scholarly journals Modelling VOC Emissions from Building Materials for Healthy Building Design

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Alessandro D’Amico ◽  
Agnese Pini ◽  
Simone Zazzini ◽  
Daniela D’Alessandro ◽  
Giovanni Leuzzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Absolute Number ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Good Correspondence ◽  
Guide Value

The profound qualitative changes of indoor air and the progressive increase in the absolute number of pollutants, combined with the scientific awareness of the health impacts deriving from spending more than 90% of one’s time inside confined spaces, have increased the attention onto the needs of well-being, hygiene, and the health of users. This scientific attention has produced studies and analyses useful for evidence-based insights into building performance. Among the main pollutants in the indoor environment, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) play a central role, and the use of box-models using the mass balance approach and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models are now consolidated to study their concentrations in an indoor environment. This paper presents the use of both types of modelling for the prediction of the VOC concentration in the indoor environment and the proposal of a guide value for the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)-oriented building design, specifically related to the indoor VOC concentration due to building materials. Methodologically, the topic is addressed through environmental sampling, the definition of the parameters necessary for the numerical models, the simulations with the box-model and the CFD, and the comparison between the results. They show a good correspondence between the modelling tools used, highlighting the central role of ventilation and allowing a discussion of the relationship between regulatory limits of emissivity of materials and Indoor Air Guide Values for the concentration of pollutants.

scholarly journals Revised Finnish classification of indoor climate 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 02017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mervi Ahola ◽  
Jorma Säteri ◽  
Laura Sariola
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Fine Particles ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Environmental Classification ◽  
Target Values

The Finnish Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (FiSIAQ) introduced a Classification of Indoor Climate, Construction Cleanliness, and Finishing Materials in 1995. The Classification of Indoor Climate has been revised to meet the new Decree on indoor air quality and ventilation, European standards and experience from users of the classification. The most significant change is that target values for concentration and the in/out ratio of fine particles have been added. Other adjustments have been made to ensure good indoor environment and energy efficiency, but with reasonable investments. The criteria for emissions from building material and furniture were also updated. The Building Information Foundation RTS sr has run the M1-labelling of building products since 1996. The voluntary approach has been proven to improve the IAQ in new buildings and to reduce emissions from building materials. The Classification of Indoor Environment 2018 is integrated part of the new RTS Environmental Classification system.

scholarly journals BIM for Healthy Buildings: An Integrated Approach of Architectural Design based on IAQ Prediction

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 10417
Author(s):  
Alessandro D’Amico ◽  
Giacomo Bergonzoni ◽  
Agnese Pini ◽  
Edoardo Currà
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Control Instrument ◽  
Building Information ◽  
And Control

The relationship between users and the built environment represents a fundamental aspect of health. The factors that define the properties linked to health and well-being are increasingly becoming part of building design. In these terms, building information modelling (BIM) and BIM-based performance simulation take on a priority role. Among the key features for the design of Healthy Buildings, indoor air quality (IAQ) plays a central role. There are numerous indoor pollutants with significant health effects; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are to be mentioned among these. The paper presents the proposal of an integrated workflow in the BIM process for the check and control of VOC emissions from building materials and their concentration in confined environments. The workflow is developed through the systematisation of IAQ parameters for the open BIM standard, the integration in the BIM process of a numerical model for the prediction of the VOCs concentration in the indoor environment, and the development of model checkers for performance verification. The results show a good adhesion between the numerical model and the implementation in BIM, providing the designer with a rapid control instrument of IAQ in the various phases of the building design. The present study is the first development focused on TVOC, but implementable concerning other aspects of IAQ, as needed for the effectiveness of performance building-based design for health and wellness issues.

