Abstract

Contemporary office buildings have primarily adopted environmental sustainability criteria through the guidelines and requirements of domestic or international green building rating systems. These systems incorporate criteria aimed at reducing resource consumption and the building’s impact on the environment into their design, as well as criteria to improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ). However, doubts remain about the ability of green rating systems to guarantee occupant satisfaction with the building and its indoor environment in contrast with their counterparts. This research is based on a field study comparing occupant satisfaction in certified green office buildings with conventional buildings in Chile, from a sample of 176 occupants of green buildings and 175 occupants of buildings (N = 351). The study included a survey of occupants and the monitoring of thermal conditions in workspaces. The results showed that there are no significant differences in satisfaction and comfort between green buildings and their conventional counterparts. The occupants of conventional buildings showed trends of higher overall satisfaction for the winter and summer months, as well as for winter and summer temperatures. The other criteria, such as air in winter and summer, showed fairly similar results in both building types.