Olimpia Splendid presents the results of a survey on home life in Italy and the factors that influence indoor well-being in the post-pandemic period.
Cellatica, February 2024
The home is well-being, self-expression, a place to live and share. It is a place full of meaning and in constant evolution that Olimpia Splendid, the Italian company specialising in air conditioning, heating and air treatment for the home, has set itself the objective of exploring, through a survey, the experiences of Italians in their homes, their awareness of the factors that influence their indoor well-being and the behaviours they use to improve their condition. The survey was carried out by Toluna, a digital research agency, and involved a sample of 1,000 Italian men and women aged between 25 and 64 who are responsible for purchasing household appliances.
Italians and the comfort of home
The first interesting fact to emerge is the significant increase in time spent at home for more than a third of respondents in the post-pandemic period. Watching TV, cooking and listening to music are the most common activities, but in addition to leisure, smart working is also part of everyday life at home for 4 out of 10 Italians (42%) who say they work from home every day (only 15% do not practise it at all).
In a place where you spend so much time, it is important to feel comfortable. What variables most influence perception? Cleanliness (61%), brightness (45%) and safety (42%) are considered to be the most important factors for wellbeing, more so for women. But the indoor climate (temperature and humidity) also plays an important role, being important to almost 4 out of 10 respondents (38%), much more so than acoustic comfort (relevant to only 25% of respondents) and air purity (21%).
The latter figure is relatively low compared to the importance attached to air quality by almost all respondents (93%). However, the general perception is that pollution is mainly found outdoors: public transport and outdoor urban spaces are indeed among the places considered most polluted (96%), while the home is perceived as a safe place. Indeed, 7 out of 10 Italians (70%) consider the air quality in their home to be good or very good.
Air treatment, between good habits and specific solutions
If temperature, humidity and air purity - in different proportions - influence well-being in the home, what do Italians consider to be the most effective measures to improve it? In the first two places are good and healthy daily habits, such as opening windows to ventilate rooms and not smoking indoors. But in third place (77% of respondents) is the use of a specific appliance to treat the temperature, humidity and purity of the air in the home. Air conditioners are the most common, present in the homes of almost 7 out of 10 Italians (65%), but dehumidifiers are also well represented (41%), while air purifiers and humidifiers are more niche technologies (owned by 21% and 14% of the sample respectively).
It is interesting to note that air conditioners, one of the most popular technologies in the air treatment segment, are also chosen for their multifunctionality, i.e. the presence of several functions in a single appliance. In fact, for almost 4 out of 10 Italians (37%), this is a feature that is evaluated during the purchase phase, after efficiency (64%) and quietness (57%). This figure is a good reflection of the current market situation, in which the main players are engaged in research and development of technologies capable of providing complete air treatment.
