Indoor Environmental Quality of Air Conditioned Residential Buildings in Extreme Dry Desert Climate

In this study, the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in air conditioned residential buildings in a dry desert climate is examined from the perspective of occupants via two aspects: thermal comfort and indoor air quality. The study presents statistical data about the domestic-occupant thermal comfort sensations together with data describing the indoor air quality in Kuwaiti residential buildings. With respect to the latter, the overall IEQ acceptance using two measurements namely: physical measurements and subjective information collected via questionnaires, was used to evaluate 111 occupants living in twenty five air-conditioned residential buildings in the state of Kuwait. The operative temperature based on Actual Mean Vote (AMV) and Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) was identified using linear regression analysis of responses on the ASHRAE seven-point thermal sensation scale and was found to be 25.2°C and 23.3°C, respectively, in the summer season. Indoor air quality (IAQ) with respect to carbon dioxide concentration level was compared with the acceptable limits of international standards, i.e. ASHRAE Standard 62.1 [1]. The proposed overall IEQ acceptance findings in residential buildings show CO2 concentration level between 909 and 1250 ppm. However, this may be considered a higher level of CO2 concentration, which may require increasing ventilation rate through window operation or mechanical ventilation.

An Intelligent IEQ Monitoring and Feedback System:Development and Applications

Indoor environmental quality(IEQ)significantly affects human health and wellbeing.Therefore,continuous IEQ monitoring and feedback is of great concern in both the industrial and academic communities.However,most existing studies only focus on developing sensors that cost-effectively promote IEQ measurement while ignoring interactions between the human side and IEQ monitoring.In this study,an intelligent IEQ monitoring and feedback system-the Intelligent Built Enviroment(IBEM)-is developed.Firstly,the IBEM hardware instrument integrates air temperature,relative humidity,CO_(2),particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter no greater than _(2.5)μm(PM_(2.5)),and illuminance sensors within a small device.The accuracy of this integrated device was tested through a co-location experiment with reference sensors;the device exhibited a strong correlation with the reference sensors,with a slight deviation(R^(2)>0.97 and slopes between 1.01 and 1.05).Secondly,a wireless data transmission module,a cloud storage module,and graphical user interfaces(i.e.,a web platform and mobile interface)were built to establish a pathway for dataflow and interactive feedback with the occupants of the indoor environments.Thus,the IEQ parameters can be continuously monitored with a high spatiotemporal resolution,interactive feedback can be induced,and synchronous data collection on occupant satisfaction and objective environmental parameters can be realized.IBEM has been widely applied in 131 buildings in 18cities/areas in China,with 1188 sample locations.Among these applications,we report on the targeted IEQ diagnoses of two individual buildings and the exploration of relationships between subjective and objective IEQ data in detail here.This work demonstrates the great value of IBEM in both industrial and academic research.

A cross-sectional study into the correlation of common household risk factors and allergic rhinitis in Taiwan's tropical environment

Objective:To discuss the effect of lesser-known potential risk factors,such as bedroom showers,on the prevalence of allergic rhinitis.Methods:A cross-sectional,population-based study was performed using both survey and fungal culturing in southern Taiwan.There were 998 participants enrolled in the survey,and 513 sets of fungal culture obtained.With score for allergic rhinitis(SFAR) more than 7,the patient was defined to have allergic rhinitis.Risks of allergic rhinitis were calculated as odds ratios for various predicted risk factors by logistic regression.Correlation between predicted risk factors and fungal level were examined with linear regression.Results:The adjusted odds ratio of frequently using bedroom shower to having allergic rhinitis was 1.572(95% confidence interval:1.090-2.265),and 0.962 for people with older age to have AR(95% confidence interval:0.949-0.976).As to the 24-hour fungal level,the standardized coefficient was 0.254 for frequent use of bedroom shower,and 0.106 for window open hours.Conclusions:Use of bedroom shower is a potential risk factor for allergic rhinitis development.

