Quality of indoor air and functionality of ventilation in day care centres

The aim of the study was to develop solutions to the problems and deficiencies encountered inventilation systems of day care centres, and which were manifested as poor IAQ or excessiveenergy consumption in the buildings at the maintenance stage of their ventilation systems.During the afternoon rest hour the IAQ was monitored and other measurements of ventilationcapacity were made. The directors and maintenance personnel of the day care centres wereinterviewed and a questionnaire was presented to the staff.

Wall relative humidity: a simple and reliable index for predicting Stachybotrys chartarum infestation in dwellings

The aim of that study was to compare measurements of wall relative humidity (RH) to mold identification in 458 samples from 100 dwellings. The mold identification was made by a direct microcospic examination of a sample collected on the wall by means of the gummed paper technique. The conclusion of that study was that a simple measurement of wall RH is a reliable index for suspecting S. Chartarum infestation in a dwelling.

Health in occupants of energy efficient new homes

A pilot questionnaire study was carried out on two groups: 128 occupants of new homes' (52 R-2000) on the one hand and 149 occupants of control homes on the other hand: both the groups were questionned to compare their general and respiratory health at occupancy and one year later. Symptom scores improved significantly over the year of occupancy for the occupants of energy efficient homes.

Occurrence of phthalates and musk fragrances in indoor air and dust from apartments and kindergartens in Berlin (Germany)

The purpose of that study was to measure exposure levels of phthalates and musk fragrances in typical apartments, kindergartens and to estimate their effects on health. 59 apartments and 74 kindergarten in Berlin were studied.

Quality assessment in building investigations

IAQ investigators have a responsibility to give correct advice to the client. In cases with mould growth, the question of people’s health is often involved. Economical aspects can also be considerable due to the high costs of necessary actions during and

Criteria for design of indoor environment in sustainable buildings

There is a worldwide trend to develop a tool that can provide comprehensive assessment ofbuildings for sustainability. Many efforts were found to propose approaches for energy-savingand resource-recycling, and on the other hand buildings for sustainability should maintain theacceptable indoor environment quality to maintain the occupants health. This paper presentsa comprehensive index, IEI(AHP), composed of the filtered physical indicators, for quantitativeassessment on the built environment.

Multicriteria analysis method of health, IEQ and energy use for sustainable buildings

The stake of sustainable development is to ensure today's and future developments of awealthy and healthy society in a high quality environment. This is also valid for sustainablebuildings that should take account of environmental, economical and social stakes. Thisincludes, among others, low energy use, good indoor environment quality (IEQ) and health.One of the aims of the European HOPE project is to evaluate buildings from these points ofview.

Performance criteria for healthy buildings: target values for some indoor air quality parameters

The scope of this paper is the definition of some indoor air quality health-based criteria forhealthy buildings. One possible approach to establish indoor air quality health-based criteriacould be to define target values of a set of measurable parameters (chemical, physical andbiological) related to health. Target values to assess the parameters are set according to fullexposure (e.g. WHO guidelines, 24 h all people) or partial exposure (e.g., EPA guidelines, 8 haverage adult).

Performance-based building: a state-of-the-art with respect to healthy buildings

Within the European funded project PeBBu (Performance-Based Building), a state-of-the-artreport on the performance-based building (PBB) approach with focus on healthy buildings isprepared. It deals with methods, guidelines, protocols and tools to design, evaluate andmeasure the health status of buildings or designs for buildings. The health of buildings in thiscontext relates to air quality, ventilation, thermal comfort, noise and visual comfort.After an introduction into PBB, this paper summarizes the state-of-the-art with respect toperformance and healthy buildings.

Creating healthy buildings: early design stage and handing over are crucial

Regrettably, buildings often do not perform as expected or wanted by the users. Especiallywith regard to indoor environment, dissatisfaction is occurring frequently.

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