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Research has confirmed that the well-being and the school performance of pupils dependsignificantly on the quality of the luminous environment, which can be achieved throughdaylight utilization. This paper focuses on the impact of different fenestration systems on thevisual comfort achieved in classrooms. Various window locations, clerestories, roof openingsand light shelves were examined with regard to indoor daylight conditions. The study wasconducted as a parametric analysis, in which models incorporating the above-mentionedsystems were generated on the basis of a typical classroom.

In this work, 36 basic schools of Lisbon city, Portugal followed a questionnaire of the ISAAC- International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Program. The questionnairecontains questions to identify children with respiratory diseases (wheeze, asthma and rhinitis)as well as their nutrition habits, ingested medication, environmental aspects, among others.The questioned children are 5 to 10 years old, and the answers are from June to December2006. The results are from 995 children inquired who have shown 26.7% with wheezingsymptoms, 9.2% with asthma, and 26.2% with rhinitis.

We performed a study on the effect of the discharge airflow rate of the ceiling type airconditioneron ventilation performance in the lecture room with the mixing ventilation. Theexperiments and CFD were conducted for analyzing ventilation performance. The concept ofmean air age and indoor CO2 concentration were used for evaluating ventilation performance.We made the CO2 generation model in the simulation and calculated a lot of cases withrespect to the airflow rate of air conditioner and the ventilation flow rate.

This study deals with Particle Matter (PM) levels below 2.5 ?m (PM2.5) in Portugal andshows that US EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) directive is exceeded ina few places. PM2.5 total mass concentration measured in several places located in Portugalmainland and islands and the outskirts are quite well correlated for a few sites. Results showthat it is important to determine the elemental composition of PM2.5, and to develop anepidemiological study in Portugal to find a possible association between PM2.5 levels, sourcesand morbidity/mortality.

This paper presents results from a principal component analysis (PCA) on variables affecting on indoor air quality in newly established buildings, in which low-emitting, classified building materials were used. The concentrations of TVOC, VOCs, formaldehyde and ammonia) were determined for the newly finished and 6-, and 12-month-old buildings. Temperature, relative humidity and air exchange rates were determined simultaneously. These values were included in the PCA models, which were used to reveal which variables affected indoor air quality (IAQ).

The impacts of indoor thermal environment on body physiology have been carried on for four years (2003-2007) in laboratory in Chongqing, a typical city located in hot-summer and cold-winter region in China. Experimental objectives used are healthy university students. The range of indoor air temperature in summer is 25 C - 37.5 C.The objectives physiological changes (Motor nerve Conduction Velocity, Sensory nerve Conduction Velocity, Skin Temperature etc.) under different temperatures and ventilations have been tested.

Concerns about energy efficiency, has brought new constructive trends researches. Aspects as environmental comfort is quite important, with regard to new constructive technologies, showing the need of standardizing Brazilian buildings to acquire thermal comfort. The necessity of new internal environment data in buildings has motivated surveys about it. The proposal is to present the constructive typologies of buildings and their indoor variables in Curitiba city, Parana state, South of Brazil, relating it to the Bioclimatic Chart, proposed by Givoni [1], for countries in development.

The effectiveness of UV radiation lamps in order to reduce fungal contamination of HEPA filters, to extend filter efficacy and to reduce maintenance costs, is experimentally studied by means of a dedicated air conditioning unit. An experimental HVAC system, with HEPA filters and UV-C lamps (?=254 nm), was built. Two experiments were performed. After disinfection and control of airtightness, the internal surface of the HVAC system was contaminated (1) with A. niger spores and (2) with Actynomices. Temperature level was 300 K and Relative Humidity (RH) ranged from 30-90%.

Cleaning ventilation system ductwork has been a topic of controversy for several years. Guidance documents are available for duct cleaning, but uniformity in application of remediation and cleaning methods is inconsistent in many cases. Means and methods for cleaning range from high-volume negative pressure vacuum cleaning of residential ductwork ...to use of sanitizing agents on the interior of galvanized ducts...to ultraviolet germicidal irradiation for treatment of re-circulated air and control of infectious viral aerosols in operating room suites.

The sources of man-made mineral fibres (MMMFs) settled on furniture surfaces and in supply air were determined in an office building. The impact of renovation on indoor air and the perception of air quality by the occupants were studied. Renovation improved the air-tightness of the inner parts of structures. Settled MMMFs were collected with gelatine tape by pressure and deposition techniques. MMMFs in supply air were collected using the filter installed to the supply diffuser.