Air quality in a simulated office environment as a result of reducing pollution sources and increasing ventilation

That study aims at proving that the use of low-polluting building materials leads to an improvement of the air quality. For the experiment the space of an office qualified as low polluting has been altered by introducing indoor pollution sources (such as linoleum, wooden shelves, books and paper documents) and an outdoor air supply rate altered too. The concentrations of VOCs were measured in those different conditions along with the perception of the air quality assessed by a panel of 30 female subjects.

Passive ventilation cooling in urban buildings : an estimation of potential environmental impact benefits.

This paper describes work currently being carried out to evaluate the environmental impact and energy savings potential from the application of passive ventilation cooling in urban buildings. The work is carried out as part of an ALTENER project focussing on solar and passive ventilation for urban buildings. The study involves the collection of information for current building stock in four European countries; UK, France, Spain and Greece.

Thermal comfort in Algeria - Preliminary results of a field study

A field survey on thermal comfort in Algeria has never been previously attempted, and for this reason the present study was conducted. The present paper will present a field study of thermal comfort in Algeria. A thermal comfort survey has been held among 160 persons in 4 towns of Algeria representing three different climatic regions. The survey has been carried out in two different types of buildings: Domestic buildings and Office buildings. Subjective data were collected from 160 people by the use of questionnaires.

Thermal comfort in low-cost dwellings : a case study in Curitiba, Brazil

The main goal of the present study was to determine thermal comfort parameters for dwellers of low-cost houses for a given set of indoor environmental conditions. 112 people living in over 60 dwellings were interviewed, according to a comfort questionnaire where information regarding age, sex, clothing, level of activity, thermal sensation and preference of the subjects was collected. Environmental factors such as air temperature and humidity were simultaneously registered with T/RH data-loggers. Results were then analyzed by comparing subjective and environmental factors.

Building sickness syndrome in healthy and unhealthy buildings: an epidemiological and environmental assessment with cluster analysis.

Describes a study which was aimed at investigating whether relations between symptoms of sick building syndrome and measured environmental factors existed within state of the art air conditioned buildings with satisfactory maintenance programmes expected to provide a healthy indoor environment. Studied five buildings, using a questionnaire followed by a detailed environmental survey.

Health symptoms and the work environment in four non-problem United States office buildings.

Describes a study which aimed to quantify health symptom reports in four 'non-problem' buildings. Also attempted to assess the relationship between symptoms and air quality measures, characteristics of workstations and psychosocial aspects of the workplace. The method used environmental sampling and a questionnaire. High report of symptoms contrasted with low measured contaminant levels. Symptoms were associated with occupant perception of air movement, dryness, odour, and noise.

Development and application of an indoor air quality audit to an air-conditioned building in Singapore.

Good indoor air quality (IAQ) enhances occupant health, comfort and workplace productivity. This issue has become more critical in a country like Singapore that has no other natural resources except manpower. In addition, Singapore is located in the tropical region with a hot and humid climate and a large number of the buildings are served by air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation (ACMV) systems to maintain a thermally comfortable indoor environment. The provision of a thermally comfortable indoor environment for the occupants is only one aspect in achieving better indoor air quality.

Development of a multiple regression model to identify multi-family residential buildings with a high prevalence of sick building syndrome (SBS).

The aim was to develop a multiple logistic regression model to identify multi-family houses with an increase of sick building syndrome (SBS). In Stockholm, 609 multi-family buildings with 14,235 dwellings were selected by stratified random sampling. The response rate was 77%. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied, adjusting for ownership of the building, building age and size, age, gender, and atopy. Females, subjects with allergy, those above 65 yr, and those in new buildings reported significantly more SBS.

Mouldy houses - building science lessons from the Wallaceburg Project.

Thirty-nine houses with high levels of biologically active contaminants in Wallace burg, Canada, and twenty houses with low levels of biologically active contaminants, were subjected to field inspections and testing, monitoring of indoor environmental conditions, and simulation to predict the condensation formation potential in winter. Occupant health was evaluated through questionnaires and blood sampling from an index child (closest to age ten) for analyses of T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte structure.

Ventilation in the French homes: survey of the attitudes and behaviour of private citizens.

ADEME (French Agency for Environment and Energy Management) regularly commissionssurveys of the attitudes and behaviour of private citizens with regard to energy, andperiodically it also commissions more detailed surveys relating to a particular appliance.The purpose of the survey is to take stock of changing attitudes in households with regard totheir use of energy and to assess the impact of ADEME's policies relating to the home.The questionnaire covers the following aspects: description of the work carried out during theyear surveyed, tax allowances and/or grants applicable to certain ki

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