English

The following article presents a method that outlines how to effectively construct buildingsthat emit only minimal concentrations of harmful airborne substances. The conception andimplementation of a label that certifies the ambient air quality of newly constructed andrenovated buildings by carrying out accredited, post-construction air quality evaluations, willtouched upon as well. In addition, a certified building of Swiss Life, Zurich will also beprofiled.

The article deals with air parameters in building exterior and interior. External air temperatureis the most important air parameter in the exterior. The temperature is influenced by local areaparameters. The annual external air temperature measurement in city centre and periphery inCentral Europe is presented. The article also contains multizone modeling and simulation ofindoor air quality during different boundary conditions (external environment), variousoccupations of interior and different types of ventilation and ventilation air amount.

Emissions and odors from different common indoor surface materials (waste woodenproducts, vinyl, linoleum, carpet, gypsum board, paint, wall coating materials etc.) wereinvestigated within this study. The measurements were conducted in a test chamber understandardized conditions (23C, 50%) and different ventilation rates. Chemical measurements(TVOC) and sensory assessments (odor intensity, perceived air quality) were done after the3rd day of building material exposure to standardized conditions.

In the present study Multi gas-sensor systems (MGSS) are used to evaluate the odor intensityas it is perceived by humans. These systems measure volatile compounds in a holistic mannerand present a signal pattern of the air sample. The model for the determination of the odorintensity consists of two major parts: discrimination into odor classes and subsequentquantification of the intensity. The discrimination is achieved by multivariate statisticalmethods or neural networks. The correlation to the intensity is done by odor class specificregression methods.

In the german research project a method had been developed and tested, which enables thesimple and safe integration of sensory tests into current test procedures under the AgBBscheme (see below). The method can provide a proper amount of sample air to the panellistsfor assessment, regardless of the size of the emission test chamber.A round-robin test is conducted to evaluate the combined emission/odour testing scheme. Astandardized building product is evaluated by eight laboratories concerning chemical andodorous emissions.

This paper shows first results of an ongoing research project, which aims to develop a transfermodel to link the odor intensity with the perceived air quality assessments. This model isbased on basis odors, which were in this research project selected according to the primaryodors defined by Amoore. Each basis odor measurement of the perceived intensity and airquality establish a transfer function between the intensity and the acceptability values. Thebasis odor samples are generated by using the saturation method and a dilution process withclean air.

The potential for reactions among indoor pollutants to generate reactive and highly irritatingproducts is a reason to maintain adequate ventilation rates and clean ventilation filters.Terpenoid (from recirculated air, a scenario common in the tropics) captured by ventilationfilters can react relatively quickly with ozone which may lead to downstream air supply thatcontain oxidized terpenoid and this may be perceived to be less acceptable than outdoor air.The chemical composition (water solubility and chemical reactivity) of these particlesstrongly governs their toxicity.

The impact of common building materials interaction on perceived air quality related to airchange level was studied. The methods of chemical analysis (TVOC) and subjective sensoryassessment was used. The measurements were conducted in test chamber under standardizedconditions (231C, 505%) and different ventilation rates. The positive impact of sorptionphenomenon on perceived air quality and user's wellbeing was found for most of the testedcombinations. The more significant sorption effect was found for materials with largerspecific surface.

Gaseous emission - CO2, NO, and NOx of gas stove has significant and harmful effect on indoorair quality (IAQ) in residential kitchens. To avoid increasing health risk it is essential touse mechanical ventilation such as kitchen hood. However, according former laboratory studies,extract air flow generated by typical hoods is not adequate to achieve required IAQ.

Phthalates are ubiquitous contaminants in indoor environments, and are reported to causeadverse health effects. Due to their semi-volatile nature, phthalate samples require a multisteppreparation before quantification with GC-MS. Many different sampling media,extraction procedures, and solvents are utilized in phthalate analytics, while comparisons andjustifications for each choice are lacking.