Monitoring pollutants in occupied spaces

There is increasing evidence of a causal link between airborne particles and ill health and thisstudy monitored the exposure to both airborne particles and the gas phase contaminants ofenvironmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in a nightclub.The present study followed a number of pilot studies in which the human exposure toairborne particles in a nightclub was assessed and the spatio-temporal distribution of gas phasepollutants was evaluated in restaurants and pubs.

Subjective response to the thermal comfort in heated dwellings

The main aim of a heating system is to provide the objective thermal comfort parameters. The subjective thermal sensation of users is a very important aspect.The paper presents the results of experimental measurements on thermal comfort of indoorenvironment. The investigation was carried out in two blocks of flats. They were alike, but forthe installed thermal valves.

Thermal characteristics of a partition air supply system at a personal task area

A partition integrated air supply system can provide highly personalized environmentalcontrol. The supply air is brought up through raised floors and supplied to outlets located onthe partition panels. The purpose of this paper is to find the best design of outlets for optimaloccupant comfort within a personal task area.Real-scale experiments were conducted to allow for comparisons of outlet designs within apersonal task area.

Thermal and airflow behaviour of buildings model reduction

We describe the implementation of a model reduction tool within a software dedicated tothermal and airflow simulation. The goal is to allow the use of more detailed models. Wecompare experimental results and simulations results. We show the usefulness of the balancedreduction model for thermal and airflow simulation.

IAQ assessment in a large school of arts worker exposure to fine particulate matter and VOCs

The aim of this work was to assess the influence of the ambient air quality and some indoorsources on the concentration levels of airborne fine particles and volatile organic compoundsin a large school of arts. Measurements were conducted, for both indoor and supply air, ineight office rooms in four floors controlled by four separate air handling units (AHU). Fineparticle measurements by SMPS in the size range 15-700 nm indicate that the placement ofthe HVAC air feed points and different AHUs affect the total particle concentration and sizedistribution in the supply air.

Biomakers and other substitute measures in indoor air sciences

The variables that can be quantified in biological systems are called biomarkers. In a broadest sense biomarkers are substitute measures used because the variable of interest cannot be measured for practical, economical or principal reasons.The quality of a substitute measure refers to the quality of the predictions which can be made based on it. Those predictions must have a very low frequency of mistakes.The indices cannot be used alone unless better documentation of the quality of their predictions is established.

Risk assessment of formaldehyde in typical office buildings in Taiwan

Field investigations have been conducted for that study in 5 office buildings of Taiwan to assess the risk of formaldehyde exposure for general population.This study demonstrates that the level of formaldehyde emitted from building materials can be affected by climatic conditions such as temperature and relative humidity. Consumers must be protected from exposure and it is urgent to help the industry to develop low emission materials in that part of the world.

Indoor conditions in ultra-lightweight structures: a case study

This paper reports a number of physical indexes for the assessment of the indoorenvironmental quality of new steel truss structures, used as classrooms at the CataniaUniversity Campus (southern Italy).By means of a multi-channel recording apparatus and questionnaires filled in by thestudents, the following data were collected: indoor dry bulb temperature, relative humidity, airvelocity, mean radiant temperature, workplane illuminance, PMV, PPD, MV, MMV. On thebasis of these data, the comfort requirements are not achieved.

Practical thermal sensing measurement and neural-thermal comfort index

The primary purpose of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is to makeoccupants comfortable. Without real-time practical measurement and method to determinehuman thermal comfort, it may not be feasible that the HVAC system can provide humancomfortable all the time. This paper presents a practical measurement and model to determinehuman thermal comfort index for feedback control. The proposed model is developed basedon the original thermal comfort index called predicted mean vote (PMV) index by applyingfeed-forward neural network model.

Indoor air climate and microbiological contamination in dental clinics

The use of high-speed rotary and spray-producing instruments can pose a serious risk indental clinics, by continuously creating a potential harmful contamination of the room. Indoorclimate parameters (temperature, relative humidity) and microbiological airbornecontamination (total bacterial count at 37C, fungal particles) were evaluated in 12 privatedental clinics, partially equipped with air conditioning systems. Carbon dioxide airconcentrations were also measured to evaluate the efficacy of air exchange. Air microbialcounts were highest in the consulting rooms and waiting rooms.

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