Occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality and health after energy retrofits of multi-family buildings: Results from INSULAtE-project

Haverinen-Shaughnessy, Ulla; Pekkonen, Maria; Leivo, Virpi; Prasauskas, Tadas; Turunen, Mari; Kiviste, Mihkel; Aaltonen, Anu; Martuzevicius, Dainius

doi:10.1016/j.ijheh.2018.05.009

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…However, based on occupant responses on their housing satisfaction and health, significant associations were found between retrofit status and some of the measured IEQ parameters (indoor temperature OR 1.4 per 1 o C increase, temperature factor OR 1.1 per 1% increase, and air change rate OR 5.6 per 1 per hour increase), albeit not the ones presented in this paper. Additional positive associations were found between retrofit status and occupants reporting absence of upper respiratory symptoms (OR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1‐2.9) as well as not missing work or school due to respiratory infections (OR: 4.1, 95% CI: 1.2‐13.8); however, these associations were independent of all measured IEQ parameters . It was concluded that there seems to be is a strong subjective component related to the observed changes in occupant satisfaction with IEQ and health as a result of energy retrofitting in buildings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The protocol and baseline results have been reported elsewhere . More detailed analyses performed thus far have included a study on spatial and temporal variations of PM concentrations; studies on building related parameters including air pressure differences, air exchange rates, CO 2 concentrations, and hygrothermal parameters; as well as occupants’ satisfaction with IEQ and health . The current study continues the assessment and reports the main results related to measured energy consumption and IAQ parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Effects of energy retrofits on Indoor Air Quality in multifamily buildings

Leivo²,

Prasauskas

et al. 2019

Indoor Air

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We assessed 45 multifamily buildings (240 apartments) from Finland and 20 (96 apartments) from Lithuania, out of which 37 buildings in Finland and 15 buildings in Lithuania underwent energy retrofits. Building characteristics, retrofit activities, and energy consumption data were collected, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) parameters, including carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), formaldehyde (CH2O), selected volatile organic compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), radon, and microbial content in settled dust were measured before and after the retrofits. After the retrofits, heating energy consumption decreased by an average of 24% and 49% in Finnish and Lithuanian buildings, respectively. After the retrofits of Finnish buildings, there was a significant increase in BTEX concentrations (estimated mean increase of 2.5 µg/m3), whereas significant reductions were seen in fungal (0.6‐log reduction in cells/m2/d) and bacterial (0.6‐log reduction in gram‐positive and 0.9‐log reduction in gram‐negative bacterial cells/m2/d) concentrations. In Lithuanian buildings, radon concentrations were significantly increased (estimated mean increase of 13.8 Bq/m3) after the retrofits. Mechanical ventilation was associated with significantly lower CH2O concentrations in Finnish buildings. The results and recommendations presented in this paper can inform building retrofit studies and other programs and policies aimed to improve indoor environment and health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effects of energy retrofits on Indoor Air Quality in multifamily buildings

Leivo²,

Prasauskas

et al. 2019

Indoor Air

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Buy / Rent full text

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“…These were described in 44 papers plus two reports treated as equivalent to supplemental information, with up to five papers providing results of a study. The extracted and included data represented 15 studies of basic retrofits [4,8,10,19,20,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36], four studies of ventilation-added retrofits [19,[37][38][39][40], four studies of green retrofits [41][42][43][44][45], and 13 studies of warmth retrofits [7,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59]. Most of the studies were conducted in the United States or Europe, with two studies in New Zealand [7,50].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association of residential energy efficiency retrofits with indoor environmental quality, comfort, and health: A review of empirical data

Fisk

Singer

Chan

2020

Building and Environment

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This paper reviews empirical data from evaluations of the influence of residential energy efficiency retrofits on indoor environmental quality conditions and self-reported thermal comfort and health. Data were extracted from 36 studies described in 44 papers plus two reports. Nearly all reviewed studies were performed in Europe or United States. Most studies evaluated retrofits of homes with low-income occupants. Indoor radon and formaldehyde concentrations tended to increase after retrofits that did not add whole-house mechanical ventilation. Study-average indoor concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds other than formaldehyde increased and decreased with approximately equal frequency. Average indoor temperatures during winter typically increased after retrofits, usually by less than 1.5 o C. Dampness and mold, usually based on occupant's reports, almost always decreased after retrofits. Subjectively reported thermal comfort, thermal discomfort, non-asthma respiratory symptoms, general health, and mental health nearly always improved after retrofits. For asthma symptoms, the evidence of improvement slightly outweighed the evidence of worsening. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether changes in thermal comfort and health outcomes varied depending on the type of energy efficiency retrofit. The published research has numerous limitations including a lack of data from retrofits in warm-humid climates and minimal data on changes in objective health outcomes. Suggestions for future research are provided.

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“…Because of this, changes in measured indoor air contaminant concentrations have generally not been associated directly with measurable health effects. For example, both (Purcell, 2018) and (Haverinen-Shaughnessy et al, 2018) failed to associate changes in indoor contaminants with the acute health effects that both studies also observed. Due to the difficulty in measuring health outcomes for chronic, long-term health conditions (e.g., cancer, endocrine disruption), the impacts of changes in indoor contaminant concentrations instead must rely on estimates of concentration response functions estimated in the literature, largely based on pollutant measurements in outdoor air.…”

Section: Health Benefits Of Energy Efficiency Retrofitsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Emerging Pathways to Upgrade the US Housing Stock: A Review of the Home Energy Upgrade Literature

Walker¹,

Less²,

Casquero-Modrego³

2021

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This review addresses whole home energy upgrades targeting deep energy reductions (i.e., Deep Energy Retrofits, or DERs), from 30 to >50% site energy savings. The intent of this work is to characterize how energy upgrade projects and programs have evolved and improved over the past decade, and to identify what changes are needed to drive expansion of the U.S. retrofit market in such a way that addresses carbon emission from buildings, improves resilience and upgrades the housing stock for the 21 st century. The topics covered in this review are wideranging, including trends in U.S. and European retrofit programs, measure costs (e.g., ductless heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, exterior wall insulation), emerging technologies, advancements in simulation tools, surveys of energy upgrade homeowners and practitioners, business economics (e.g., soft costs, gross margins), and health effects. Key changes in project design noted in this review include the: (1) electrification of dwellings with rapidly improving heat pump systems and low-cost PV technology, (2) shift away from high-cost super-insulation strategies and towards more traditional home performance/weatherization envelope upgrades, (3) recognition of the importance of when energy is used and from what fuel sources in terms of both energy cost and carbon emissions, and (4) emerging smart home technologies, such as batteries or thermal storage, smart ventilation and HVAC controls, and energy feedback devices. Promising program design strategies covered in this review include:(1) end-use electrification programs, (2) novel financing approaches (e.g., Pay-As-You-Save and local lender networks), (3) Pay-for-Performance incentive structures, (4) securitization of portfolios of upgraded homes as investment products, and (5) One-Stop Shop programs that integrate financing, project management, design and support services. In addition to these project-and program-innovations, the industry should adopt new project performance metrics, namely those for carbon, peak demand and energy storage, along with metrics characterizing resilience and health. Market drivers are needed to spur widespread energy upgrades in the U.S. housing stock, which will require valuation of DERs by the real estate industry, reduced project costs (in part by cutting soft costs), and projects designed to appeal to homeowners while being enjoyable and profitable for contractors.

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Occupant satisfaction with indoor environmental quality and health after energy retrofits of multi-family buildings: Results from INSULAtE-project

Cited by 29 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of energy retrofits on Indoor Air Quality in multifamily buildings

Effects of energy retrofits on Indoor Air Quality in multifamily buildings

Association of residential energy efficiency retrofits with indoor environmental quality, comfort, and health: A review of empirical data

Emerging Pathways to Upgrade the US Housing Stock: A Review of the Home Energy Upgrade Literature

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