Behavior of the Cultivable Airborne Mycobiota in air-conditioned environments of three Havanan archives, Cuba

High concentrations of environmental fungi in the archives repositories are dangerous for the documents preserved in those places and for the workers'health.The aims of this work were to evaluate the behavior of the fungal concentration and diversity in the indoor air of repositories of 3 archives located in Havana,Cuba,and to demonstrate the potential risk that these taxa represent for the documentary heritage preserved in these institutions.The indoor and outdoor environments were sampled with a biocollector.From the I/O ratios,it was evident that two of the studied archives were not contaminated,while one of them did show contamination despite having temperature and relative humidity values very similar to the other two.Aspergillus,Penicillium and Cladosporium were the predominant genera in the indoor environments.New finds for archival environments were the genera Harposporium and Scolecobasidium.The principal species classified ecologically as abundant were C.cladosporioides and P.citrinum.They are known as opportunistic pathogenic fungi.All the analyzed taxa excreted acids,the most of them degraded cellulose,starch and gelatin while about 48%excreted different pigments.But 33%of them showed the highest biodeteriogenic potential,evidencing that they are the most dangerous for the documentary collections.

Building and Environment

Voluntary green-rating systems exist in different forms worldwide to certify the sustainability of residential and commercial buildings and help national policies promote energy-efficient design practices.Despite the general assumption that sustainable buildings also provide high comfort and healthy conditions,existing studies on green-rated buildings led to controversial conclusions in this regard. This paper aims to report the results of a post-occupancy evaluation (POE) conducted on four Swiss green buildings certified with the Minergie label to analyse their ability in providing comfort to their occupants.The POE protocol included winter and summer environmental monitoring campaigns (long-term and instantaneous measurements) as well as extensive and point-in-time comfort surveys. From the study it was found that,although the observed environmental factors were most of the time complying with the norm prescriptions,the indoor conditions were never attaining the commonly used 80 % satisfaction threshold by the users.Temperature and air quality appeared,in particular,as the most critical factors,with satisfaction rates never greater than 50 % in three out of the four case studies. Design factors related to the personal control on the indoor environment as well as personal factors like gender,climate of origin and duration of residence in the country were also found to have an impact in the comfort rating. Professionals involved in the design and management of these buildings all agreed that feedback of this kind from building in use could help inform the design and operational process and move towards more effective green building certification systems and regulations.

Application of statistical analysis of sample size:How many occupant responses are required for an indoor environmental quality(IEQ)field study

Determining required sample size is one of the critical pathways to reproducible,reliable and robust results in human-related studies.This paper aims to answer a fundamental but often overlooked question:what sample size is required in surveys of occupant responses to indoor environmental quality(IEQ).The statistical models are introduced in order to promote determining required sample size for various types of data analysis methods commonly used in IEQ field studies.The Monte Carlo simulations are performed to verify the statistical methods and to illustrate the impact of sample size on the study accuracy and reliability.Several examples are presented to illustrate how to determine the value of the parameters in the statistical models based on previous similar research or existing databases.The required sample size including“worst”and“optimal”cases in each condition is obtained by this method and references.It is indicated that 385 is a“worst case”sample size to be adequate for a subgroup analysis,while if the researcher has an estimate of the study design and outcome,the“optimal case”sample size can potentially be reduced.When the required sample size is not achievable,the uncertainty in the result can properly interpret via a confidence interval.It is hoped that this paper would fill in the gap between statistical analysis of sample size and IEQ field research,and it can provide a useful reference for researchers when planning their own studies.

Fungal contaminations of indoor and outdoor air of buildings of the University of Cape Coast,Ghana

The presence of microscopic spores in the air affects the quality of air inhaled by animals including humans.Microbial contamination of air impacts the well-being of occupants of an indoor environment,sometimes with dire consequences.The study investigated fungal contaminations of indoor and outdoor air of the Hospital,Library and Senior Common Room(SCR)of the University of Cape Coast,Ghana.Indoor and outdoor air was sampled using the Koch’s sedimentation method.Colony forming units per cubic meter of air(cfu/m^(3))were determined with the Omeliansky formula.The isolated fungi were identified based on morphological and growth characteristics.For indoor air,the least colony counts were recorded in the SCR for both morning and afternoon samples,whilst the Hospital air had the highest colony counts.For outdoor air,the colony counts were lower in SCR and the Library for both morning and afternoon samples compared to the Hospital.The results further indicated that indoor concentrations of fungi,for morning and afternoon,ranged between 4.0x10^(4) and 2.1x10^(5) cfu/m^(3),whereas outdoor concentrations of fungi ranged between 1.1x105 and 3.0x10^(5) cfu/m^(3),revealing an overall higher levels of contamination of outdoor air than indoor air at all the three buildings.Consequently,estimated indoor/outdoor(I/O)concentration ratios of fungi revealed an exogenous source of indoor contaminations at all the three buildings sampled.Fungi isolated from indoor and outdoor air were of the genera Aspergillus,Curvularia,Cylindrocarpon,Fusarium,Mucor,Neurospora,Penicillium and Rhodotorula.We conclude that indoor and outdoor air of the buildings sampled were contaminated with airborne fungi;however,based on estimated I/O ratios,the indoor ambient conditions of the buildings were good.The implication of findings of this study is that the presence of airborne fungal contaminants of indoor and outdoor workplace environment may pose serious occupational health consequences,hence low productivity.

