Submitted by Maria.Kapsalaki on Tue, 03/05/2024 - 14:05
Indoor air pollution is a significant concern due to its adverse effects on human health and productivity. With people spending most of their time indoors, exposure to indoor air contaminants can lead to various health issues, including respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, and even an increased risk of lung cancer and premature mortality. Additionally, poor indoor air quality can result in short-term symptoms like headaches, eye and throat irritation, fatigue, and asthma, impacting workplace productivity and absenteeism.
Submitted by Maria.Kapsalaki on Tue, 06/27/2023 - 12:04
Most existing office buildings are equipped with indoor environmental quality (IEQ) sensors that are connected to the Building Management System (BMS) and provide feedback to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). Unfortunately, they are often installed in locations selected based on practical reasons rather than for reliable representation of IEQ at actual workplaces. This leads to a difference in the IEQ sensed by the BMS and the occupants, resulting in increased complaints and decreased occupant satisfaction.
Submitted by Maria.Kapsalaki on Fri, 10/25/2013 - 17:43
Co2nserve is a commercially sponsored project aimed at developing a cost effective modular building that is able to meet sustainability, energy and carbon efficiency needs, and is adaptable to meet a wide range of occupancy applications. Building applications include light industrial production, warehousing, office accommodation, educational needs and health sector requirements. This paper describes the building development and design process. Maximum use is made of passive measures including natural ventilation, daylighting and natural cooling.
Reported symptoms from 2000 workers in air-conditioned offices and from 500 workers in natural ventilated buildings have been analyzed using univariate and multiple logistic regression models.The conclusion of that study is that buildings with air conditioning have a higher prevalence of work related upper respiratory symptoms than buildings with natural ventilation though located in tropical country with high relative and absolute humidity rates all around the year.
For that study, the constant concentration dosing method and the decay method were used to test air changes performances in an office equiped with a VAV mechanical ventilation system and in a domestic apartment with natural ventilation . The measurement results from those two tracer gas methods are compared.
In this paper the authors in order to reach the objective of a global approach of comfort by a spatial statistical study of the various discomforts, apply a multi-criteria analysis based on ELECTRE II method adapted to the comfort of air-conditioned indoor environment.
The international center for indoor environment and energy, at the Technical University of Denmark has at its disposal 3 old and 9 new spaces for studying indoor environments and their incidence on human comfort, health, productivity at moderate energy demands. This paper describes those climate chambers, new laboratory and offices used for field experiments.
For that study, 12 office rooms of a "Solar Optimised Building" in Germany have been monitored. The data have been evaluated by a new method for analysis that deals with short and long term measurements and with building simulation. A comparison between monitored data and simulation of a building with passive cooling by night ventilation is made on a long period.
This paper summarizes a series of 10 experiments made in offices in order to quantify the effects of indoor environmental factors on performance. It is possible that those effects of poor indoor air quality, have caused the reduction of performance in office work.
This series is extended to carry out field experiments on air quality in schools.
This paper presents the results of a field experiment made on 30 female office workers : they were investigated on their perception of environmental conditions and the intensity of the Sick Building Symptoms if any, at 3 levels of temperature and humidity, and 2 levels of ventilation rate.
The conclusion is that working conditions improved when subjects worked at slightly lower levels of air temperature and humidity.