English

In order to clarify the effects on comfort and health of relative humidity and humidity ratio,subjective experiments were conducted in a climate chamber in Japan during the summer of2002. Fifteen subjects were exposed for 180 min, while being engaged in simulated officeworks and questionnaires. The experiments were conducted at a constant SET* (StandardNew Effective Temperature) with six different humidity conditions, namely [30%RH/6.13 g/kg],[37%RH/6.13 g/kg], [37%RH/7.45 g/kg], [45%RH/7.45 g/kg], [45%RH/8.97 g/kg],[55%RH/8.97 g/kg].

The aim of this quasi-experimental research was to investigate the influence of buildingrelated symptoms on self-reported productivity and work disruption based on a randomsample comprising 348 employees. The investigations were carried out in two air-conditioned,high rise office buildings located in South Africa. Respondents self-reported productivity wasassessed by their own ratings of how frequently symptoms reduced their ability to work andcaused them to leave work early or stay at home. In addition, work disruption due to sickbuilding syndrome (SBS) symptoms was determined.

Subjective experiments were conducted in summer and winter in order to clarify the effects ofhumidity and indoor chemical pollutants on subjective comfort and productivity, and evaluatethe seasonal differences in their reactions. Subjects were exposed to three levels of humidityconditions and 2 indoor air quality levels in a climate chamber performing the simulatedoffice works. For all conditions, SET* was constant. Subjects adapted to the indoor air qualityduring the 180-min exposures under the polluted conditions.

An experiment was performed to determine whether the sensory pollution emitted from a bagfilter that had been used for 3 months in a suburban area in Denmark was influenced bydifferent ways of operating the air-handling unit (AHU). Samples of the used filter were preconditioned to simulate three operating conditions: (1) switched off overnight; (2) airflowreduced to 10% overnight; and (3) continuous 100% operation. Outside air passed through thesamples and the acceptability of the air after the filter was assessed by a panel of subjects.

A good working environment will help to provide the user with a good sense of well-being,inspiration and comfort. The main advantages of good environments is in terms of reducedupgrading investment, reduced sickness absence, an optimum level of productivity andimproved overall satisfaction. Individuals respond very differently to their environments andresearch suggests a correlation between worker productivity and well-being, environmental,social and organizational factors.

The prevalence of SBS-symptoms is commonly used to characterize the indoor air quality ofbuildings. For economical analysis in building refurbishment and improvements of indoorenvironment, it would be very useful if we could quantitatively relate the prevalence orintensity of SBS-symptoms to productivity. The purpose of this study was to summarize thelinks between the SBS-symptoms and productivity, and demonstrate with a case study howthis information can be applied to a case building to evaluate the economical value of lowerprevalence of symptoms with a selected remedial measure.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of building characteristics on selfreportedproductivity using the Building Assessment Survey Evaluation (BASE) dataset. Ofthe respondents surveyed, 28% reported one or more lost workdays over the last month due tobuilding-related symptoms, and 40% reported reduced ability to work.

Subjective experiments were conducted in a climatic chamber to evaluate the effect ofindividual control of air velocity on productivity. For the condition of constant air velocity(CAV) subjects were not allowed to control air velocity and for the condition of preferred airvelocity (PAV) they were allowed to control it. The chamber was conditioned at airtemperatures of 31C, mean radiant temperature of 31C, and relative humidity of 50%. Severalcomputer tasks were given to the subjects to evaluate task performance.

A new derivation of productivity calculation model based on pollution loads and contaminantremoval effectiveness is applied and the effect of the improved ventilation efficiency onproductivity is estimated. The findings show that the proportion dissatisfied could be asuitable predictor of productivity loss due to indoor air quality in different kinds of officework. The proportion dissatisfied is possible to calculate from olf and decipol units. In a caseof one person per 10 m2 (0.1 olf/m2) and low-emitted material (0.1 olf/m2), the total sensorypollution load is 0.2 olf/m2.

A method has been developed to investigate the comfort in office buildings. It is based onboth measurements and a questionnaire. The measurement apparatus, the so-calledAmbiometer, can record both the main comfort parameters, such as temperature, humidity,noise, light and odours, and the occupant's perceived comfort. Information regarding theindoor climate and the working environment is noted on the questionnaire.Experiments were conducted on about 50 offices in France.