Assessment of ventilation rates inside educational buildings in Southwestern Europe: Analysis of implemented strategic measures

Aguilar, Antonio J.; Hoz‐Torres, María L. de la; Costa, Nélson; Arezes, P.; Martínez‐Aires, María Dolores; Ruiz, Diego P.

doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104204

Cited by 23 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Particularly in classrooms, ventilation was an important issue to be addressed in the 2020–2021 academic year, since previous studies in classrooms of southern Spain [ [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] ], France [ 19 ], Portugal [ 20 , 21 ], Italy [ [22] , [23] , [24] ], and other Mediterranean locations [ 25 ] had shown poor indoor conditions, both in terms of thermal comfort and clean air, due to the lack of a proper ventilation. According to the literature on how schools had to operate after the lockdown, they all had in common the general principle of increasing ventilation by renewal with outdoor air [ [26] , [27] , [28] ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of indoor air quality and risk of COVID-19 infection in Spanish secondary school and university classrooms

Rodrı́guez

Urbieta²,

Velasco³

et al. 2022

Building and Environment

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of indoor air quality and risk of COVID-19 infection in Spanish secondary school and university classrooms

Rodrı́guez

Urbieta²,

Velasco³

et al. 2022

Building and Environment

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“…Regarding the EU guidelines for ventilation, the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA) has recommended using CO 2 concentration as an indicator of good indoor air quality, and has suggested a traffic light indicator for effective ventilation, where concentration values of below 800 ppm indicate good ventilation (green light), values between 800 and 1000 ppm represent acceptable ventilation (orange light), and values above 1000 ppm indicate unacceptable ventilation (red light) [27]. Consequently, the normal use of classrooms was modified, and new protocols and ventilation strategies were implemented, resulting in alterations to the classroom's indoor environmental conditions [29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Perception in Naturally Ventilated University Buildings in Spain during the Cold Season

et al. 2022

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The indoor thermal environment has become a critical factor, due to its impact on the energy efficiency of a building and the health and performance of its occupants. It is particularly important for educational buildings, where students and teachers are exposed to these thermal conditions. This study assessed the impact of natural ventilation efficiency and university students’ thermal perception during the cold season. A field monitoring campaign and a questionnaire survey were conducted. A total of 989 students participated in this study. The results show that, although the CO2 concentration in 90% of the evaluated classrooms was below the European recommended value (i.e., 800 ppm), only 18% of the classrooms were within the thermal comfort zone defined by national regulations. These thermal conditions caused 55% of the students surveyed to report that they were dissatisfied, and that this environment interfered with their academic performance. Significant differences were found between thermal sensation votes from female and male students (p < 0.001). The obtained neutral temperature was one degree higher for female students than for males. Our results suggest that ventilation protocols need to be modified by adjusting the window opening strategy, and these findings should be used as guidelines during their redesign.

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“…However, since most educational buildings in European countries are naturally ventilated, achieving high values of VRs (e.g., 6–10 ACH) is hard through a natural ventilation strategy [ 14 ]. In this context, several researchers have assessed if the VR required by governments for educational buildings could be achieved through natural ventilation strategies during the pre-pandemic scenario [ 7 , 15 , 16 ] and during the post-pandemic scenario [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Although the results presented by these studies showed that a continuous natural ventilation strategy could provide effective air renewal, they also showed that other indoor environmental variables were influenced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring and Assessment of Indoor Environmental Conditions in Educational Building Using Building Information Modelling Methodology

Aguilar

Hoz‐Torres

Ruiz

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Managing indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a challenge in educational buildings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Adequate indoor air quality is essential to ensure that indoor spaces are safe for students and teachers. In fact, poor IEQ can affect academic performance and student comfort. This study proposes a framework for integrating occupants’ feedback into the building information modelling (BIM) methodology to assess indoor environmental conditions (thermal, acoustic and lighting) and the individual airborne virus transmission risk during teaching activities. The information contained in the parametric 3D BIM model and the algorithmic environment of Dynamo were used to develop the framework. The IEQ evaluation is based on sensor monitoring and a daily schedule, so the results show real problems of occupants’ dissatisfaction. The output of the framework shows in which range the indoor environmental variables were (optimal, acceptable and unacceptable) and the probability of infection during each lecture class (whether or not 1% is exceeded). A case study was proposed to illustrate its application and validate it. The outcomes provide key information to support the decision-making process for managing IEQ and controlling individual airborne virus transmission risks. Long-term application could provide data that support the management of ventilation strategies and protocol redesign.

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Assessment of ventilation rates inside educational buildings in Southwestern Europe: Analysis of implemented strategic measures

Cited by 23 publications

References 26 publications

Assessment of indoor air quality and risk of COVID-19 infection in Spanish secondary school and university classrooms

Assessment of indoor air quality and risk of COVID-19 infection in Spanish secondary school and university classrooms

Thermal Perception in Naturally Ventilated University Buildings in Spain during the Cold Season

Monitoring and Assessment of Indoor Environmental Conditions in Educational Building Using Building Information Modelling Methodology

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