scholarly journals FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATING INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPACTS INTO LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS OF BUILDINGS AND BUILDING RELATED PRODUCTS

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susie R. Wu ◽  
Defne Apul
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Life Cycle Assessments ◽  
Life Cycle Stages

Products used during construction and operation of a building can contribute to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) problems that affect occupants' well-being. However, IAQ is conventionally not addressed in the life cycle assessments (LCAs) of buildings and building related products even though IAQ leads to one of the areas of protection under LCA - human health impacts. In this study, we proposed an overall framework for integrating IAQ into LCA using the standard steps of LCA. The framework focused on IAQ and LCA modeling from two categories of building related products: i) passive products that realize their function through initial installation and have long-term decayed emissions, and ii) active equipment that realize their function and cause emissions through daily operation. Dynamic and static life cycle inventory modeling approaches were proposed for passive products and active equipment, respectively. An indoor intake fraction equation and USEtox model effect factors were incorporated into the life cycle impact assessment. Three hypothetical examples were presented to illustrate the calculation procedure of the framework. We concluded that it was feasible to integrate IAQ into building related LCA studies. Development of IAQ related impact assessment methodologies can improve upon the limitations of this study. Further studies need to be carried out to compare the health impacts from IAQ related sources to other life cycle stages of building related products.

scholarly journals Quality of life control by selected methods of air exchange in a typical apartment building

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iveta Bullová ◽  
Peter Kapalo ◽  
Dušan Katunský
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Allergic Diseases ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Indoor Climate ◽  
Apartment Building ◽  
Change Rate ◽  
Air Change Rate ◽  
Negative Effect

Air change rate is an important parameter for quantification of ventilation heat losses and also affects the indoor climate of buildings. Indoor air quality is significantly associated with ventilation. If air change isn't sufficient, trapped allergens, pollutants and irritants can degrade the indoor air quality and affect the well-being of a building's occupants. Many studies on ventilation and health have concluded that lower air change rates can have a negative effect on people’s health and low ventilation may result in an increase in allergic diseases. Quantification of air change rate is complicated, since it is affected by a number of parameters, of which the one of the most variable is the air-wind flow. This study aims to determination and comparison of values of the air change rate in two methods - by quantifying of aerodynamic coefficient Cp = Cpe - Cpi – so called aerodynamic quantification of the building and the methodology based on experimental measurements of carbon dioxide in the selected reference room in apartment building.

Investigation of window-opening behaviour and indoor air quality in dwellings situated in the temperate zone in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2092474
Author(s):  
Tingxuan Deng ◽  
Xiong Shen ◽  
Xiaojie Cheng ◽  
Junjie Liu
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Temperate Zone ◽  
World Health ◽  
Formaldehyde Concentration ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Window Opening

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a key factor that could affect the indoor environment and people's health. In this study, we report a comprehensive study on IAQ in 30 dwellings in the temperate zone in China. Thirty naturally ventilated dwellings were selected in the urban area of Kunming, which is the largest city in temperate zone in China. In four seasons, short-term measurement of formaldehyde and benzene, toluene, xylenes-volatile organic compounds and air infiltration rate were conducted in these dwellings. A long-term 1-year monitoring of temperature, relative humidity, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon dioxide (CO2), window-opening behaviour and night-time air change rate (ACR) were conducted in 13 of these dwellings by remote sensors. Short-term measurements showed the mean formaldehyde concentration in summer (100.76 μg/m3), benzene concentration in winter (8.46 µg/m3), PM2.5 concentration (80.4 µg/m3) in spring of 2017 exceeded the Chinese standard, the US Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment value and the World Health Organization guidelines. The night-time ACR was the highest in summer (2.1 h−1) and the lowest in winter (1.6 h−1) in bedrooms of 13 long-term monitored dwellings due to seasonal time variation in window opening in bedrooms, which was mainly driven by CO2 concentration, indoor temperature and outdoor PM10 concentration.

