Correlation between sensory evaluation, chemical emission and odour description of building materials using different size of chambers

Building products, furniture and other products used indoor influence the indoor air quality. This implies that ventilation is not the only method to ensure good IAQ. Pollutant load reduction by using low-emitting materials is a far more effective way to improve the air quality inside a building. Measurement of chemical emissions is not enough to characterise the impact building materials have on indoor air quality. The odour of the product most also be evaluated because we do not measure or detect all possible compounds that may be present in the emissions and which may affect the sensory characteristics of the product. Sensory evaluation must be performed separately using human subjects as detectors as chemical measurements can not substitute human olfaction system, which processes the chemical stimulus resulting in a personal response. Standardised methods are available for chemical emission testing. Methods for sensory evaluation are still under development and validation.