Impact of available and perceived control on comfort and health in european office buildings

Abstract

The objective of this study was to find out how perceived control and access to control options like operable windows and thermostats affects comfort and health of European office workers. For this, the HOPE database was re-analyzed which contains data from indoor environmental quality surveys with around 6200 employees in 60 office buildings that are placed all over Europe. Statistical analyses were conducted to find out what the impact is of available controls on the perceived control of building occupants. Furthermore the effect of perceived control on comfort and health was determined. No significant relation was found between available controls and perceived control apart from available solar shading. Between perceived control and comfort or health, multiple significant correlations were found. Our findings suggest that designing future office buildings with the right mix of controls will lead to healthier and more comfortable building occupants.