There are more than 200 thousand pupils in Latvia. Most of them are still learning in non-renovated classrooms without proper mechanical ventilation. The classrooms are often ventilated only during the breaks by opening windows. This can lead to increased CO2 levels and reduced mental performance. To test how CO2 concentration in classrooms influences student attention level and their ability to perform mental tasks, the students had to complete a short test at the start and the end of the class. At the same time CO2 concentration, temperature and relative humidity were logged. In addition, an anonymous survey on how the pupils felt regarding the overall indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in the classroom, their thermal sensation, are they fatigued, any difficulty concentrating and if they have headaches during the lesson performed. The measurements were performed in a Secondary School in Daugavpils, Latvia. The analysis of results shows that existing 10 min breaks are not enough to fully ventilate the classroom, and they must be increased to at least 15 min. At the same time, 30 min breaks can be reduced to 20 min. The correlation between CO2 concentration and test results of pupils’ performance test results is noticeable but not definitive. It indicates that at increased CO2 levels the performance lowers—when the concentration of CO2 corresponds only to the Category 3 norm, the lowest results are achieved while the best results are when the CO2 concentration level corresponds to Category 1. To improve the study, observations of CO2 concentrations must be extended throughout the school year, as well as measurements in other classrooms in the school should be made.
The COVID-19 crisis has affected the process of how the study procedures are organized at schools in Latvia. Three different options were available for the school to choose from. However, most schools have opted for option A which states that the classes are organized face-to-face but various safety measures must be ensured. Each class or group is equated to a closed set where there are no distance requirements. In turn, the distance between the classes must be observed. This means that students stay in the same class all day and are accompanied by teachers of the respective classes. This can lead to improper ventilation as for most of the schools in Latvia it is organized through the opening of windows. To test this, measurements of CO2 concentration were done in a classroom Secondary School in Daugavpils. The results showed that the CO2 concentration was very high and often reached and exceeded the maximum measuring capacity of the device - 4000 ppm. It indicates that following the special safety procedures cause a negative effect on IAQ as the classrooms are not properly ventilated. This can lead to a drop in the performance of pupils as well as stimulate the transmission of other infectious diseases. Further measurements are necessary to gather data from different schools and best practices must be found.
Residential buildings in Latvia are one of the essential heat consumers during the heating season. The majority of Latvian as well as European residential buildings were constructed within the period from 1965 to 1990. Introduction presents brief overview of current situation in Latvian and EU countries. This chapter provides overview of real energy consumption and definition of buildings technical conditions. Materials and methods are based on evaluation of standardized energy consumption in two kindergartens and multi apartment buildings including also dynamic energy simulation. Chapter on thermal performance of building envelope provides an extensive comparison of heat transfer coefficients in non-renovated buildings as well as comparison with normative values. Section on energy consumption of existing multi apartment buildings presents review of buildings real energy consumption before and after renovation. In addition this chapter evaluated indoor air quality. This study was done in order to define necessary reconstruction goals to reach European Regional Development Fund project "A New Concept for Sustainable and Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings" Nr. 1.1.1.1/16/A/007 main targets. Аннотация. Жилые здания в Латвии являются одним из основных потребителей тепла в отопительный сезон. Большинство латвийских и европейских жилых зданий были построены в период с 1965 по 1990 год. Введение представляет краткий обзор текущей ситуации в Латвии и странах ЕС. В этой главе представлен обзор реального потребления энергии и определение технических условий для зданий. Материалы и методы основаны на оценке стандартизированного потребления энергии в двух детских садах и многоквартирных домах, включая также динамическое моделирование энергии. В главе, касающейся тепловых характеристик ограждающих конструкций зданий, дано подробное сравнение коэффициентов теплоотдачи в не отреставрированных зданиях и сравнение их с нормативными значениями. В разделе об энергопотреблении существующих многоквартирных домов представлен обзор реального потребления энергии зданиями до и после модернизации. Кроме того, в этой главе дается оценка качества воздуха в помещении.
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