Improving building performance through better feedback: understanding the effectiveness of Post Occupancy Evaluation

Effective feedback is vital for any product to work as intended and meet the needs of the user. Unfortunately, evidence shows many buildings do not perform as intended, undermining decarbonisation efforts and leaving us with uncomfortable, unhealthy buildings. This PhD will aim to improve feedback, leading to better buildings.

Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) is defined by RIBA as "the process of obtaining feedback on a building's performance in use after it has been built and occupied." POE methods include both qualitative (e.g. questionnaires, surveys, interviews and focus groups etc.) and quantitative (e.g. smart meters, temperature monitoring, ventilation measurements etc.) approaches. These aim to gain insights into building energy use, environmental performance and user satisfaction. Such feedback remains vital in delivering low-energy buildings and avoiding issues such as summertime overheating, poor indoor air quality and high energy bills.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) and building performance evaluation programmes have provided valuable insights into the real-world performance of buildings over the last few decades. However, evidence shows both domestic and non-domestic buildings still underperform and fail to meet their design aspirations.

Developments in sensing technologies, smart metering, experimental techniques, analytical methods have opened up possibilities to a wider range of measurements, with higher resolution data and less intrusive methods. Similarly, a wider toolbox of qualitative approaches have developed across POE programmes. This developing toolbox for POE practitioners should lead to more widespread and more effective POE studies. But are POE studies truly effective and informative?