Indoor Environment Quality in Modern Life

2013 ◽  
Vol 664 ◽  
pp. 207-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Han ◽  
Li Fen Yi
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Indoor Air Pollution ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Indoor Air Pollutants

There is a great improvement in modern people’s working and living environment. As the new building materials and technology appear, it brings some problems to indoor environment. more and more people pay attention to their living conditions especially the quality of indoor environment. Every year ,there are 110,000 people who die from indoor air pollution every year in China, hence indoor air pollution is affecting human health. In this paper, through analysis of the sources, adverse health effects of several common indoor air pollutants, air pollutants are major contributing factors to chronic diseases and mortality. It should be treated urgently with the people’s standard of living improvement.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Indoor Environment in the Intelligent Building

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiza Dębska
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Internal Environment ◽  
Intelligent Building ◽  
Intelligent Buildings ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Indoor Conditions ◽  
The Given

Abstract Currently, thermal comfort and indoor air quality are essential elements in designing modern and intelligent buildings or improving existing ones, so that they would provide proper indoor conditions. The article focuses on the thermal sensations of the students of Kielce University of Technology and determining whether the given parameters of the internal environment contributed to their well-being. 164 people aged 16 - 24 participated in the study, which was conducted with the use of a microclimate meter and questionnaires. It turned out that the temperature range from 19.3 °C – 27.6 °C is acceptable and comfortable for nearly 78% of people. As a result of further analysis, it turned out that the research group definitely prefers and feels better in colder temperatures.

scholarly journals Pruning chemicals from the green building landscape

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-246
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Goodwin Robbins ◽  
Kathryn M. Rodgers ◽  
Bill Walsh ◽  
Rachelle Ain ◽  
Robin E. Dodson
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Engineering Construction ◽  
Green Building Design ◽  
Environmental Health Research ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Aec Industry

Abstract Green building design has substantially minimized environmental impacts by reducing energy consumption compared with traditional buildings. Yet, it is not uncommon for a green building to meet the highest criteria for energy efficiency and be built with materials that contain chemicals hazardous to occupant health. Because of this discrepancy in achieving holistic sustainability, the architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) industry has never been more interested in occupant health and well-being than it is today. At the same time, numerous scientific studies have documented exposures to and associated health effects of chemicals used in building materials. Opportunities to translate environmental health research so that it is useful to the AEC community exist across the landscape of healthier buildings. For example, research can be conducted to prioritize building material and chemical combinations to demonstrate how green building certification systems, government building codes, and the building products marketplace can increase energy performance while also addressing the greatest chemical exposures and health impacts. In order for scientific research to be used to create and support healthier environments, researchers should design and translate their research with this landscape in mind and should consider experts in the AEC industry as ambassadors for change. We provide key examples of how scientists have promoted healthy building practices and highlight additional research opportunities.

scholarly journals Comparison of Health and Well-Being Aspects in Building Certification Schemes

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tajda Potrč Obrecht ◽  
Roman Kunič ◽  
Sabina Jordan ◽  
Mateja Dovjak
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Know How ◽  
Operations And Maintenance ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Improve Health

The quality of the indoor environment is becoming increasingly important because people are spending the majority of their time indoors. This has led to an increased interest in the field of health and well-being of users of buildings and to the development of various assessment schemes dealing with this issue. In this study, LEED O+M Building Operations and Maintenance (hereinafter LEED O+M), BREEAM In-Use and DGNB Buildings In-Use were compared with a specialized BCS WELL that is focused on the health and well-being of building occupants. The aim of the comparison was to evaluate to what extent the selected building certification schemes (BCSs) cover the aspects of health and well-being in buildings. Based on the analysis, it was found that the observed BCSs mostly pay attention to indoor air quality, light and thermal comfort. In other areas, only certain topics are covered or the topics have a different focus. Another important finding of the study was that certain aspects that are important for the health and well-being of the occupants are not dependent only on the building design but also on the management of the building and the services provided within the building. This kind of information is especially valuable for building developers, managers and owners so they know how to improve health and well-being in a building. The present study provides them with a comprehensive overview of the certification schemes that are widely used in current practice.

scholarly journals Effects of Climatic Conditions, Season and Environmental Factors on CO2 Concentrations in Naturally Ventilated Primary Schools in Chile

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4139
Author(s):  
Muriel Diaz ◽  
Mario Cools ◽  
Maureen Trebilcock ◽  
Beatriz Piderit-Moreno ◽  
Shady Attia
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Co2 Concentrations ◽  
The Impact

