Postoccupancy Indoor Environmental Quality Evaluation of an Institutional Building

This paper presents a case study of an institutional building's heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system that was not providing satisfactory comfort control. In the investigation, significant design, construction, and operational problems were discovered. Poor communication between the architect, consulting engineers, construction personnel, and owner/financier was a significant factor in the failure of the comfort control system. Problems with the windows, insulation, design of the system zones, supply air fan, and indoor air quality due to poor ventilation were also identified and investigated. Recommendations for correction of these problems range from obvious, low-cost actions to more substantial retrofits of the HVAC system. Actions that should have been taken during the design stages of the project, as well as postoccupancy corrective measures, are discussed with emphasis on comfort, health, and economics. The results of this project show that a well-designed HVAC system will operate poorly if the building is not constructed or operated as planned. This case study should help institutional building contractors, owners, and operators avoid or identify and correct similar problems with their planned and existing comfort control systems. To ensure successful operation of their designs, HVAC designers need feedback from the architect, contractors, building owners, and occupants.