公共图书馆典型室内环境颗粒物污染状况研究

为改善公共图书馆的室内空气质量,对图书馆典型室内环境颗粒物污染进行了研究。通过采集不同区域的室内空气样品,分析颗粒物浓度,发现图书馆室内环境颗粒物浓度普遍较高。通过污染水平对比及颗粒物时空分布特征可知,颗粒物主要来源是人员活动和室内装修,建议采取加强室内通风、控制人员活动和选择低挥发性有机化合物材料等措施,降低室内环境颗粒物浓度。

南昌高校宿舍夏季睡眠环境现场调查与统计分析

以南昌某高校学生宿舍为研究对象,测量了夏季夜间室内温度、相对湿度、风速、CO_(2)浓度等环境参数,并对26名受试者睡前和醒后的主观环境评价及睡眠质量进行了调查。利用统计学方法对测量和调查结果进行了分析,结果表明:睡眠状态与睡前清醒状态热中性温度都为25℃,睡眠状态有比清醒状态更宽的可接受温度范围;宿舍夜间CO_(2)浓度较高,醒后室内空气品质满意度比睡前显著降低,应适当增强通风;睡眠期间较高的室内温度、相对湿度和CO_(2)浓度都会导致睡眠质量下降;夜间凉爽且通风良好的室内环境更有利于提高学生睡眠质量。

北京高校宿舍供暖前后室内热环境变化及其对学生睡眠热舒适的影响

为探究供暖前后宿舍内热环境差异及其对学生睡眠热舒适的影响,在北京某高校实地调研了8个不同朝向宿舍的室内热环境,并采用问卷调研和睡眠手环监测结合的方式获得了16名高校学生的睡眠质量情况。结果表明:供暖前宿舍内夜间平均温度为(18.6±1.1)℃,供暖初期为(20.2±1.4)℃,满足标准要求;实测期间宿舍夜间相对湿度高于30%,满足舒适度要求;床褥系统总热阻约为3.5~4.9 clo,其中,睡衣热阻大约为0.03~0.40 clo;供暖初期受试者睡前热中性温度为18.0℃,可接受温度范围为16.0~19.8℃,早晨醒后倾向更暖的环境;睡前热感觉与睡眠质量存在显著关联,当受试者睡前热感觉偏暖时,睡眠满意度及深睡眠比例较高,有利于睡眠。

兰州市某农村地区秋冬季室内环境质量监测分析

目的掌握兰州市榆中县某农村地区秋冬季室内环境污染现状并分析其影响因素。方法在兰州市榆中县连搭镇薛家营村采用随机抽样的方法,抽取30户家庭住宅作为调查对象,于2023年9月(秋季)和2023年12月(冬季)分别对室内环境进行采样,收集噪音、照度、温度、湿度、PM_(2.5)、PM_(10)、CO、CO_(2)、NO_(2)、苯、甲苯、二甲苯、菌落总数、真菌总数监测数据,数据的统计学描述采用M(P_(25),P_(75)),不同季节和房间类型相应指标的监测结果差异比较采用非参数检验进行分析,室内环境各因素间的相关性采用Spearman秩相关进行分析。结果本次研究秋冬两季各收集60份空气标本,PM_(2.5)达标率最低(0.00%),二甲苯达标率最高(100.00%);噪音、温度、湿度、菌落总数、真菌总数秋季高于冬季且差异具有统计学意义,PM_(2.5)、PM_(10)、CO、CO_(2)、甲醛、苯、甲苯冬季高于秋季且差异具有统计学意义,温度在不同房间类型间的存在差异且差异具有统计学意义。结论兰州市所调查农村地区秋冬季室内空气中的主要污染物为PM_(2.5),应关注房屋固体燃料燃烧、烹饪情况等对农村室内空气质量的影响。

