Indoor climate and air quality: does occupants’ assessment reflect the measured conditions?

Paper in proceeding, 2022

The analysis in this paper is based on data from a building stock investigation conducted in the winter season of 2007/2008. The study focused on the technical status, indoor environmental quality and energy use in the Swedish housing stock. A sub-sample of 86 single-family houses with matching pairs of indoor climate and air quality measurements and questionnaire responses are examined in more detail, to investigate the relationship between indoor climate and air quality with occupants’ perception. The results show that indoor air temperatures outside the recommended values are still perceived positively by the occupants. Perception of dryness was assessed by the occupants positively, regardless the measured relative humidity in their homes. Perception of air quality overall agreed with measured conditions, although this may be related to the investigated sample. The paper discusses methodological and substantive limitations that may have led to these findings and aspects to consider when dealing with survey design and data.