Assessing occupant satisfaction and energy behaviours in Toronto’s LEED gold high-rise residential buildings
International Journal of Energy Sector Management
ISSN: 1750-6220
Article publication date: 28 October 2014
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present four purposes: to assess occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality (IEQ); to determine if occupants appear to be operating their dwellings in an energy efficient manner; to suggest ways that occupant satisfaction and behaviour can help or hinder energy efficiency; and to show that the post-occupancy evaluation approach is an effective tool in diagnosing and improving satisfaction and energy efficiency in high-rise residential buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
Beyond measuring occupant satisfaction with IEQ, this paper uses scores and user comments from occupant questionnaires to identify success and indicate frustration and/or confusion with particular building technologies. It also extrapolates the energy efficiency implications of these responses in four Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold residential towers.
Findings
The research highlights where problems occur, particularly with the adoption of new technologies which may not be well understood by the occupants. It also identifies behaviour patterns that may negate energy efficiency strategies.
Research limitations/implications
The lack of dwelling metre data prevents this research from making causal links between behaviours and their energy implications. Also, the lack of Canadian benchmarks for satisfaction of occupants means that comparisons can only be made to cases from the UK, which is less robust.
Originality/value
This type of work has never been done in Canadian residential high rise towers before. It helps to better understand the process of ensuring that occupants successfully adopt innovation that can lead to energy savings.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Adrian Leaman at BUS Methodology for his support with this project. Funding for this project was, in part, provided by the Government of Canada’s FedDev Ontario Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative. The Government of Canada provided no additional research support for this project.
Citation
Brown, C. and Gorgolewski, M. (2014), "Assessing occupant satisfaction and energy behaviours in Toronto’s LEED gold high-rise residential buildings", International Journal of Energy Sector Management, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 492-505. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJESM-11-2013-0007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited