The paper analyses the indoor environment in two modern intelligent buildings located in Poland. Measurements of air and globe temperatures, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration in 117 rooms carried out in the space of 1.5 years were presented. Thermal comfort of the occupants has been investigated using a questionnaire survey. Based on 1369 questionnaires, thermal sensation, acceptability and preference votes were analysed in view of their interdependency as well as their dependency on operative temperature, which proved to be very strong. It has been found that the respondents did not completely rate thermal comfort and indoor environment quality as very high, although the overwhelming sensations were positive. Apart from the operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, this might have also been the cause of individual human factors, such as body mass index, as tested in the study, or the finding that people were generally in favour of a warmer environment. Moreover, thermal environment proved to be the most important element for ensuring the well-being of the occupants.

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Abstract. The paper presents the thermal resistance characteristics of walls with multilayer reflective insulation. The tests have been performed using a heat flow meter to determine the resistivity of the layers simulating partition walls in buildings. A modification of the structure has also been proposed and analysed with a view to increase the thermal resistance and, consequently, reduce the heat flux transferred through the walls. Consequently, walls produced with layers that ensure higher thermal insulation lead to better thermal performance properties of the whole buildings, which reduce heating/cooling costs throughout the year.

Abstract. The paper analyses thermal comfort in an intelligent building. Intelligent buildings are now widely seen both in Poland and abroad as a result of developments in engineering sciences. However, data on the thermal comfort provided in the buildings are limited. The research described in this paper was carried out in ENERGIS intelligent building of the Kielce University of Technology. The parameters measured included air temperature, relative air humidity, air flow rate and carbon dioxide concentration. Average radiation temperature was determined. The key element was the study of thermal sensation in occupants present at the time of the measurements. The studies were performed in classrooms during the class. The students completed a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the class. The persons present in the classrooms evaluated their thermal sensations using a seven-level thermal comfort scale. The questionnaire included such questions as the type of clothing and the degree of physical activity of the people sitting in the classroom. On the basis of the measurements of classroom microclimate parameters, PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and PPD (Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied) indices were determined. The responses from the questionnaires provided actual average assessment of thermal sensation and actual percentage of dissatisfied people.

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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.

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The indoor microclimate quality is an important factor affecting the human body. Inappropriate microclimate parameters and air pollutants can cause health problems or even be life-threatening. In addition, it can reduce work productivity and learning efficiency. In the article, the analysis of the rooms in the nursery building ventilated by a mechanical system equipped with air ionizers was conducted. The results of research were compared with the research results for rooms of the same type, but equipped with the passive stack ventilation. Fungi were detected in the analyzed building that does not pose a threat to the lives of people, but they can cause allergies and asthma. With regard to the reference objects, in the analyzed building, the microclimate was free from fungi species yeast-like fungi and Trichoderma viride, which occurred in the reference rooms. The indoor relative humidity was kept at a level not conducive to the development of fungi. The concentration of the carbon dioxide in rooms where children stayed permanently did not exceed the permissible value. Slight excessive concentration levels were observed only in the cloakroom. Only the internal air temperature exceeded 25 °C, which favors the development of fungi. This means that it would be appropriate to lower the indoor air temperature.