Between the ages of 6 and 18, children spend between 30 and 42 h a week at school, mostly indoors, where indoor environmental quality is usually deficient and does not favor learning. The difficulty of delivering indoor air quality (IAQ) in learning facilities is related to high occupancy rates and low interaction levels with windows. In non-industrialized countries, as in the cases presented, most classrooms have no mechanical ventilation, due to energy poverty and lack of normative requirements. This fact heavily impacts the indoor air quality and students’ learning outcomes. The aim of the paper is to identify the factors that determine acceptable CO2 concentrations. Therefore, it studies air quality in free-running and naturally ventilated primary schools in Chile, aiming to identify the impact of contextual, occupant, and building design factors, using CO2 concentration as a proxy for IAQ. The monitoring of CO2, temperature, and humidity revealed that indoor air CO2 concentration is above 1400 ppm most of the time, with peaks of 5000 ppm during the day, especially in winter. The statistical analysis indicates that CO2 is dependent on climate, seasonality, and indoor temperature, while it is independent of outside temperature in heated classrooms. The odds of having acceptable concentrations of CO2 are bigger when indoor temperatures are high, and there is a need to ventilate for cooling.

scholarly journals The Improvement of Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings in Dubai, UAE

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 250
Author(s):  
Chuloh Jung ◽  
Jihad Awad
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Radon Gas ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Residential Projects

Due to unprecedented urbanization, UAE had built many new residential projects with poor choices of material and ventilation. This social phenomenon is leading UAE to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) faster than any other countries. The Dubai Municipality regulates the indoor air quality with strict stipulation, but the detailed regulations are still insufficient. The objective of this paper is to measure the indoor air quality of new residential projects in Dubai to suggest the improvement of the regulations for indoor air quality. As a methodology, a field survey was conducted to investigate the status of indoor air pollution in residential buildings. Based on the field survey data, lab experiments for building materials were conducted and a computer simulation on radon gas was conducted. The result had shown that radon gas was mainly detected in new townhouses and labor camp houses, and its concentration was found to exceed the standard. Volatile organic solvents (VOCs) and formaldehyde (CH2O) were mainly detected in showhouses and new townhouses, and the concentration distribution was about 10 times higher than that of outdoors. It was proven that emission concentration of radon gas from various building materials were detected, and the order was red clay, gypsum board, and concrete. Volatile organic solvents (VOCs) are mainly detected in oil paints and PVC floor and the radiation amount of all pollutants increased with temperature increase. In computer simulation, it was found that a new townhouse needs a grace period from 20 days to 6 months to lower the radon gas concentration by 2 pCi/L. This study will serve as a basic data to establish more detailed regulation for the building materials and improve the IAQ standards in Dubai.

scholarly journals Impact of Window to Wall Ratio on Energy Loads in Hot Regions: A Study of Building Energy Performance

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1080
Author(s):  
Mamdooh Alwetaishi ◽  
Omrane Benjeddou
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Design Solution ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
Climatic Regions ◽  
Heating And Cooling

The concern regarding local responsive building design has gained more attention globally as of late. This is due to the issue of the rapid increase in energy consumption in buildings for the purpose of heating and cooling. This has become a crucial issue in educational buildings and especially in schools. The major issue in school buildings in Saudi Arabia is that they are a form of prototype school building design (PSBD). As a result, if there is any concern in the design stage and in relation to the selection of building materials, this will spread throughout the region. In addition to that, the design is repeated regardless of the climate variation within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This research will focus on the influence of the window to wall ratio on the energy load in various orientations and different climatic regions. The research will use the energy computer tool TAS Environmental Design Solution Limited (EDSL) to calculate the energy load as well as solar gain. During the visit to the sample schools, a globe thermometer will be used to monitor the globe temperature in the classrooms. This research introduces a framework to assist architects and engineers in selecting the proper window to wall ratio (WWR) in each direction within the same building based on adequate natural light with a minimum reliance on energy load. For ultimate WWR for energy performance and daylight, the WWR should range from 20% to 30%, depending on orientation, in order to provide the optimal daylight factor combined with building energy efficiency. This ratio can be slightly greater in higher altitude locations.

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