Environmental rating methods: selecting indoor environmental quality (IEQ) aspects and indicators

It is often unclear whether environmental rating methods for buildings assess the most significant environmental aspects or if other considerations lie behind the choice of assessment aspects in specific methods. In the development of a comprehensive Swedish environmental rating method for buildings, a number of approaches for selecting environmental aspects in a method were tested. These include basing the selection on the severity and extent of problems, on official objectives, on mandatory rules, and on current practice. Once aspects, or rather building-related health problems, are selected, possible indicators for monitoring these problems can be tested with regard to theoretical and practical criteria in order to understand better the strengths and limitations of different indicators. The analyses in the paper are limited to indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and thus cover extensive reviews of current IEQ methods, Swedish objectives, and legislation as well as the severity and extent of IEQ problems. The results show that depending on the chosen approach, different numbers of aspects turn out to be significant. The approaches for prioritizing aspects suggested here can be used, preferably in combination. An aspect can be seen as motivated for inclusion in a method if many of the approaches suggest its significance.

Il est souvent difficile de savoir si les méthodes de classement de l'environnement utilisées dans le bâtiment évaluent les aspects environnementaux les plus significatifs ou si d'autres considérations restent derrière le choix des aspects d'évaluation dans des méthodes spécifiques. Dans le cadre de l'élaboration d'une méthode complète de classement de l'environnement en Suède appliquée aux bâtiments, on a testé un certain nombre d'approches pour sélectionner les aspects environnementaux dans une méthode. Cela implique de baser la sélection sur la gravité et l'étendue des problèmes, sur des objectifs officiels, sur des règles obligatoires et sur la pratique actuelle. Après avoir sélectionné les aspects ou plutôt les problèmes de santé liés aux bâtiments, on peut tester des indicateurs possibles pour surveiller ces problèmes par rapport à des critères théoriques et pratiques afin de mieux comprendre la force et les limitations des différents indicateurs. Les analyses exposées dans cet article sont limitées à la qualité de l'environnement intérieur (IEQ) et couvrent donc des revues complètes des méthodes IEQ actuelles, les objectifs de la Suède, la législation ainsi que la gravité et l'étendue des problèmes d'IEQ. Les résultats montrent qu'en fonction de l'approche choisie, un certain nombre d'aspects différents apparaissent comme significatifs. Les méthodes concernant les aspects de fixation des priorités suggérées ici peuvent être utilisées, de préférence en combinaison. Un aspect peut être considéré comme motivé pour inclusion dans une méthode si de nombreuses approches suggèrent sa signification.

Mots cle´s: evaluation des bâtiments, caractéristique des bâtiments, evaluation de l'environnement, indicateurs environnementaux, performances environnementales, classement de l'environnement, santé, qualité de l'environnement intérieur, bruit     

Perceived control in indoor environments: a conceptual approach

Building automation systems provide the potential to optimize the energy consumption of buildings as well as to detect failures in the operation of buildings. The system comprising building form–HVAC–building automation–user is becoming more complex. Providing the occupants with control over the indoor environment is widely accepted for its positive effect on their satisfaction. This paper explores what the term ‘perceived control’ means conceptually and draws implications for its application to the design and management of buildings. Personality- and environmental-psychology emphasize the importance of personal control to humans. The adaptive model of thermal comfort, findings from post-occupancy evaluations and surveys in real buildings also indicate the importance of high levels of perceived control. These models and findings exist in parallel and have not yet been interconnected and translated into models for the built environment. A new conceptual approach to explain perceived control is proposed. Satisfaction with the indoor environment occurs not only when ‘comfort’ is provided but also immediately after a successful control action, even if homeostasis has not yet been achieved (pleasure). Giving control to occupants can result in higher levels of satisfaction.     

Quantifying occupant comfort: are combined indices of the indoor environment practicable?