Indoor air quality prediction using optimizers: A comparative study

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 7053-7069
Author(s):  
Jagriti Saini ◽  
Maitreyee Dutta ◽  
Gonçalo Marques
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Mean Square Error ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Percentage Error ◽  
Cow Dung ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Human Beings

Indoor air pollution (IAP) has become a serious concern for developing countries around the world. As human beings spend most of their time indoors, pollution exposure causes a significant impact on their health and well-being. Long term exposure to particulate matter (PM) leads to the risk of chronic health issues such as respiratory disease, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease. In India, around 200 million people use fuel for cooking and heating needs; out of which 0.4% use biogas; 0.1% electricity; 1.5% lignite, coal or charcoal; 2.9% kerosene; 8.9% cow dung cake; 28.6% liquified petroleum gas and 49% use firewood. Almost 70% of the Indian population lives in rural areas, and 80% of those households rely on biomass fuels for routine needs. With 1.3 million deaths per year, poor air quality is the second largest killer in India. Forecasting of indoor air quality (IAQ) can guide building occupants to take prompt actions for ventilation and management on useful time. This paper proposes prediction of IAQ using Keras optimizers and compares their prediction performance. The model is trained using real-time data collected from a cafeteria in the Chandigarh city using IoT sensor network. The main contribution of this paper is to provide a comparative study on the implementation of seven Keras Optimizers for IAQ prediction. The results show that SGD optimizer outperforms other optimizers to ensure adequate and reliable predictions with mean square error = 0.19, mean absolute error = 0.34, root mean square error = 0.43, R2 score = 0.999555, mean absolute percentage error = 1.21665%, and accuracy = 98.87%.

Antifungal properties of essential oils for improvement of indoor air quality: a review

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet Whiley ◽  
Sharyn Gaskin ◽  
Tiffany Schroder ◽  
Kirstin Ross
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Tea Tree ◽  
Antifungal Potential ◽  
Published Research

AbstractConcerns regarding indoor air quality, particularly the presence of fungi and moulds, are increasing. The potential for essential oils to reduce, control or remove fungi, is gaining interest as they are seen as a “natural” alternative to synthetic chemical fungicides. This review examines published research on essential oils as a method of fungal control in indoor environments. It was difficult to compare the relative performances of essential oils due to differences in research methods and reporting languages. In addition, there are limited studies that scale up laboratory results and assess the efficacy of essential oils within building environments. However, generally, there appears to be some evidence to support the essential oils clove oil, tea tree oil, oregano, thyme and lemon as potential antifungal agents. Essential oils from heartwood, marjoram, cinnamon, lemon basil, caraway, bay tree, fir, peppermint, pine, cedar leaf and manuka were identified in at least one study as having antifungal potential. Future studies should focus on comparing the effectiveness of these essential oils against a large number of fungal isolates from indoor environments. Studies will then need to focus on translating these results into realistic application methods, in actual buildings, and assess the potential for long-term antifungal persistence.

scholarly journals Indoor Air Quality Campaign in an Occupied Low-Energy House with a High Level of Spatial and Temporal Discretization

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 11789
Author(s):  
Najwa Kanama ◽  
Michel Ondarts ◽  
Gaëlle Guyot ◽  
Jonathan Outin ◽  
Evelyne Gonze
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Cumulative Exposure ◽  
Temporal Discretization ◽  
Low Energy Buildings

Background and gaps. The topic of indoor air quality (IAQ) in low-energy buildings has received increasing interest over the past few years. Often based on two measurement points and on passive measurements over one week, IAQ studies are struggling to allow the calculation of pollutants exposure. Objectives. We would like to improve the evaluation of the health impacts, through measurements able to estimate the exposure of the occupants. Methodology. This article presents detailed IAQ measurements taken in an energy-efficient occupied house in France. Two campaigns were conducted in winter and spring. Total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), formaldehyde, the particle numbers and PM2.5, carbon dioxide (CO2), relative humidity (RH), temperature (T), ventilation airflows, and weather conditions were dynamically measured in several points. Laboratory and low-cost devices were used, and an inter-comparison was carried out for them. A survey was conducted to record all the daily activities of the inhabitants. IAQ performance indicators based on the different pollutants were calculated. Results. PM2.5 cumulative exposure did not exceed the threshold available in the literature. Formaldehyde concentrations were high, in the kitchen, where the average concentrations exceeded the threshold. However, the formaldehyde cumulative exposure of the occupants did not exceed the threshold. TVOC concentrations were found to reach the threshold. With these measurements performed with high spatial and temporal discretization, we showed that such detailed data allow for a better-quality health impacts assessment and for a better understanding of the transport of pollutants between rooms.

