The impact of airtightness and low ventilation on air quality in domestic buildings and their effect on occupants.

Okom, C.; Kouider, T.

Abstract

One of the facets of responding to climate change is energy conservation which has become so imperative to both domestic and non-domestic buildings. The increasing idea of better insulation and airtightness in a bid to save energy in buildings tended to lead to higher risks of low ventilation and low air quality of the indoor environment. Furthermore, the resulting impact on occupants'thermal comfort and well-being are often untested. The aim of this paper is to examine how to balance airtightness with energy consumption and low ventilation to enhance good indoor air quality to meet carbon emission reduction targets in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) stipulated guideline to satisfy occupants comfort and wellbeing. The focus will be on domestic dwellings in Scotland. A mixed method approach was used to carry out an assessment of the perception and satisfaction of occupants. In addition to a survey of occupants, measurements of indoor air quality indicators of the sample dwellings, including carbon dioxide, relative humidity, air temperature, air velocity and other pollutant such as benzene, formaldehyde, TVOC, PM2.5, PM10. An assessment of the building fabric performance was also conducted to establish levels of energy efficiency and carbon emissions. Preliminary findings seem to indicate that the CO2 level in some of the sample dwellings are above the WHO recommendations for occupant and the level of the PM2.5 are not suitable for human habitation. Hence, there may be health implication for occupants in those buildings due to the elevated level of CO2 and PM2,5. Further analysis of the data collected will be carried out before final conclusions are established.

Citation

OKOM, C. and KOUIDER, T. 2024. The impact of airtightness and low ventilation on air quality in domestic buildings and their effect on occupants. In Kouider, T. and Hayden, I. (eds.) 2024. Proceedings of the 10th International congress on architectural technology (ICAT 2024): architectural technology transformation, 19 January 2024, Galway, Ireland. Aberdeen: Robert Gordon University [online], pages 51-67. Available from: https://tinyurl.com/ybh4ktdn

• Conference Name: 10th International congress on architectural technology (ICAT 2024): architectural technology transformation
• Conference Location: Galway, Ireland
• Start Date: Jan 19, 2024
• Acceptance Date: Aug 31, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 31, 2024
• Publication Date: Jan 31, 2024
• Deposit Date: Feb 6, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 6, 2024
• Publisher: Robert Gordon University
• Keywords: Energy conservation; Indoor air quality; Low ventilation; Carbon emissions; Thermal comfort; Wellbeing
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2234894
• Publisher URL: https://tinyurl.com/ybh4ktdn
• Related Public URLs: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2234890 (Full proceedings of ICAT 2024 edited by Tahar Kouider)