A Comparison of Indoor Environmental Satisfaction Between Two Green Buildings and a Conventional Building in China

Green buildings can have a more significant impact on their occupant health and productivity through improving indoor environment quality. However, post-occupancy studies invariably pointed out that green buildings were not always more comfortable and productive than non-green buildings. The article presents a comparison study between three buildings in Shenzhen aiming to examine the actual performance of green buildings from occupant point of view. The two green buildings marked a higher satisfaction on the health and productivity perception. However, in-depth examinations on IEQs showed some weaknesses in the two green buildings. On the comfort and satisfaction with the indoor air and temperature, the two green buildings performed better in summer but worse in winter. One of the two green buildings had significantly more noise from different sources than the conventional building. The other green building was significantly less satisfactory on the lighting environment than the conventional building. Implications were discussed for the green building designs and operations.