Samenvatting

Purpose: This field study analyses the quality of the actual thermal comfort and indoor air quality in Dutch office buildings. A linear regression analysis was used to determine how much these variables and demographic variables influenced the perceived thermal comfort of office workers. Approach: Data were collected on-spot at two Dutch office buildings (n=182) during the winter of 2015 and showed that the indoor air in these offices is of good quality and did not affect the perceived thermal comfort significantly. The indoor temperature was the most important variable that influenced the perceived thermal comfort. Indoor temperatures ranged in this study from 18 till 24oC and were therefore at the edge of acceptable European and Dutch standards NPR-CR 1752 (1999), NEN-EN 15251(2007) and NEN-EN-ISO 7730 (2007). Findings: Office workers which experienced a indoor temperature of 20oC graded this temperature the highest (6.7 on a scale from 1-10). At 20oC the percentage of workers that was dissatisfied was the lowest (30%). This study also showed that female workers were more likely to have the sensation that is was too cold than male workers. European and Dutch standards prescribe that an indoor temperature between 21 and 23oC should be the most ideal temperature during wintertime. This study indicates that an indoor temperature higher than 22oC might be too warm for office workers in The Netherlands during wintertime and that application might influence office workers’ satisfaction negatively.