scholarly journals Low-Invasive CO2-Based Visual Alerting Systems to Manage Natural Ventilation and Improve IAQ in Historic School Buildings

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 3442-3468
Author(s):  
Francesca Avella ◽  
Akshit Gupta ◽  
Clara Peretti ◽  
Gianmaria Fulici ◽  
Luca Verdi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Architectural Features ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Alerting Systems ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

Children spend a large part of their growing years in schools, and as they are more sensitive to some pollutants than adults, it is essential to monitor and maximize the indoor air quality (IAQ) in classrooms. Many schools are located in historic and heritage buildings, and improving the IAQ, preserving the architectural features, poses a great challenge. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a low-invasiveness, low-cost, smart CO2-based visual alerting systems to manage natural ventilation and improve IAQ in historic school buildings. Indoor and outdoor parameters were monitored for three weeks in four schools with different levels of education (two classrooms per school; device installed in one only). Based on indoor CO2 concentration, air temperature and relative humidity, the device suggests when windows should be opened to ventilate. The comparison between the two classrooms show that the effectiveness of the device is highly dependent on the occupants: (i) reduction in the average CO2 concentrations of up to 42% in classrooms with frontal lesson and full occupancy, (ii) the device is not the most ideal solution for kindergarten due to the young age of the pupils, and (iii) it is more used during mild outdoor temperatures.

An Attempt to Improve Air Quality in Primary Schools

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Telejko ◽  
Ewa Zender-Swiercz
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Maximum Value

Most primary school buildings in Poland rely on natural ventilation. This fact is attributed to the age of these buildings constructed more than dozen or even several tens of years ago. Few of them were fitted with a mechanical ventilation system allowing for the adjustment of microclimate parameters. The national requirements for gravity ventilation provide general guidelines, specifying strict description only for the airtightness of windows and doors and the minimum airflow to be supplied to the rooms. The minimum airflow supplied is independent of the number of occupants and purpose of the room. Low indoor air quality (IAQ) can impact occupants’ health and lead to poor productivity or low academic performance. Therefore the provision of good IAQ in classrooms and laboratories is very important. This paper presents the results of the investigation devoted to the quality of indoor air in classrooms of selected Polish primary school. Six primary school in a town with a population of 200 000 inhabitants were involved in the investigations. The participating school buildings were built between 1976 and 1994 and had gravity ventilation systems. The variability of basic IAQ parameters, i.e., temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide level, was analysed and the assessment of the classrooms in terms of microbiological purity was performed. The outcomes confirmed the low quality of the indoor air in these buildings. The maximum value of CO2 concentration amounted to more than 4000 ppm. Certain modifications aimed at improving IAQ were proposed during the investigations. Two solutions were implemented. The results of this study indicate that the proposed solution offers the potential to improve IAQ within classrooms.

scholarly journals Winter Thermal Comfort and Perceived Air Quality: A Case Study of Primary Schools in Severe Cold Regions in China

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5958
Author(s):  
Fusheng Ma ◽  
Changhong Zhan ◽  
Xiaoyang Xu ◽  
Guanghao Li
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Heating Season ◽  
Cold Regions

In Northeast China, most classrooms in primary and secondary schools still use natural ventilation during cold days in winter. This study investigated the thermal comfort and the perceived air quality of children in primary schools in severe cold regions in China. Field measurements were conducted in four typical primary classrooms in two naturally ventilated teaching buildings in the winter of 2016 in the provincial city of Shenyang. Six field surveys were distributed to 141 primary students aged 8 to 11, and 835 valid questionnaires were collected. The results showed that the indoor temperature and the daily mean CO2 concentrations of the primary school classrooms ranged from 17.06 to 24.29 °C and from 1701 to 3959 ppm, respectively. The thermal neutral temperature of the primary school students was 18.5 °C, and the 90% thermal comfort temperature ranged from 17.3 to 20.1 °C. Children were able to respond to changes in indoor air quality, but there was no significant correlation between the children’s perceptions of air quality and the carbon dioxide levels in the classroom. In general, children have a lower comfort temperature than adults. In addition, children are more sensitive to temperature changes during the heating season than adults. Due to differences in thermal sensation between children and adults, the current thermal comfort standard based on adult data is not applicable to primary school buildings and children. The air quality evaluation during heating season indicates that it is necessary to add indoor air environment monitoring instruments and purification equipment to the naturally ventilated classrooms. At present and in the future, more research based on children’s data is needed to solve the indoor air environment problems in primary school buildings.