What are the various ways in which evaluation of the several aspects of the indoor environment might combine to form an occupant's overall assessment of that environment? Data from an environmental survey of 26 offices in Europe (the Smart Controls and Thermal Comfort, or SCATs, project) are used. These show that dissatisfaction with one or more aspects of the indoor environment does not necessarily produce dissatisfaction with the environment overall. Conversely, satisfaction with one or more environmental aspect does not necessarily produce satisfaction with the total environment. Building occupants balance the good features against the bad to reach their overall assessment. Not all aspects are equally important in this subjective averaging process. Satisfaction with warmth and air quality is more important than satisfaction with the level of lighting or humidity. The relative importance of the various aspects differed from country to country, making it impossible to develop an internationally valid index to rate office environments by means of a single number. The best linear index constructed from the data failed to rank the indoor environments of the buildings in the correct order, as defined by the occupants' overall assessments. It is therefore wise to assess each of the several aspects separately rather than rely only on a combined index.     

Associations of perceived indoor environmental quality with stress in the workplace

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is a general indicator of the quality of conditions inside a building. We investigated associations of perceived IEQ including air quality, thermal comfort, noise, and light quality with stress at work and the extent to which workplace location modifies these associations. We recruited 464 full-time workers from four companies in Singapore. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle/health-related factors, and workplace factors were collected through self-administered questionnaires. Perceived IEQ satisfaction scores of all four factors were collected using the validated OFFICAIR questionnaire. We fitted a logistic regression model to assess associations between each perceived IEQ score and stress at work, adjusting for potential confounders. The odds ratio for stress at work associated with a 1-unit increase in perceived air quality score was 0.88 (0.82-0.94), 0.89 (0.82-0.97) for thermal comfort, 0.93 (0.87-0.98) for noise, and 0.88 (0.82-0.94) for light quality. Significant associations were found in office and control rooms for all four perceived IEQ, except for thermal comfort in office rooms. Higher satisfaction levels of perceived air quality, thermal comfort, noise, and lighting, were significantly associated with a reduction in stress at work. Our findings could potentially provide a useful tool for environmental health impact assessment for buildings.     

基于环境心理学的室内环境设计

阐述了环境心理学是现代室内环境设计人性化设计的指导理论,就如何运用环境心理学进行室内环境设计做了具体的分析和讲解,从而创造出安全、舒适、宜人和富有美感的室内环境。     

A multivariate-logistic model for acceptance of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in offices

The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in offices is examined from the prospect of an occupant's acceptance in four aspects: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, noise level and illumination level. Based on the evaluations made by 293 occupants of the IEQ of offices in Hong Kong, empirical expressions have been proposed to approximate an overall IEQ acceptance of an office environment at certain operative temperature (T_o), carbon dioxide concentration (CO₂), equivalent noise level (L_eq) and illumination level (lux). The overall IEQ acceptance is calculated from a multivariate logistic regression model. A range of acceptance in typical office environmental conditions and its dependence on the four parameters stated above are determined for design conditions. The proposed overall IEQ acceptance can be used as a quantitative assessment criterion for an office environment and similar environment where an occupant's evaluation is expected.     

室内环境污染的检测与防治

阐述了室内环境污染的五种主要污染物甲醛、氨、氡、苯、TVOC的检测方法,提出对室内环境检测上的认识误区和防治室内环境污染的措施,从而有效降低室内环境污染,提高室内环境质量要求.     

办公楼室内环境品质控制与优化

室内办公环境品质直接影响办公室中人员的工作效率和健康,需要进行有效地控制和优化,以保证其舒适性、低能耗和健康的要求。以某办公室为对象,研究了室内环境品质各参数和控制量之间的关系,建立了室内环境品质双线性模型。利用实验数据进行了模型验证,结果表明:模型输出能较好拟合实际情况;并基于模型预测方法进行室内环境品质控制,通过夏季工况仿真实验证明了提出方法比传统控制方式具有更小的稳态误差和较小的超调性,且更加节能。     

Evaluation of thermal comfort and indoor air quality in offices

Professor Derek Croome and his colleagues in their CIB Montreal paper present the results of an investigation into the indoor environment of a naturally ventilated office and conclude that data from laboratory tests are insufficient. A field test method is established which allows an investigation to take into account window and door opening patterns and peoples reactions to air temperature, fresh air and movement.     

