study the occupants' experiences and satisfaction with various aspects of their new low-energy houses.
in their houses for a period ranging from 3 to 30 months. It was carried out by sending an e-mail with a brief
description of the project and an invitation to participate in the study by filling in a questionnaire, using the
online survey system SurveyXact [3]. The questionnaire was almost identical to the version used in a
previous survey [4,5]. Sixty-one adults in 35 occupied houses were asked to participate in the survey. Up to
three reminders were sent out with ten days' intervals apart after the first invitation. Respondents were
informed that they would get a gift certificate of 13 euros if they participated in the survey. The
questionnaire was answered by 44 occupants corresponding to a response rate of 72.1%. Women
constituted 45.5% (20) of the respondents. Responses (one, two or three) were received from 27 out of the
35 houses corresponding to a response rate of 77.1%. The questionnaire survey focused on the occupants'
overall satisfaction with their new low-energy houses; perceived indoor climate summer and winter;
experiences and satisfaction with technical installations for heating and ventilation; the ability to regulate
the indoor climate summer and winter; practice of opening windows; availability and quality of information
and experienced heat consumption.
involvement and the fact that every participant would receive a gift certificate as a reward.
Occupants' overall satisfaction
others to live in a low-energy house?", 84% answered yes and 14% maybe. The occupants were also more
satisfied with the temperature conditions and air quality in their new house compared with their earlier
house, see next paragraph.
Perceived indoor climate summer and winter
your home?", 26% answered yes. The main reasons given for the dissatisfaction were that it was either too
warm in summer or too cold in winter.
parameters temperature, air movements, air quality, noise and daylight on a 5-point scale ranging from
Unsatisfactory (1) to Satisfactory (5). One question was, for example, "What do you think about the indoor
climate in your house, regarding the temperature last summer?". Table 17 shows the mean values for the
five parameters and a general assessment of the indoor climate last summer and last winter.