Analysis of Thermal Comfort and Air Quality in the Kindergarten Hart - A Case Study of a Unique Sustainable Building Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
pp. 500-507
Author(s):  
Matthias Schuss ◽  
Mahnameh Taheri ◽  
Ulrich Pont ◽  
Ardeshir Mahdavi
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Present Contribution ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

The present contribution, reports on the results of ongoing research efforts on performance assessment of a number of buildings designed by the Austrian architect, Konrad Frey. He is a pioneer of energy-efficient architecture, and his designs, those dating back to the 1970s, adapted the principles of modern solar houses. The current study focuses on the Kindergarten Hart, which was especially designed focusing on the availability of cross ventilation option in building. For the purpose of analyzing thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and the occupants’ adaptive actions with respect to natural ventilation, we conducted long-term monitoring under summer and winter conditions. The monitoring efforts covered indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, as well as the state of windows. Thereby, study of the monitored dataset provides a better understanding of the building performance. Moreover, it makes it possible to examine whether the architect’s expectations in terms of thermal comfort and indoor air quality levels are fulfilled or not. In addition, investigation of the occupants’ interactions with windows, together with indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, assists understanding of possible associations between the window opening/closing and environmental parameters, as well as potential optimization of the control-oriented actions.

scholarly journals Preliminary evaluation of indoor thermal comfort in Malaysia heritage mosque

2019 ◽  
Vol 277 ◽  
pp. 02016
Author(s):  
W F M Yusoff ◽  
N H Ja'afar
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Field Measurement ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Adaptive Model ◽  
Indoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

Malaysia heritage buildings are the country's architectural gems. Among them is the religious building such as mosque. The Malaysia heritage mosque is normally built in response to the local culture and environment. Unlike most of Malaysia modern mosques where air conditioning is opted as ventilation mode, the heritage mosques achieve indoor thermal comfort via the passive architectural design. Due to that, this study was executed with the purpose of investigating the indoor thermal comfort of a Malaysia heritage mosque located at traditional street in Melaka, namely Masjid Tanah. The methodology used in the study was field measurement, in which the parameters measured were the indoor and outdoor air temperatures. The field measurement was conducted for two days in the end of March and early of April 2018, from 9 am to 4 pm. The indoor predicted comfort temperature was derived using the adaptive model. The findings indicated that the measured indoor air temperatures were lower than the indoor predicted comfort temperatures at most of the time. Therefore, it shows that the passive architectural design adopted by the Malaysia heritage mosque, which is Masjid Tanah, is able to provide indoor thermal comfort to the users.

Mycotoxins in the ventilation systems of four schools in Finland

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hintikka ◽  
R. Holopainen ◽  
A. Asola ◽  
M. Jestoi ◽  
M. Peitzsch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Fungal Species ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Penicillic Acid ◽  
Air Samples ◽  
Ventilation Ducts ◽  
Chaetoglobosin A ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor ◽  
Ventilation Systems

