indoor air quality

A new concept, the spatial flow influence factor (SFIF), put forward by us in our previous paper, provides a new insight into the airflow structure. In this paper, several typical illustrative examples are presented to show: (1) how to optimally arrange the chemical pollutant sources and the occupied regions for a given indoor airflow; (2) how to optimize the position of adsorption materials. From the examples,  it is seen that the concept is powerful in the control of indoor air gas pollutants.

In this study, the characteristics of the movement of chemical compounds in the concealed spaces and indoor spaces in houses were investigated using building cut models and a simulation program Fresh2006. The equivalent leakage areas in the concealed spaces were measured using cut models of wooden structures: a common wooden structure, an improved wooden structure and a wooden (2 inch x 4 inch) stud structure.

Traffic–related pollutant has been recognized as an air pollution hot spot due to its large emission rate and great health impacts for the exposed population. In the present investigation, a computational fluid dynamics technique is used to evaluate the effect of traffic pollutions on indoor air quality of a naturally ventilated building. The transport of street-level nonreactive pollutants emitted from motor vehicles into the indoor environment is simulated using the RNG k-ε model of the turbulent flows and the pollutant transport equations.

Building indoor environment quality (IEQ) has received growing attentions lately because of the extended time people spend indoors and the increasing reports of health problems related to poor indoor environments. Recent alarms to potential terrorist attacks with airborne chemical and biological agents (CBA) have further highlighted the research needs on building vulnerability and protection.

As strategies for improving building envelope and HVAC equipment efficiencies are increasingly required to reduce building energy use, a greater percentage of energy loss will occur through building envelope leakage. Although the energy impacts of unintended infiltration on a building's energy use can be significant, current energy simulation software and design methods are generally not able to accurately account for envelope infiltration and the impacts of improved airtightness.

Owing to the growing concern about indoor air quality (IAQ) globally in hospitals, especially after the recent outbreak of diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Swine Flu (H1N1) and other airborne infections such as Tuberculosis, the quest for energy efficient ventilation system is growing. To provide acceptable indoor air quality that is capable of removing indoor air contaminants in hospital wards, sustainable ventilation strategy is required.

The indoor environment and occupants’ health of approximately 5,000 residential buildings were investigated by a questionnaire covering entire Japan. The purpose of this survey is to clarify the association between indoor air pollution and adverse health effect, and to study effective ways of keeping indoor air clear with ventilation systems in house. Questionnaires were distributed to 7,812 occupants living in a house with a mechanical ventilation system across 47 Prefectures in Japan on February 2012 using internet survey web site.

As a consequence of the energy and environmental issues, it is necessary to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. So, the air tightness of building envelopes is being improved and the air change rate due to infiltration is decreasing. It is then even more important than in the past that the buildings are equipped with well designed and working ventilation systems in order that the air renewal within buildings is ensured. In this context, the market of balanced ventilation systems with heat recovery for dwellings is growing. 

The exposure of children to indoor air pollutants in school classrooms might cause them adverse health effects. In order to confront this issue, the in-depth study and evaluation of the indoor air quality in classrooms is necessary. The aims of this study are to characterize the environmental factors that affect indoor air quality.

Air quality in the office room areas, as well as their energy demands for heating and cooling are directly depended on the ventilation levels in those rooms. Specifically, high internal air quality requires high levels of ventilation and therefore high energy demands. On the other hand, high energy savings can be accomplished by full building impermeability, which means low to none ventilation and at the same time low air quality.