Effects of residential indoor environments on occupant satisfaction and performance

Abstract

With vast influences of Chinese industrial transformation, also largely impacted by the global challenges, such as climate change and pandemic, the home becomes as a place for occupants to perform their work tasks. To that end, this study concentrates on the effects of residential indoor environments, especially the factor of indoor environment quality (IEQ) and indoor greenery (IG), on occupants’ residential satisfaction and performance. By conducting a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) survey with the perspective of user experience (UX), 764 samples were collected, of which 528 are valid for statistical analysis. The method of structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to test the hypotheses. The results show that both indoor environment quality and indoor greenery have a positive effect on residential satisfaction and occupant performance, however, the former is more influential. In addition, residential satisfaction is a partial mediator, which demonstrates the mechanism: residential indoor environment mainly affects satisfaction, then occupant performance. The findings of this study provide important evidence from China in the period of the post-pandemic era that combines the unique characteristics of urbanization, gaining more insight for researchers to understand the relationship between the built environment of homes and their occupants, revealing specific design implications for practitioners.