Evidence of inadequate ventilation in portable classrooms : results of a pilot study in Los Angeles County

This paper deals with a pilot study in portable classrooms where neither adequate ventilation nor associated conditioning of indoor air for occupant comfort were provided. Concentrations of pollutants should be mitigated with an appropriate ventilation and should lead to a reduction of symptoms of "sick building syndrome"

Air and well being - a way to more profitability

Until recently, the air quality did not play a major role in the planning of buildings. Air qualitywas simply understood to be synonymous with pollution-free and safe air. This approach,however, omitted consideration of how to achieve the well-being of the occupants. Asresearch has shown, elimination of pollutants is far from being sufficient and does notsignificantly reduce the dissatisfaction rate of building occupants. More recently, research hasaddressed the occupants perception of indoor air with the goal of increasing their satisfactionrate.

Effect of temperature on perceived work environment, symptoms and selfestimated productivity in office work

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of elevated summer indoor temperatures onperceived comfort, symptoms and subjectively assessed productivity in an office building.The measurements during spring 2002 showed that indoor environment was at the normalFinnish office building level. The mean room temperature during the 2-week measurementperiod was 22C. An indoor air questionnaire (MM-40-FIN) including additional questionsabout work efficiency was presented to the employees during the measurements. Theperceived indoor environment was at the normal Finnish office level.

Effects of humidity and indoor air chemical pollutants on human comfort and productivity

Subjective experiments were conducted in summer and winter in order to clarify the effects ofhumidity and indoor chemical pollutants on subjective comfort and productivity, and evaluatethe seasonal differences in their reactions. Subjects were exposed to three levels of humidityconditions and 2 indoor air quality levels in a climate chamber performing the simulatedoffice works. For all conditions, SET* was constant. Subjects adapted to the indoor air qualityduring the 180-min exposures under the polluted conditions.

Environmental quality and the productive workplace

A good working environment will help to provide the user with a good sense of well-being,inspiration and comfort. The main advantages of good environments is in terms of reducedupgrading investment, reduced sickness absence, an optimum level of productivity andimproved overall satisfaction. Individuals respond very differently to their environments andresearch suggests a correlation between worker productivity and well-being, environmental,social and organizational factors.

Effects of building characteristics on self-reported productivity of office workers: the base study

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of building characteristics on selfreportedproductivity using the Building Assessment Survey Evaluation (BASE) dataset. Ofthe respondents surveyed, 28% reported one or more lost workdays over the last month due tobuilding-related symptoms, and 40% reported reduced ability to work.

Variable zone multipoint analysis in enclosure with turbulent transport properties in advanced thermal energy reduction technique

Many recently developed energy-reducing strategies with respect to heat loads in residential interiorsincluded in simulation programs possess extensive capabilities in handling these loads (gains orsinks) for each zone - spatial unit designed for maintaining moist air thermodynamics there.We have taken up procedure, which was primarily dedicated to the influence of the sensor positionsof a room model.

Indoor air quality in retrofitting educational buildings

For historical and demographical reasons, in many European countries, an important part of educational building must be retrofitted. These retrofitting must be carried out in a context of reduction of greenhouse emissions and energy consumption.Among different targets for retrofitting, there are the improvement of indoor environment. In fact, educational buildings are particularly vulnerable to indoor environment problems. Studies have indicated a correlation between the way educational buildings are designed, or retrofitted, and student performance.

Sick building syndrome : indoor quality and performance implications

Findings about sick building syndrome in Sydney’s offices are presented. The aim is to ascertain whether perceptions of sick building syndrome in offices impact on discrete aspects of workplace performance and management. One hundred offices in the Sydney

Development and sizing of a multicriterion facade element through different luminous, thermal and airflow tools

People that work in office buildings have new needs in terms of comfort within their work place. We suggest to develop a multicriteria office cell façade, allowing to control luminous, thermal and airflow parameters. It will be controlled to offer global

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