The Impact of Air-conditioning Usage on Sick Building Syndrome during Summer in China

Cao, Bin; Shang, Qi; Dai, Zizhu; Zhu, Yingxin

doi:10.1177/1420326x12443246

Cited by 33 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This high prevalence of discomfort among AC users who spent a considerable amount of time indoors (in the AC environment) might be due the effect of prolonged AC exposure on their thermal adaptation. The works of Cao et al [25] revealed that people who tend to stay for a long period of time in an air-conditioned environment tend to have weakened thermal adaptation and have weaker ability to endure hot environment. Graudenz et al [26] also reported that people spend 80-90% of their time indoors, and indoor environments have important effects on the human health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Air Condition Use and Its Health Effects

Eleyowo¹,

Amusa²

2019

Recent Advances in Biology and Medicine

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The use of air conditioners (ACs) in homes has become a necessity in urban cities such as Lagos State. The rapid growth in the use of AC has been attributed majorly to protection from high thermal exposures. However, there have been controversies regarding physiological discomforts attributed to AC use. This study therefore seeks to elucidate the associations between AC use and some selected physical ailments using random samples from Lagos State. A structured questionnaire was administered to 200 randomly selected participants. The responses were scored, and the data were analyzed accordingly. The study showed that AC devices were mostly used in sitting room > bedroom > offices > vehicles. The frequency of cold, fever, headache, and chest pain significantly (p < 0.01) associate with the use of AC in both sitting room and bedroom. The prevalence of the associated ailments increased with increase in the AC contact duration (>6 h) among AC users evaluated in the study. Most of the participants (>70%) agreed that AC use brings thermal comfort and therefore is good to health. However, prolonged exposure in indoor AC environments increased the risk of physiological discomfort for the AC users in this study. The authors therefore suggest health workers to create awareness to educate AC users of the likely dangers with prolonged exposure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Air Condition Use and Its Health Effects

Eleyowo¹,

Amusa²

2019

Recent Advances in Biology and Medicine

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“…With reference to the role played by the air-conditioning systems, recently (Sun et al, 2011) proposed a quite new control strategy for multi-zone VAV HVAC systems (i.e., variable air volume), suitable to guarantee both adequate indoor air quality and energy savings. In the same direction, the paper (Cao et al, 2013) evidences that an excessive use of air-conditioning has negative effects: …”

Section: Hospitals and Air-conditioningmentioning

confidence: 97%

Energy Audit of Health Care Facilities: Dynamic Simulation of Energy Performances and Energy-Oriented Refurbishment of System and Equipment for Microclimatic Control

Ascione

Bianco

Masi

et al. 2016

American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences

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Topic of the study is the investigation of potentialities of energy simulation for optimizing the building refurbishment, by taking into account impacts of both envelope renovation and HVAC system selection. Energy audit and refurbishment of the Day-Hospital building of a great Italian health care facility are proposed. A meticulous energy diagnosis of the base case building and design of a complete renovation-by improving both building envelope and HVAC systems-are presented. All data and boundary conditions for dynamic energy investigations have been carefully selected, also by means of in-situ studies, in order to provide a reliable model. In particular, several energy efficiency measures, with reference to building envelope and HVAC systems, are analyzed and it will be evidenced that, step-by-step, a proper design, supported by the adoption of numerical studies, may optimize the energy performances of the building, as well as the indoor microclimatic control.

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“…Factors indicated as possible causes include physical parameters (temperature, humidity, ventilation, particle matters, etc.) and psychological issues (Cao et al, 2012). In general, buildingrelated symptoms refer to the prevalence of general, mucosal, skin symptoms which were associated with eyes, nose, and upper respiratory, and skin (Eriksson and Stenberg, 2006).…”

Section: Building-related Symptomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The health of people working inside air-conditioned offices depends on biological, chemical, and thermal variables (Turiel, 1998). A study conducted in the tropical climate zones of China indicated that extended exposure to air-conditioned environments may cause discomfort to the human body, although a few people were more comfortable in such cool air-conditioned environments (Cao et al, 2012). Furthermore, the probability of sick building syndrome can be higher if thermal variables, such as ambient temperature, relative humidity (RH), and ventilation rate, are not controlled appropriately (Amin et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Thermal Comfort and Building-Related Symptoms in Air-Conditioned Offices in Tropical Regions: A Case Study in Singapore and Thailand

Sikram

Ichinose

Sasaki

2020

Front. Built Environ.

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Indoor thermal environment is important for maintaining comfort and health. In a tropical region, it becomes more critical when the airconditioning system consumes excessive energy for a whole year. This study aims to clarify the impact of thermal environment on human comfort and building-related symptoms in air-conditioned offices. A field study was conducted in office spaces in Singapore and Thailand from 2017 to 2019 by installing data loggers to measure thermal variables together with a questionnaire survey. As a result, the psychometric charts of ASHRAE 55 show that most of the measured thermal environments were fitted to the 1.0 clo comfort zone, which was not recommended for people in this region. Overcooling determined the cause of high discomfort when people felt cold and preferred a warmer temperature. Based on Griffith's method, average comfort temperatures were 24.8 • C (Singapore) and 24.0 • C (Thailand). The probit analysis illustrated that the comfort temperature range for a dissatisfaction of 20% was 23.6-26.4 • C (Singapore) and 22.9-25.6 • C (Thailand). These comfort temperature ranges which were higher than the measured values reflected the clothing adaptation and the personal complaints. Symptoms were reported in the coldest temperature group (21-22 • C), with the highest odds ratio (OR) of symptom occurrence. The thermal sensation vote (TSV) defined that the higher rate of symptoms belonged to the colder-than-neutral side, whereas the thermal comfort vote (TCV) could not well predict the symptom occurrence. The intention of enhancing comfort and promoting better health conditions in the offices of these regions was discussed, while considering warmer indoor temperatures.

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The Impact of Air-conditioning Usage on Sick Building Syndrome during Summer in China

Cited by 33 publications

References 9 publications

Evaluation of Air Condition Use and Its Health Effects

Evaluation of Air Condition Use and Its Health Effects

Energy Audit of Health Care Facilities: Dynamic Simulation of Energy Performances and Energy-Oriented Refurbishment of System and Equipment for Microclimatic Control

Assessment of Thermal Comfort and Building-Related Symptoms in Air-Conditioned Offices in Tropical Regions: A Case Study in Singapore and Thailand

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