Occupant Satisfaction with Indoor Environmental Quality: A Study of the LEED-Certified Buildings on the Arizona State University Campus

Following a recent surge in the green building movement, several universities now require the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for all their new facilities. This paper investigates the actual occupant satisfaction of LEED-certified higher education facilities through studying seven LEED-certified buildings located on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus in Tempe, Arizona. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) occupant satisfaction surveys were used to collect data from more than 160 occupants. The surveyed LEED buildings earned, on average, a 77.6% overall satisfaction rating. The results show ASU LEED buildings performed better than the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) benchmark, which is based on 59,359 completed surveys. In addition to comparing the results with other studies, this paper highlights an inconsistency between the LEED points earned for IEQ and the actual level of occupant satisfaction. In addition, the paper showcases a need for improvement in the USGBC rating system in such a way that correlates the awarded LEED rating with the actual performance of the building during the occupation phase, as opposed to the intended performance during the design and construction stages.

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