Air quality in naturally ventilated buildings.

Currently one of the most rapidly growing areas receiving attention is energy efficiency in buildings. In this context naturally ventilated buildings are an inevitable design solution. This paper reports preliminary observations of a project aimed at investigating pollution levels within these type of buildings. Due to the difficulty of predicting and controlling the amount of suspended particles entering naturally ventilated buildings an understanding of the type of pollutants, their size and their composition is necessary. Two types of pollutants were identified, those carried within the building from the outside under natural forces and/or by the occupants themselves as well as those generated within the building by the occupants. The effect of these type of pollutants on the sick building syndrome was also investigated.