Post-occupancy evaluation and field studies of thermal comfort

The similarities and differences are explored in both the aims and the methods between post-occupancy evaluations and field studies of thermal comfort in buildings. The interpretations of the field study results are explored, especially the ways the results differ from laboratory experiments. Particular attention is drawn to the dynamic nature of the interaction between buildings and their occupants. Answers to questions of the type used in post-occupancy evaluations are compared with results from field studies of thermal comfort, and the implications of these findings for the evaluation of buildings and the conduct of post-occupancy evaluation are explored. Field studies of thermal comfort have shown that the way in which occupants evaluate the indoor thermal environment is context-dependent and varies with time. In using occupants as part of the means of measuring buildings, post-occupancy evaluations should be understood as reflecting the changing nature of the relationship between people, the climate and buildings. Surveys are therefore measuring a moving target, and close comparisons based on such surveys need to take this in to account.     

室内空气品质若干误区辨析

阐述了目前对室内空气品质问题一些认识上的误区。不解决这些误区就难以对室内环境实施更有效的控制，也难以将我国室内空气品质的研究提高到一个新水平。     

居室环境色彩分析与设计

针对室内空间特性,分析了居室色彩的特点,阐述了居室色彩的组合方法,对居室空间的不同区域进行了色彩设计,指出色彩的设计应以满足视觉需求和心理需求为原则,以期充分发挥色彩的功效作用。     

Inverse design of indoor environment using an adjoint RNG k‐ε turbulence model

The adjoint method can determine design variables of an indoor environment according to the optimal design objective, such as minimal predicted mean vote (PMV) for thermal comfort. The method calculates the gradient of the objective function over the design variables so that the objective function can be minimized along the fastest direction using an optimization algorithm. Since the objective function is controlled by the Reynolds‐averaged Navier‐Stokes (RANS) equations with the RNG k‐ε model during the optimization process, all the corresponding adjoint equations should be solved, rather than the “frozen turbulence” assumption used in previous studies. This investigation developed adjoint equations for the RNG k‐ε turbulence model and applied it to a two‐dimensional ventilated cavity and a three‐dimensional, two‐person office. Design processes with the adjoint RNG k‐ε turbulence model led to a near‐zero design function for the two cases, while those with the “frozen turbulence” assumption did not. This investigation has successfully used the new method to design a two‐person office with optimal thermal comfort level around the two occupants.     

浅谈民用建筑工程室内环境污染的控制

介绍了民用建筑工程中常见的致污材料,提出了民用建筑工程室内环境中的主要污染物及标准控制要求,分析了民用建筑工程室内环境主要污染物控制中存在的问题,并提出了具体解决问题的意见及建议,从而提高民用建筑室内环境质量。     

住宅室内空气质量探讨

针对室内空气污染严重的现象,分析了室内环境存在的污染物,总结了人们由于接触这些污染物可能产生的不良症状,为了保持室内空气清新,介绍了目前住宅的三种通风方式及其各自的特点,并提出了采用空气置换设备,以提高民用建筑室内的空气质量,并达到节能的目的。     

室内环境质量的检测及防治

介绍了室内空气污染物的种类及其对人的危害,提出了室内环境质量检测的取样条件和方法,给出了检测采用的现行国家标准及结果判定,最后就室内环境质量的防治措施进行了探讨,以保障公众健康、维护公共利益。     

建筑装饰材料对室内环境的影响及对策

分析了室内环境污染物对人体的危害,针对建筑材料和装修材料中有害物质的控制进行了探讨,强调了对进场材料的质量控制,论述了室内空气质量的验收,以减少施工过程中的污染,为人们创造安全舒适的生活和工作环境。     

空气传播的生化袭击与建筑环境安全(4):计算室内人员暴露剂量的暴露单元及其分层模型

为了准确获得短时间内人员在室内微环境中的暴露剂量,提出了暴露单元及分层模型的概念。基于暴露单元及其分层模型,通过单元累加和人员累加计算,推导出了暴露单元对室内人群暴露剂量的贡献率、单个人员的累积暴露剂量和室内人群的累积暴露剂量计算公式,公式从不同的角度反映了室内人员的暴露水平。通过室内人员暴露剂量的计算,结合生化毒剂的剂量反应关系,可评价在特定生化袭击情景下室内人群的伤亡水平,为有效控制室内空气污染和指导人员安全疏散提供依据。