Recent episodes of high air pollution concentration levels in many Polish cities indicate the urgent need for policy change and for the integration of various aspects of urban development into a common platform for local air quality management. In this article, the focus was placed on the prospects of improving urban air quality through proper design and protection of vegetation systems within local spatial planning strategies. Recent studies regarding the mitigation of air pollution by urban greenery due to deposition and aerodynamic effects were reviewed, with special attention given to the design guidelines resulting from these studies and their applicability in the process of urban planning. The conclusions drawn from the review were used to conduct three case studies: in Gdańsk, Warsaw, and Poznań, Poland. The existing local urban planning regulations for the management of urban greenery were critically evaluated in relation to the findings of the review. The results indicate that the current knowledge regarding the improvement of urban air quality by vegetation is not applied in the process of urban planning to a sufficient degree. Some recommendations for alternative provisions were discussed.
Diagnostics of natural ventilation in buildings is problematic, as the airflow rate changes considerably over time. One constant average airflow is usually assumed when calculating energy demand for a building, however, such a simplification could be fraught with considerable error. The paper describes a comprehensive methodology for the diagnostics of a natural ventilation system in a building and its practical application. Based on in situ measurements and simulations in two existing buildings (dwelling house and school) in Poland, the real values of the ventilating airflows were analyzed and resulting heat demand was compared with the design values. The pros and cons of various methods for evaluation of natural ventilation are discussed. The real airflow was determined by measurements in a ventilation grille or by a tracer gas concentration decay method. The airtightness of the buildings’ envelope was evaluated based on the fan pressurization test. The last stage entailed computer simulations of air exchange in buildings using CONTAM software. The multizone models of the buildings were calibrated and verified with existing measured data. Measured airflow in a multifamily house was small and substantially deviated from the Polish standard. In case of a school, the air flow rate amounted to an average of 10% of the required value. Calculation of the heat demand for ventilation based on the standard value of the airflow led to a considerable overestimation of this value in relation to the real consumption. In the analyzed cases, the difference was 40% for the school and 30% for the residential building.
The widespread thermal improvement in residential buildings involves not only the insulation of outdoor walls but also window replacement. In Poland it is the residents of individual premises who manage the replacement and in order to keep their heating bills low, they seek airtight solutions to minimize the cooling of premises due to air infiltration. In this situation the indoor air quality is not considered at all and no exchange of used air and fresh air occurs. Unawareness on the part of residents and the increased costs of replacing the windows which need additional devices to ensure the inflow of air are the main reason for the deteriorating microclimate conditions in residential dwellings. The present paper demonstrates the measurement of indoor air quality, the building leakage test and the measurement of air flow in exhaust opening a four-bedroom dwelling located in Gliwice, Poland. In order to evaluate the air exchange within a longer period and in different outdoor climate conditions, the measurements were supplemented with numerical simulation of ventilating airflows. Modifications to improve the indoor air quality in the examined flat were also suggested.
Thermal environment in buildings is one of the most important aspects for occupants' comfort [1]. Thermal comfort, i.e. satisfaction with the environment depends on the occupants' thermal sensation. The thermal sensation is a function of four physical variables of indoor environment in the room (air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative air humidity and air velocity) and two variables related to people (activity level and clothing). Knowledge of these parameters allow to predict the mean thermal sensation (PMV) of a group of people staying in the room with particular thermal environment. The PMV index and the related PPD index (predicted percentage of dissatisfied) are currently used in standards [2-4] to prescribe the thermal environment conditions in buildings with mechanical ventilation. The PMV and PPD indexes, due to the numerous input parameters and the complexity of their determination, are not suitable for controlling of
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.