AN EVALUATION OF INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND OCCUPANT WELL-BEING IN MANITOBA SCHOOL BUILDINGS

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Radwan ◽  
Mohamed H. Issa
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Well Being ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Green School

This exploratory research aims to evaluate indoor environmental quality in the classrooms of three school buildings in Southern Manitoba, Canada, and to evaluate the well-being of these schools' teachers as it pertains to their perception of their classrooms' indoor environment. The schools include a middle-aged, conventional school; a new, non-green school; and a new, green school certified using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. The methodology involved using a mobile instrument cart to conduct snapshot measurements of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, lighting and acoustics in classrooms and an occupant survey to evaluate teachers' long-term satisfaction with their classrooms' indoor environmental quality. The results showed that the new, green and new, non-green schools' classrooms performed better than the conventional, middle-aged school's classrooms with respect to some aspects of thermal comfort and indoor air quality only. Teachers in the new, green school and in the new, non-green school were more satisfied than teachers in the conventional, middle-aged school with their classrooms' overall indoor environmental quality, lighting quality and indoor air quality. Surprisingly, the new, green and new-non green school classrooms' performance were very comparable with the new, green school's classrooms performing statistically significantly better with respect to relative humidity. Similarly, none of the differences in teachers' satisfaction ratings between the new, green and new, non-green school were statistically significant.

A systematic approach to assessing indoor air quality of long term care facilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 224-238
Author(s):  
M. te Kulve ◽  
M.G.L.C. Loomans ◽  
E.R.C.M. Huisman ◽  
H.S.M. Kort
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Facilities

scholarly journals Assessment of mold infestation of conditioning devices and indoor air

2021 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 668-673
Author(s):  
Elena V. Khaldeeva ◽  
Nadejda I. Glushko ◽  
Svetlana A. Lisovskaya
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Continuous Operation ◽  
Large Species ◽  
Air Conditioners ◽  
Air Samples

Introduction. Indoor air quality is an essential component of a healthy human environment. Air conditioning units can affect indoor air quality, including mycogenic contamination of the air if the condition is not adequately monitored. Material and method. The paper presents the results of a mycological study of air samples and flushes from the surface of filters and gratings of air conditioning devices taken from 40 residential and office premises. Results. The presence of micromycetes fungi was noted in 100% of the samples taken from the surface of filters and air conditioning grids and 81.6% of air samples. A greater species diversity of fungi (26 species) was revealed in air samples compared to air conditioning devices (15 species). A higher frequency of occurrence of dark-coloured species of fungi, incl. Aspergillus spp. and Alternaria spp., and fungal species belonging to the third group of pathogenicity, were noticed on the surface of air conditioners, compared with air samples, in which Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp., Trichoderma spp. were more often detected. It was found that the surface of air conditioners functioned sporadically. For a short time (28 rooms), there is a large species diversity of mycobiota at a low or moderate level of seeding (no more than 103 CFU). In rooms with long-term continuous air conditioners (12 rooms), a high level of seeding (more than 104 CFU) by 1-2 species of fungi was more often noted. The existence of a close relationship, confirmed by the values of the Pearson contingency coefficient, between the species composition of the mycobiota of air conditioning devices and air, and a higher level of mycogenic contamination in rooms with long-term continuous operation of air conditioners, were shown. Conclusion. Thus, air conditioning devices can be a source of mycogenic air contamination, especially during long-term continuous operation, which must be taken into account to ensure indoor air quality.

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