Advances in Building Energy Research

Advances in Building Energy Research 1 (2007) 151–175

Post-occupancy Evaluation and Thermal Comfort: State of the Art and New Approaches

Elke Gossauer and Andreas Wagner

Building occupants are a valuable source of information on building performance as well as indoor environmental quality and their effects on comfort and productivity. A large number of different studies have been carried out over recent decades focusing on various aspects of the broad field of comfort, well-being and health at workplaces. Two main methodical approaches can be identified analysing the history of comfort research: laboratory tests in climate chambers, and field tests in running buildings. Advantages and disadvantages of both approaches are pointed out in this paper and some of the most well-known studies from Europe and the US are described with respect to their specific objectives and methodologies. No difference is made between pure comfort field studies and more general post-occupancy evaluations because the borderline is vague in most cases and the purpose of this paper is to collect as much useful information as possible on comfort research methods. A current study on overall comfort at workplaces introduces a new multivariate approach, including building-related and further contextual parameters.

Keywords: comfort research methods; post-occupancy evaluation; workplace; comfort parameters; thermal comfort; indoor climate; general satisfaction

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