scholarly journals Indoor Comfort and Symptomatology in Non-University Educational Buildings: Occupants’ Perception

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Campano-Laborda ◽  
Samuel Domínguez-Amarillo ◽  
Jesica Fernández-Agüera ◽  
Ignacio Acosta
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Traditional Schools ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Thermal Systems ◽  
Concentration Variance ◽  
Air Purifier ◽  
Youth Population ◽  
Indoor Comfort ◽  
University Classrooms

The indoor environment in non-university classrooms is one of the most analyzed problems in the thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) areas. Traditional schools in southern Europe are usually equipped with heating-only systems and naturally ventilated, but climate change processes are both progressively increasing average temperatures and lengthening the warm periods. In addition, air renewal is relayed in these buildings to uncontrolled infiltration and windows’ operation, but urban environmental pollution is exacerbating allergies and respiratory conditions among the youth population. In this way, this exposure has a significant effect on both the academic performance and the general health of the users. Thus, the analysis of the occupants’ noticed symptoms and their perception of the indoor environment is identified as a potential complementary tool to a more comprehensive indoor comfort assessment. The research presents an analysis based on environmental sensation votes, perception, and indoor-related symptoms described by students during lessons contrasted with physical and measured parameters and operational scenarios. This methodology is applied to 47 case studies in naturally ventilated classrooms in southern Europe. The main conclusions are related to the direct influence of windows’ operation on symptoms like tiredness, as well as the low impact of CO2 concentration variance on symptomatology because they usually exceeded recommended levels. In addition, this work found a relationship between symptoms under study with temperature values and the environmental perception votes, and the special impact of the lack of suitable ventilation and air purifier systems together with the inadequacy of current thermal systems.

scholarly journals Indoor Climate Performance in a Renovated School Building

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2827
Author(s):  
Pavla Mocová ◽  
Jitka Mohelníková
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Concentration ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
School Building ◽  
Ventilation Strategy ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Microbiological Testing ◽  
Indoor Comfort

Indoor climate comfort is important for school buildings. Nowadays, this is a topical problem, especially in renovated buildings. Poorly ventilated school classrooms create improper conditions for classrooms. A post-occupancy study was performed in a school building in temperate climatic conditions. The evaluation was based on the results of long-term monitoring of the natural ventilation strategy and measurements of the carbon dioxide concentration in the school classroom’s indoor environment. The monitoring was carried out in an old school building that was constructed in the 1970s and compared to testing carried out in the same school classroom after the building was renovated in 2016. Surprisingly, the renovated classroom had a significantly higher concentration of CO2. It was found that this was due to the regulation of the heating system and the new airtight windows. The occupants of the renovated classroom have a maintained thermal comfort, but natural ventilation is rather neglected. A controlled ventilation strategy and installation of heat recovery units are recommended to solve these problems with the classroom’s indoor environment. Microbiological testing of the surfaces in school classrooms also shows the importance of fresh air and solar radiation access for indoor comfort.

scholarly journals Performance Evaluation of Particulate Matter and Indoor Microclimate Monitors in University Classrooms under COVID-19 Restrictions

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7363
Author(s):  
Laurentiu Predescu ◽  
Daniel Dunea
Keyword(s):  
Performance Evaluation ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Particle Counter ◽  
Thermal Environments ◽  
University Classrooms ◽  
Academic Personnel

Optical monitors have proven their versatility into the studies of air quality in the workplace and indoor environments. The current study aimed to perform a screening of the indoor environment regarding the presence of various fractions of particulate matter (PM) and the specific thermal microclimate in a classroom occupied with students in March 2019 (before COVID-19 pandemic) and in March 2021 (during pandemic) at Valahia University Campus, Targoviste, Romania. The objectives were to assess the potential exposure of students and academic personnel to PM and to observe the performances of various sensors and monitors (particle counter, PM monitors, and indoor microclimate sensors). PM1 ranged between 29 and 41 μg m−3 and PM10 ranged between 30 and 42 μg m−3. It was observed that the particles belonged mostly to fine and submicrometric fractions in acceptable thermal environments according to the PPD and PMV indices. The particle counter recorded preponderantly 0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 micron categories. The average acute dose rate was estimated as 6.58 × 10−4 mg/kg-day (CV = 14.3%) for the 20–40 years range. Wearing masks may influence the indoor microclimate and PM levels but additional experiments should be performed at a finer scale.

