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Smartphone applications or electronic devices in the form of occupant voting systems (OVS) have demonstrated to be feasible for acquiring feedback from occupants to support the building operation manager to identify indoor environmental quality (IEQ) problems and inappropriate control settings of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). The present paper aims to contribute to the growing research on OVS as a tool to support building operation management. The paper presents a study about a tangible OVS, denoted TiAQ, that occupants could use to vote on their here-and-now experiences regarding the thermal environment and indoor air quality. The main objectives were to identify whether there was an alignment between the votes collected with TiAQ and the monitored IEQ variables as well as to demonstrate the use of occupant votes to identify problematic IEQ conditions and appropriate strategies for HVAC control. The study demonstrated that thermal votes collected with TiAQ could be related to the variations in the indoor temperature and ventilation airflow. Additionally, collected votes could identify i.a. poorly set indoor temperature setpoint and appropriate control strategies that could reduce energy use by 46% and increase thermal comfort and cold complaints by 6% if current airflow and indoor temperature setpoint were lowered.

Occupants can provide valuable feedback on the indoor environmental quality of buildings. Research on occupant voting systems (OVS) has demonstrated that apps or electronic devices can act as viable tools for collecting long-term feedback from occupants. However, previous research has only to a limited extent explored occupants’ interaction with OVS and the impact it might have on the reliability of the collected feedback. The present paper presents three case studies on applying a tangible OVS, denoted TiAQ, to collect feedback on thermal and indoor air quality (IAQ) in office spaces. The main objective of the present study was first to explore occupants’ interaction with TiAQ and their motivation. Second, identifying whether feedback collected with TiAQ could represent occupants’ comfort and discomfort with the thermal environment and IAQ. Thirdly, identifying challenges related to occupants’ interaction with TiAQ that might affect the representativeness of collected feedback. The present study was conducted at three office buildings in up to 7 months and demonstrated that TiAQ was suitable for collecting long-term feedback on occupants’ comfort and discomfort with the thermal environment. On average, one vote was cast per day per occupant. Additionally, in one of the office buildings, 60% of occupants reported to have interacted with TiAQ daily or weekly when, e.g., passing the device going to/from the office spaces. Occupants’ expectations of TiAQ and getting “feedback on feedback” need to be further addressed to identify ways to sustain occupants’ long-term use of the device and reduce “ill-willed” interactions.