Occupant feedback on indoor humidity assessment
Abstract
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems can adjust indoor temperature, air quality, and humidity levels, regulating occupants’ comfort. In this study, we focus on humidity, a parameter whose regulation is energy-intensive, and research is limited compared to thermal regulation. Research focuses on new technologies and materials to improve energy efficiency in humidity control; here, we study how it affects building occupants and the conditions in which they are affected. Using statistical tools on a sample of post-occupancy evaluation questionnaires, we investigate whether building occupants can assess indoor humidity effectively through three lenses: judgment, perception, and subjective preference. We show that while occupants can determine their preference in temperature, interpretation error is detected when it comes to humidity. Through exploratory and confirmatory analysis, it appears that humidity preference might be subject to greater variability in occupants’ responses, calling for further investigation to verify the consistency of these observations across different populations. By confirming ineffective subjective assessment of indoor humidity, the existing comfort levels could be extended, and significant energy savings could be achieved.