scholarly journals Mitigation Strategies for Overheating and High Carbon Dioxide Concentration within Institutional Buildings: A Case Study in Toronto, Canada

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Tam ◽  
Yuqing Zhao ◽  
Zaiyi Liao ◽  
Lian Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Hvac System

Indoor air quality and thermal conditions are important considerations when designing indoor spaces to ensure occupant health, satisfaction, and productivity. Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and indoor air temperature are two measurable parameters to assess air quality and thermal conditions within a space. Occupants are progressively affected by the indoor environment as the time spent indoors prolongs. Specifically, there is an interest in carrying out investigations on the indoor environment through surveying existing Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) system operations in classrooms. Indoor air temperature and CO2 concentration in multiple lecture halls in Toronto, Canada were monitored; observations consistently show high indoor air temperature (overheating) and high CO2 concentration. One classroom is chosen as a representative case study for this paper. The results verify a strong correlation between the number of occupants and the increase in air temperature and CO2 concentration. Building Energy Simulation (BES) is used to investigate the causes of discomfort in the classroom, and to identify methods for regulating the temperature and CO2 concentration. This paper proposes retro-commissioning strategies that could be implemented in institutional buildings; specifically, the increase of outdoor airflow rate and the addition of occupancy-based pre-active HVAC system control. The proposed retrofit cases reduce the measured overheating in the classrooms by 2-3 °C (indoor temperature should be below 23 °C) and maintain CO2 concentration under 900 ppm (the CO2 threshold is 1000 ppm), showing promising improvements to a classroom’s thermal condition and indoor air quality.

scholarly journals Experimental study on indoor environment quality in a naturally ventilated classroom of a university using natural ventilation and ventilation fan

2020 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 04082
Author(s):  
Jie Zong ◽  
Wenjun He ◽  
Lingna Wang ◽  
Hongkai Chai ◽  
Yingying Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Concentration ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Air Supply ◽  
Indoor Environment Quality ◽  
Jinan City ◽  
Ventilation Fan

Strengthening indoor ventilation is an important measure to improve air quality. In transitional season between spring and summer, a university classroom in Jinan city was selected as the research object. Mechanical air supply is adopted to solve the problem of insufficient fresh air or excessive carbon dioxide concentration in the classroom. CO2 concentration and air change rates are compared in natural ventilation and mechanical classrooms. The experiment shows that the indoor CO2 concentration of mechanical ventilation classroom is relatively low. Under natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation and mixed ventilation, the average air change rates were 1.05 h-1, 1.83 h-1 and 2.7 h-1, respectively. According to the statistics analysis of the questionnaire, 72.84% of the students hope to install the mechanical ventilation in the classroom.

Development and Performance of Roof-Based Building-Integrated Photovoltaic-Thermal Systems: A Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Cheng ◽  
Zhijun Zou ◽  
Guoqing Yu ◽  
Guobin Ma ◽  
Hai Ye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Total Efficiency ◽  
Thermal Systems ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Air Heating ◽  
Building Integrated Photovoltaic ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Heating And Cooling Load

Abstract A building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPVT) system integrates building envelope and photovoltaic-thermal collectors to produce electricity and heat. In this paper, the electrical and thermal performance of roof-based BIPVT systems developed in the recent two decades and their effects on heating and cooling load of the building are reviewed. According to the use of thermal energy from the photovoltaic (PV) panels, the roof-based BIPVT are classified into three classes: cooling of PV, air heating, and water heating. Each class is further divided into several types according to the designs of the integrated PV roofs. Compared with BIPV systems, the total efficiency of most BIPVT systems is significantly improved. However, the decrease in electricity output and adverse impact on the indoor environment is also found for some designs of BIPVT systems in some climates. The advantages and disadvantages of various designs are discussed. Issues to be further studied in the future are also provided in this review.

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