Measurement of housing IEQ and occupant thermal comfort when working from home during summer and winter

Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

As hybrid work arrangements become widespread, understanding the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of home workspaces has become increasingly important. Although numerous studies have investigated IEQ in office settings, research on IEQ in home workspaces remains limited. This study aims to address that gap by examining the thermal environment in home workspaces through a combination of physical measurements of indoor temperature and humidity and occupant surveys on thermal comfort. A field survey was conducted during both summer and winter; valid samples were collected from 60 participants in summer and 190 in winter. This is one of the largest studies worldwide to investigate the home workspace environment including physical environmental measurements. The results showed that the indoor thermal environments of home workspaces varied widely compared with those in offices, with summer temperatures averaging 27.2 ± 1.6°C and winter temperatures averaging 20.1 ± 3.6°C. Despite this variation, average thermal satisfaction remained slightly positive in both seasons. Neutral temperatures were estimated at 27.5°C in summer and 21.4°C in winter, although no reliable neutral humidity value could be identified. These findings provide important implications for improving thermal comfort and productivity in home workspace environments.