Deteriorated Indoor Environmental Quality as a Collateral Damage of Present Day Extensive Renovations

Abstract

Optimal indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is especially important in every living and working environment with present vulnerable population groups. Especially problematic are educational institutions, where prolonged exposure time of users additionally increases health risks. The present study is focused on the problem of deteriorated IEQ in renovated kindergarten. The problem was critically assessed from the aspects of indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy use. A combination of simulations of the selected IAQ parameters and building energy use was performed for five sets of scenarios, where required and recommended design ventilation rates variated according to Slovenian legislation. Characteristics of actual kindergarten in central Slovenia, renovated in 2016, were used for simulations. Concentrations of CO 2 and formaldehyde were calculated in two model playrooms with CONTAM 3.2, whereas building energy use was calculated for two thermal zones of playrooms with Energy Plus 8.0.0. If ventilation in playrooms was designed according to the minimal permissible value (air changes per hour) ACH 0.5, CO 2 concentrations exceeded the national maximum permissible level by 2.5 and 3 times, and formaldehyde concentrations was close to the value recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO) and exceeded the level recommended by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH-CDC) by 4.6 and 4.5 times. All required and recommended design ventilation rates resulted in exceeded values of CO 2 above recommendation for category I of IAQ, except the design ventilation rate 55 m 3 /h per person. In-line with public health protection measures, relevant information is an aid for recommendation definitions for policies and strategies towards healthier indoor environments as well as for raising awareness about current design practice.

The Effect of High Occupancy Density on IAQ, Moisture Conditions and Energy Use in Apartments

“…A well-functioning ventilation system in buildings is a prerequisite both for achieving good indoor air quality and thermal comfort. However, in order to save energy, the ventilation rates are often decreased to the lowest possible levels, which, in some cases, has led to the risk of CO 2 concentrations exceeding the maximum National permissible level and formaldehyde concentrations close to the value recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) [6]. In addition, risk of mold growth in the building's envelope, which may cause indoor environment problems must be avoided.…”

Creating Healthy and Sustainable Buildings

“…In Slovenia, the problem of minimization of ventilation losses by minimal permissible design ventilation rates was highlighted by Dovjak et al (2019). Such approach is supported by national legislation that often allows the use of minimal permissible values for ventilation, while other required and recommended optimal values are not taken into consideration: BOX 1.12 Study evidence In the work titled "Deteriorated Indoor Environmental Quality as a Collateral Damage of Present Day Extensive Renovations" (Dovjak et al 2019), a combination of simulations of selected parameters of indoor air quality and building energy use was performed for five sets of scenarios, where design ventilation rates varied according to national legislation. Characteristics of actual kindergarten in central Slovenia, renovated in 2016, were used for building model and performed simulations.…”

Functionality assessment of building a micro-climate system utilising solar energy in a cold climate

“…According to Pathak et al [10], the functionality of the indoor environment (microclimate) can be described in terms of warmth, light, noise, space, and furniture. The most defined and parametrized among the five is thermal comfort [11] and [12]. Active and passive building microclimate subsystems influence the overall thermal comfort.…”