Recent studies suggest the reactions between ozone and indoor materials and contaminants caninfluence human health and perceived indoor air quality within a building. This analysis uses datafrom the U.S. EPA Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) study to determine if there is anassociation between increasing outdoor ozone concentrations and increased reporting of BuildingRelated Symptoms (BRS) by occupants. Multiple logistic regression (MLR) models, which adjustedfor personal, workplace and environmental variables, revealed statistically significant (p
Methods of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been applied to predict the details of air,contaminant and thermal transport within isolated building zones, yet zone transport processes do notoccur in isolation they result from and interact with transport from the larger building system in whichthey are embedded. Consequently, there is a growing interest in combining CFD models of individualzones within multizone models of enclosing building systems to more faithfully model both the largerbuilding interactions and the intrazonal details.
Many homes in New Zealand are poorly constructed and maintained for the climate with inadequateheating resulting in winter temperatures that frequently fall below the World Health Organisationrecommended level of 18C. Approximately 30% of New Zealand homes are heated by unfluedportable gas heaters. To investigate the link between the indoor air environment and respiratory healtheffects in children, we studied 409 households that used unflued gas heaters or electric heating andhad an asthmatic child.
Increase of energy consumption and deforestation within cities has already begun raising average urbantemperature: this phenomenon is called urban heat island (UHL). A phenomenon in which there is aconsistent increase in urban air temperature and a decrease in the relative humidity as compare to ruralareas. Generally, research on this topic has been based on observational, theoretical and modelingapproaches.
The fungal index is a biological climate-parameter, which represents the environmental capacity toallow fungal growth. The author developed software that determines the computed fungal index,which was estimated using the Excel software "INDEX" from the measured temperature and relativehumidity. The computed fungal index and the measured fungal index, determined using a fungaldetector encapsulating fungal spores, were determined in 10 rooms in six dwelling houses.
During the last years there is an increased consciousnessof the environmental problems, which are created by the use of fossil fuels for electrical power generation consumed by converting cooling systems. In addition, the use of common working fluids (refrigerants), with their ozone-depleting and global warming potential, has become a serious environmental problem.
The article 6 clause 9 of the Italian Decree Law 192/05, that transposes the European Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD), supportsthe definition of simplified methods in order to carry out the energy certification of existing buildings minimizing costs imposed on final users.
In the previous study, it was found that urban heat island intensity in National University of Singapore (NUS) campusas high as 4oC at around 13:00. It is also concluded that the presence of dense greenery in NUS environment is very important in keeping low ambient temperature.National University of Singapore has announced its new master plan in 2005, entitled NUS Master Plan 2005. Many new buildings will be built and in some areas existinggreenery will be removed.
Urban development is unavoidable as the result of country’s economic growth. Without a careful planning, a city may cause environment destruction. Singapore is known to have the best environmental quality in the world. However, in the previous research on
As the EPBD related regulations can not cover all possible kind of new technologies, Member States have to develop “principle of equivalence” procedures, in order to allow the assessment of the systems not covered by the standard calculation procedures. This paper will first discuss the overall context, followed by a description of the approach used in several countries. Then, a brief summary of related international projects is given. Finally, there is a more in depth presentation of the approach proposed in Belgium.