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People spend approximately 90% of their time indoors, making effective indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring crucial for occupants’ well-being. Traditional IAQ monitoring primarily focuses on carbon dioxide ( ) levels to inform the operation of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. However, HVAC systems often overlook other critical IAQ metrics, such as volatile organic compounds (VOC), which may correspond better to occupant activities in some cases. This naturalistic study, conducted over four months at the University of Virginia, addresses this significant gap by observing changes in VOC and levels across various times, events, and spaces, including conference rooms, single occupancy offices, and common open-space areas. We aimed to determine whether can be the only representative of IAQ for dynamically adjusting the ventilation rates within this testbed. A key focus was on poor IAQ instances where levels were below the recommended levels, but VOC concentrations exceeded them, potentially impacting occupants’ health and well-being. Our results revealed that in the studied conference room, poor IAQ conditions prevailed 71% of the time during occupancy, in contrast to lower rates in single occupancy offices (11%, 7%, and 16%). Notably, while social events influenced levels less, VOC levels significantly increased in all open-space areas. These findings challenge the conventional reliance on monitoring for IAQ management, highlighting the necessity of incorporating comprehensive IAQ metrics in HVAC systems. The study underscores the critical need for dynamic HVAC systems that adapt to real-time IAQ conditions, a vital step towards enhancing indoor environmental quality in various settings. 

Abstract Human-Building Interaction (HBI) is a convergent field that represents the growing complexities of the dynamic interplay between human experience and intelligence within built environments. This paper provides core definitions, research dimensions, and an overall vision for the future of HBI as developed through consensus among 25 interdisciplinary experts in a series of facilitated workshops. Three primary areas contribute to and require attention in HBI research: humans (human experiences, performance, and well-being), buildings (building design and operations), and technologies (sensing, inference, and awareness). Three critical interdisciplinary research domains intersect these areas: control systems and decision making, trust and collaboration, and modeling and simulation. Finally, at the core, it is vital for HBI research to center on and support equity, privacy, and sustainability. Compelling research questions are posed for each primary area, research domain, and core principle. State-of-the-art methods used in HBI studies are discussed, and examples of original research are offered to illustrate opportunities for the advancement of HBI research.