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An advanced supply air filtration unit has been developed, and its performance was evaluatedin the laboratory. The filter consists of an electrically enhanced particle filter and an adsorbentfilter for gases. It has been designed for installation near supply air outlets. The performanceof the filtration unit was measured in the laboratory. The results showed that the filtrationefficiency for submicron particles was over 95% during the whole lifetime of the filter. Theremoval efficiency of the gas filter for toluene was also high, over 95%.

The ventilated ceiling is a flexible solution for kitchen ventilation where the heat loads arerelatively low and aesthetics is a concern. The use of hoods is an ideal solution for locallyhandling contaminants produced in concentrated areas. Thus, special attention should betaken on the ventilated ceiling which removes air at the ceiling level. The simulationsconducted show that the capture jet improves the total effectiveness of the ventilated ceiling.Indoor air quality is enhanced in an energy efficient manner.

The simulation has been performed using the CFD package SWIFT. In the first phase, meanflow and thermal comfort parameters of the integral living room of the modern family househave been calculated. In the second phase the effect of turbulence was the subject of interest.Two turbulence models, the k-e and the HTM (Hybrid Turbulence Model), were applied.HTM already showed good results in other application areas, e.g. aerodynamics of cars. Thepresent study demonstrates the new approach in modelling and calculating air conditioning ofthe rooms.

Calculating the contamination concentrations in a space or the required ventilation for a spacehas been a difficult and confusing part in the application of the IAQ Procedure ofANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. Appendix D ofASHRAE Standard 62 currently presents one method for performing these calculations, but itis limited to the steady-state analysis of a single zone.

The traditional ways of maintaining cleanliness, temperature and moisture level in anoperation theatre (OT) usually use larger HVAC system and keep both the heating andcooling functions operating at the same time. The temperature and moisture level are thusunder control at the cost of tremendous amount of wasted energy. Incorporating the HVACsystem with the newly developed secondary return air system, the system capacity can bereduced while the energy efficiency can be increased. In this paper, concepts of the secondaryreturn air system are described.

An assessment concept is being developed for iterative design of office buildings withintegrated energy and indoor comfort solutions. An indexing system has been devised thatincorporates environmental effects of energy use with thermal and atmospheric indoor climatein a score on a common scale from 0 to 100%, called the Eco-factor. Only the operativephase of the building life cycle is considered. Only indoor climate aspects that are closelyinter-related with energy use are considered: Thermal comfort and Indoor Air Quality.

A Personalised Ventilation system provides occupants with means of adjusting their individualthermal environment and of achieving good indoor air quality. The individual control ofenvironmental variables makes it possible to compensate for the differences between people withregard to their requirements. In most tropical designs, the air-conditioning and mechanicalventilation system maintains the indoor spaces at cold temperatures in the vicinity of 21 C.

Knowledge about gender-relate exposures is rare. Therefore, based on a patient collective in environmental medicine gender specific aspects of surrounding exposures were investigated. Questionnaire data of 656 women and 501 men, who have to be affected by environment-related health disorders were retrospectively analyzed. Gender specific differences and risk factors were determined by frequency distributions. Significant differences between women and men could be shown for exposures at home and workplace, for behavioral risk factors, and for health effects.

Since 1987, in Germany advisory centers for environmental medicine were founded. In the present study the relevance of indoor air problems in a patient collective in environmental medicine was investigated. Questionnaire data of 772 patients, who consulted the former Consulting Center of Environmental Medicine (CEM) of the Medical Institute of Environmental Hygiene at the Heinrich Heine-University Duesseldorf because of the suspicion of environment-related health disorders, were retrospectively examined regarding exposures and health effects.

Our study conducted serial measurements of indoor air quality and sick building syndrome (SBS) of employees in eight air-conditioned office buildings to examine the association between indoor air pollution and the reporting symptoms of SBS. Airborne microbes, carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter (PM10), formaldehyde, and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) were measured in every test space within the buildings. Frequency of reporting symptoms and other environmental variables were documented by self-administrated questionnaires.