A review of questionnaire-based methods used for assessing and benchmarking indoor environmental quality

Abstract

Questionnaires can allow some insight into how the occupants perceive indoor environmental conditions in a building. The responses are subjective, as everyone has differing ideas on comfort, but common trends often allow problem areas to be identified and an overall rating of the building to be determined. The aim of this study was to detail the key characteristics of a sample of 20 well-documented questionnaire-based methodologies. The objectives were: (1) to provide a general overview of existing studies which had investigated user perceptions and determine good practice methods and (2) to explore the nature and characteristics of questionnaire-based benchmarking methods and give some guidance on their application. It was found that while questionnaires have been proven to be an effective method for assessing occupants' perceptions of the indoor environmental quality, good practice needs to be followed in order for the questionnaires to be a viable measuring tool. Standardization is essential in order for benchmarks to be created from the data as small changes in the questionnaire can result in large differences in the results.

Keywords:

• benchmarks
• building users' perceptions
• indoor environmental quality
• post-occupancy evaluation
• questionnaires