Machine Learning and Deep Learning Methods for Enhancing Building Energy Efficiency and Indoor Environmental Quality – A Review

The built environment sector is responsible for almost one-third of the world’s final energy consumption. Hence, seeking plausible solutions to minimise building energy demands and mitigate adverse environmental impacts is necessary. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as machine and deep learning have been increasingly and successfully applied to develop solutions for the built environment. This review provided a critical summary of the existing literature on the machine and deep learning methods for the built environment over the past decade, with special reference to holistic approaches. Different AI-based techniques employed to resolve interconnected problems related to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and enhance building performances were reviewed, including energy forecasting and management, indoor air quality and occupancy comfort/satisfaction prediction, occupancy detection and recognition, and fault detection and diagnosis. The present study explored existing AI-based techniques focusing on the framework, methodology, and performance. The literature highlighted that selecting the most suitable machine learning and deep learning model for solving a problem could be challenging. The recent explosive growth experienced by the research area has led to hundreds of machine learning algorithms being applied to building performance-related studies. The literature showed that existing research studies considered a wide range of scope/scales (from an HVAC component to urban areas) and time scales (minute to year). This makes it difficult to find an optimal algorithm for a specific task or case. The studies also employed a wide range of evaluation metrics, adding to the challenge. Further developments and more specific guidelines are required for the built environment field to encourage best practices in evaluating and selecting models. The literature also showed that while machine and deep learning had been successfully applied in building energy efficiency research, most of the studies are still at the experimental or testing stage, and there are limited studies which implemented machine and deep learning strategies in actual buildings and conducted the post-occupancy evaluation.

Indoor environmental quality and the prevalence of childhood asthma and rhinitis in Wuhan area of China

Indoor environmental quality is suspected to be at least part of the cause of the increasing prevalence of childhood asthma and allergy.This study is part of the China,Children,Homes,Health(CCHH)project,which was designed to identify the risk factors indoors that are associated with prevalence of asthma and allergy among children in China.A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out in Wuhan in 2011.The questionnaire was a modified(to Chinese building characteristics)version of a questionnaire used first in Sweden.The parents of 2193 children,aged 1–8 years,replied,a response rate of 91.4%(2193/2400).Prevalences of asthma and allergic symptoms were calculated,and a Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were used to identify risk factors.Prevalences of health outcomes are"wheezing last 12 months"18.5%,"cough at night last 12 months"15.4%,"doctor-diagnosed asthma"6.0%,"rhinitis last 12 months"48.7%,"doctor-diagnosed allergic rhinitis"17.5%.Factors associated with increased risk for asthma,allergy and related symptoms include living in an urban area,dampness(significant),use of gas for cooking,new dwelling decoration(paint and furniture obtained during pregnancy),keeping pets and breast feeding less than 3months.Factors associated with reduced risk as installing an exhaust fan in the bathroom.Home environmental factors are significantly associated with the prevalence of childhood asthma and rhinitis in Wuhan.Urbanization and dampness problems at home are significant risk factors for doctor diagnosed asthma and allergic rhinitis among children in Wuhan.

重庆市绿色建筑检测现状及问题分析

绿色建筑检测是对绿色建筑设计方案和施工工艺水平进行检验测试的一种手段,旨在验证建筑实体或运行效果是否达到绿色建筑的设计理念,是促进绿色建筑健康发展的重要一环。该文着重分析了重庆市现有绿色建筑检测方法在实际操作过程中存在的问题,并提出了相应的解决方案。

农业喷雾质量的室内试验与农田环境测试

农业植保喷雾技术经过多年发展,已经得到快速普及应用,为探索植保喷雾技术发展趋势和技术研发突破关键点,开展了室内环境试验与田间试验,重点针对市场常见的喷杆喷雾机、植保无人机、弥雾机进行试验,试验统计测量雾滴直径、雾滴密度、有效覆盖率、分布均匀性、飘移率、有效幅宽等指标,并进行室内外各项数据的对比分析,强调了应从雾化技术、喷头技术、防漂移技术、变量喷施技术等方面进行植保喷雾技术升级。