Some fungal species have been listed as a problem causing fungi in indoor air and most of this group are known to produce mycotoxins. So far, mycotoxins have been found in building materials and in samples representing settled indoor air dust, as well in air samples from industrial or agricultural environments. The present paper presents the results of a mycological study and mycotoxin analyses of dust collected from mechanical ventilation systems in four school buildings in southern Finland. The aim of this work was to answer the question 'Are there mycotoxins in ventilation systems and if so, from where do they originate?' A total of 40 mycotoxins representing indoor and outdoor sources alike were screened in this study, while cultivable fungi were screened using four different cultivation media. Mycotoxins were present in all ventilation systems studied, both in the supply and the exhaust systems examined. The mycotoxins found included satratoxins, verrucarol, trichodermol, enniatins, beauvericin, penicillic acid, sterigmatocystin, chaetoglobosin A, and aflatoxins B1. The mycotoxins were present in minute quantities (pg-ng/g or pg-ng/cm2). The fungal genera associated with respective mycotoxins were found in most of the same sources. Since much the same mycotoxins could be established in both exhaust and supply air systems, it would appear that the mycotoxins found in the schools studied do not for the most part originate from sources within the building but are either normal artefacts of incoming supply air or concentrate or are perhaps produced within the ventilation systems due to infrequent changing of filters and maintenance/cleaning of ventilation ducts and associated parts of the systems.

scholarly journals Seasonal variations and the influence of ventilation rates on IAQ: A case study of five low-energy London apartments

2021 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2110171
Author(s):  
Samuel Stamp ◽  
Esfand Burman ◽  
Clive Shrubsole ◽  
Lia Chatzidiakou ◽  
Dejan Mumovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Seasonal Variations ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Ventilation Rates ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

The indoor air quality (IAQ) of five low-energy London apartments has been assessed through the measurement of 16 key pollutants, using continuous and diffusive methods across heating and non-heating seasons. This case study approach aimed to assess the presence of pollutants within low-energy apartments and to better understand the role of ventilation and seasonal variations in indoor air quality. The results indicate strong seasonal variations, driven by increased natural ventilation rates over the summer monitoring period. A combined metric for indoor and outdoor pollutants ( Itot) suggests that the IAQ in the winter ( Itot = 17.7) is more than twice as bad as that seen in the summer ( Itot = 8.6). Formaldehyde concentrations were lower in the non-heating season, indicating increased ventilation rates more than offset increased off-gassing, in contrast to findings in other studies. However, increased summertime ventilation rates were observed to increase the proportion of outdoor pollutants entering the internal environment. This resulted in higher indoor concentrations of NO2 in the summer than the winter, despite significant reductions in outdoor concentrations. These results demonstrate the impact of ventilation practices upon IAQ, the influence of occupant actions and the complex relationship ventilation rates play in balancing indoor and outdoor sources of air pollution.

scholarly journals Multisensor IoT Platform for Optimising IAQ Levels in Buildings through a Smart Ventilation System

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 5777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Chiesa ◽  
Silvia Cesari ◽  
Miguel Garcia ◽  
Mohammad Issa ◽  
Shuyang Li
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Pollutant Concentrations ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) issues have a direct impact on the health and comfort of building occupants. In this paper, an experimental low-cost system has been developed to address IAQ issues by using a distributed internet of things platform to control and monitor the indoor environment in building spaces while adopting a data-driven approach. The system is based on several real-time sensor data to model the indoor air quality and accurately control the ventilation system through algorithms to maintain a comfortable level of IAQ by balancing indoor and outdoor pollutant concentrations using the Indoor Air Quality Index approach. This paper describes hardware and software details of the system as well as the algorithms, models, and control strategies of the proposed solution which can be integrated in detached ventilation systems. Furthermore, a mobile app has been developed to inform, in real time, different-expertise-user profiles showing indoor and outdoor IAQ conditions. The system is implemented in a small prototype box and early-validated with different test cases considering various pollutant concentrations, reaching a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 3–4.

scholarly journals Diversity of yeast-like fungi and their selected properties in bioaerosol premises utility

2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Ejdys ◽  
Maria Dynowska ◽  
Anna Biedunkiewicz ◽  
Ewa Sucharzewska
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Inorganic Compounds ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Specific Substrate ◽  
Carotenoid Pigments ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Outdoor Air ◽  
Heating Season ◽  
Physiological Characters ◽  
Indoor And Outdoor

