| The rising concern for sustainability has provided significant impetus to the green building movement. Its future, however, may depend on substantiation of the widely claimed green benefits. While significant improvements in occupant well-being/productivity in green buildings have long been hypothesized, the precise quantification of such improvements remains fuzzy. This research analyzes occupant well-being and productivity related costs and benefits in LEED offices using the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) framework and a case study based approach.;Incremental first costs related with LEED IEQ were identified. Changes in the occupants' well-being and productivity were determined using occupant surveys. Using the IEQ related incremental costs and occupant well-being and productivity based benefits, LCCA calculations were performed. It was determined that life cycle benefits far exceed the incremental costs, indicating economically viable investments. This research provides some degree of validation to occupant well-being and productivity improvement claims in green buildings and provides the groundwork for further research and validation. |