低碳建筑性能多维后评估研究

建筑后评估PoE(Post-Occupancy Evaluation)是在建筑建造和使用一段时间后,对建筑进行系统的严格评价过程。近年来,我国大力推广近零能耗建筑、低碳建筑建设,早期一批示范建筑已经逐步落地,但关于如何对低碳建筑进行后评估,如何验证低碳建筑运行效果的相关标准及研究仍然较少。本文研究了国内外关于建筑后评估的方法和流程,提出一种评估全面,实操性强,适合我国国情的低碳建筑性能多维后评估的流程,该流程主要包含问卷调查,建筑物理及能源系统信息收集,能耗、碳排放和环境数据收集及指标打分体系。本研究提出的POE流程在评估建筑性能同时,可以分析建筑设计及运行问题,为建筑低碳改造或运维优化提供建议支持,该流程可供业内参考。

胶东地区高品质住宅室内环境保障与低碳节能技术探析

本文旨在探讨胶东地区高品质住宅在室内环境保障和低碳节能技术方面的应用。介绍了高品质是住宅建筑行业发展的必然趋势及高品质住宅的定义和特点。以典型户型为例,采用动态负荷计算软件精细计算其全年动态负荷,为其设备选型提供依据。本研究分析了室内环境保障和低碳节能技术的相关概念和主要技术措施,从室内舒适度、洁净度、静音度及造价等多方面进行方案比较,以便更直观地为项目选择最适合的设计方案。并给出节能减排设计、智能化管理、噪声控制等方面具体做法。阐述了高品质住宅如何通过这些技术手段实现室内环境的保障和低碳节能目标。最后总结了本研究的意义,并提出未来研究的方向和建议。

The integration model of objective and subjective data of residential indoor environment quality in Northeast China based on structural equation modeling

Currently the indoor environment quality is described or evaluated mainly by the subjective or objective data.However,research increasingly has demonstrated that objective and subjective data both had some weaknesses to characterize the indoor environment quality,and they can compensate for each other's relative weaknesses.Hence,this study aims to develop an integration model to allow indoor subjective and objective data to be combined based on the structural equation modeling approach,using the Northeast China residential indoor environmental survey data.The results indicated that the integration model had a good fit for the survey data,and the model validity was confirmed.Moreover,in contrast to the subjective data(R^(2)=0.363)and objective data(R^(2)=0.239),the integrated data(R^(2)=0.553)improved the explanatory power on the satisfaction with the overall indoor environment.Furthermore,this integration model demonstrated that indoor subjective data assigned more weights to the integrated data than the corresponding objective data.The association strength of thermal environment and indoor air quality(0.43 or 0.47)was the strongest among the interactions of thermal,air quality,acoustic,and lighting environments.Consequently,the main contribution of this paper was that it provided a comprehensive model to accomplish the integration of indoor environmental subjective and objective data,promoting the ability to describe and assess the indoor environment quality.

室内环境与自然通风

通风的目的是保证室内良好的空气品质,采用自然通风方式是生态建筑设计的重要内容,通过良好的自然通风组织减少对空调的利用,并及时将污染物排出,改善室内空气品质。在热舒适方面,自然通风形成的室内热环境有利于人体舒适性。分析了生态建筑中自然通风对室内空气品质与室内热环境产生的影响,探讨了利用自然通风来改善建筑的室内环境的效果和策略,并提出了相应的设计方法。研究结果表明:组织合理的自然通风,可以有效地改善室内的空气品质和室内热环境。

基于无线传感技术的体育场馆室内空气环境监控系统设计

体育场馆是运动与健身的主要场所,其室内环境要满足观众席人员的舒适性和比赛项目要求,同时也要考虑室内环境对赛场运动人群的机体造成的生理、心理的影响。为了获得室内环境评价所需室内环境参数,本研究以ZigBee协议为基础,设计了对体育场馆内二氧化碳、甲醛等室内空气品质参数和温湿度、风速等多种室内热环境参数的无线传感器网络。系统采用星型拓扑结构,系统中节点由协调器节点与传感器节点组成,负责数据采集和上传节点是传感器节点。协调器接收网络内所有传感器节点的数据,并将这些数据通过RS232串口上传至计算机。本系统网络数据传输较稳定,可靠传输距离在250米,自动重连距离达到100米,能适应较复杂的体育场馆环境。本研究成果为后续对体育场馆室内环境检测体系和评估标准的制定提供前端采集系统。