A total of 69 isolates of yeasts were recorded in the indoor air of the school buildings: 43 in heated rooms and 26 in unheated rooms. Perfect stages prevailed. Fungi isolated in our study belonged to 39 species. These were mostly monospecific isolates although five two-species isolates were noted. Differences in the properties of physiological characters of fungi isolated in both study seasons were observed. As indoor and outdoor air does not mix during the heating season, a specific substrate for prototrophic, non-fermenting yeastlike fungi forms. Acid production allows fungi to dissolve inorganic compounds in building structures and to release needed microcomponents. Abilities to produce carotenoid pigments are clearly promoted in yeast-like fungi living indoor. This may be related to the accumulation of compounds that are indirect stages in the cycle of biosynthesis of carotenoids or a surplus of oxidizing compounds.

scholarly journals Indoor Air Quality and Sustainability Management—Case Study in Three Portuguese Healthcare Units

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Fonseca ◽  
Isabel Abreu ◽  
Maria Guerreiro ◽  
Cristina Abreu ◽  
Ricardo Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
June July ◽  
Management Case Study

Adequate management of indoor air quality (IAQ) in healthcare units has relevant impacts on sustainability performance due to its effects on patient safety, occupational health and safety, and energy consumptions. This study sought to identify improvement opportunities on IAQ management by collecting and analyzing experimental data of selected parameters in three healthcare units in Portugal: Two general hospitals and one primary healthcare center. Indoor air temperature, relative humidity, CO2, bacteria, and fungi concentrations were measured in summer and winter campaigns in June/July 2017 and in January/March 2018. Results show that the exclusive use of natural ventilation is not adequate when the affluence of users is high, but the analyzed parameters revealed acceptable results under low occupation intensity conditions. Results also show that keeping low indoor air relative humidity has a significant impact in reducing fungi concentration and that there is a significant correlation at the 0.05 level between indoor air CO2 concentration and bacterial loads. Therefore, as opportunities to improve sustainability, IAQ management in healthcare facilities should consider natural ventilation as a complement to mechanical ventilation systems and should focus on adequate control of indoor air relative humidity and CO2 concentration to reduce the risk of airborne infections.

scholarly journals Analysis of Indoor Air Pollutants and Guidelines for Space and Physical Activities in Multi-Purpose Activity Space of Elementary Schools

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Yeo-Kyung Lee ◽  
Young Il Kim
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Ventilation ◽  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Activity Space ◽  
Optimum Number ◽  
Ventilation Systems

Owing to the recent increase in the number of warning reports and alerts on the dangers of fine dusts, there has been an increasing concern over fine dusts among citizens. In spaces with poor ventilation, the occupants are forced to open the window to initiate natural ventilation via the direct introduction of the outside air; however, this may pose a serious challenge if the external fine-dust concentration is high. The lack of natural ventilation increases the indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, thus necessitating the installation of mechanical ventilation systems. This study analyzed the frequency of the application of mechanical ventilation systems in the Multi-purpose activity space of elementary schools, which are spaces where children require a higher indoor air quality than adults owing to the rapid increase in the CO2 concentration of the Multi-purpose activity space during activities. In addition, the architectural and equipment factors of the Multi-purpose activity spaces of nine elementary schools were characterized. The results revealed that five out of the nine elementary schools installed mechanical ventilation systems, whereas the remaining four schools installed jet air turnover systems. The indoor air quality of the Multi-purpose activity space of D elementary school, which had the minimum facility volume among the schools investigated in this study (564.2 m3), with up to 32 participants for each activity, was investigated. The results revealed that the ultrafine-dust (PM2.5) concentration of the facility was as high as 4.75 µg/m3 at a height of 1.2 m, and the CO2 concentration was as high as 3183 ppm. The results of the analysis of three elementary schools with different volumes were compared and analyzed using CONTAM simulation. This study determined the required volume per occupant and the optimum number of occupants for a given volume and presented guidelines for the optimum number of occupants, activities, and volume to reduce the high concentration of pollutants in the analyzed Multi-purpose activity space. The guideline proposed in this study is aimed at maintaining the CO2 concentration of the Multi-purpose activity space below 1000 ppm, as prescribed by the Indoor Air Quality Control in Public-Use Facilities, Etc. Act in South Korea.

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