, it found that H1 is false as there is a significant difference in level of satisfaction of temperature for GM certified buildings while Non-GM certified buildings only show significant difference in satisfaction for air movement and noise level. Thus, there is no common IEQ parameter.

However, the accuracy of the collected data is a limitation to this research which can be overcome by pre-empting the occupants about the duration in the email link instead of stating only after the survey has been started. The accuracy of the collected data can be further improved by having indicators for the occupants to know the limits. This would allow the surveyors to have a better understanding of the satisfaction of the occupants.