Indoor

Environmental
Quality for
Occupant
Comfort and
Wellbeing
UNIT V
Two ways to clean indoor air
Indoor air quality (IAQ) is an important
issue that has both short term and long
term impacts on the health of occupants.
There are two common strategies in
building design that are employed to deal
with the IAQ in a building:
The first one is to improve the indoor air
quality by increasing the ventilation rate,
which in turn reduces air pollutant .
The second is by reducing the source of
pollution within and outside the building in
order to reduce the introduction of
pollutants in the indoor air.
Using Natural Ventilation for
Sustainable Construction
Natural ventilation is a healthy and cost
effective way to save energy and provide
fresh air for building occupants. It is defined as
using passive strategies to supply outdoor air to
a building’s interior for ventilation and cooling
without using mechanical systems. Natural
ventilation has become a key component of
green building today and is required in order
to be certified by LEED and the Living Building
Challenge (LBC).
How it works

During the preconstruction phase of a

project, research is done to determine the
best positioning of the building to allow
adequate ventilation from prevailing winds.
There are also design elements that have to
be incorporated into a building to allow for
the free air access. For example, upper
clerestory windows will be installed in the
Brock Environmental Center in order to
provide free air access to the workspaces
below.
During preconstruction, the team will also
determine the range of ambient weather
variables (i.e. 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit) in
which the HVAC system will be turned off
and natural ventilation will be used.
Humidity and wind speed are also taken
into account in order to provide the most
comfortable and energy efficient
environment for building occupants.
The benefits of natural ventilation
The primary purpose of natural ventilation is to
allow the outside ambient weather to provide
low humidity, moderate temperature wind
currents as an alternate cooling source for the
building and provide air circulation throughout.
By using this method, building owners are able to
save on energy costs by turning off the HVAC
system when the temperatures are right. Natural
ventilation can replace all or part of a
mechanical system—reducing construction,
energy and operating costs for the owner.
Indoor climate is critical for human well being.
Similar to natural dayl ighting, natural ventilation
helps keep occupants comfortable and healthy
and increase productivity and learning.
Natural Day lighting
Admitting an acceptable level of life-nourishing
light while managing heat gain requires a
rigorous balancing act. Luckily, today’s
energy-efficient windows, as well as advances in
lighting design, allow efficient use of windows to
reduce the need for artificial lighting during
daylight hours without causing heating or cooling
problems.
While the best way to incorporate day lighting in
your home depends on your climate and home’s
design, the sizes and locations of windows should
be based on the path of the sun roughly
according to the cardinal directions.
Exhaust Ventilation Systems
Exhaust Ventilation Systems work by
decreasing the air pressure inside of a
building, causing indoor air to leave the
building, while outside air enters the
building through leaks in the building shell
and intentional passive vents.
These systems are most suitable in cold
climates
Negative impacts of paint on
environment
Negative impact on indoor air quality
VOC in paints a major reason of smog
generation
Latex, water based paints have low
environmental impact than oil or solvent
based paints
According to USEPA 9⸓ of air born air
pollutants creating ground level ozone
come from VOCs in paints.
Adhesives and sealants:
Liquid, or wet-applied, adhesives are
more likely to expose workers to
hazardous emissions than are tapes or
gaskets, with latex and solvent-free silicon
products generally posing the least risk.
Though most are safe to the end user,
many adhesives and sealants contain
hazardous ingredients.
Polyurethanes, which contain isocyanates
that may cause lung damage in workers,
need to be properly mixed, applied, and
cured, but proper ventilation and skin
protection should also be used when
applying certain acrylics, butyls,
polyurethanes, and polysulfides.
For Green building adhesives used within the
interiors, ensure that the VOC content does not
exceed the limits as specified in Table given below:
Use of Hard Surfaces/Materials
The right surface materials will function
acoustically by absorbing noise and blocking the
transmission of sound from one space to the next.
In green spaces, architects and designers tend to
specify harder materials, often avoiding mineral
fiber ceilings, carpet, or fabric wall coverings.
They do this, explains Moeller, because harder
materials give off the impression of being easier
to maintain and offer a longer lifespan; however,
they also eliminate absorption. Unless designed
with acoustics in mind, spaces without
sound-absorbing finishes, such as acoustic
ceilings, can have poor acoustics due to
reverberation, echo, and elevated noise levels
Achieving Acoustic Comfort in
Green Buildings
ABSORB NOISE
BLOCK NOISE
COVER NOISE
Green Building Codes
• ICC
• ASHRAE
• Beyond Codes