Indoor Environment: Ventilation and Thermal Comfort
A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Biometeorology and Bioclimatology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 50
Special Issue Editor
Interests: indoor air flow; CFD; smart ventilation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Recent research shows that indoor environmental quality directly affects health, cognitive performance, and productivity, with ventilation and thermal comfort among the most critical factors (Fisk, 2017; de Dear & Brager, 1998). The COVID-19 pandemic revealed limitations of existing ventilation standards for airborne infection control (Morawska & Milton, 2020). At the same time, increasing cooling demand and overheating risks linked to climate extremes point to the need for adaptable, low-carbon comfort strategies (IEA, 2018; Kenny et al., 2024). These developments show that the design and control of indoor environments are central to both building science and public health.
This Special Issue seeks contributions that address these challenges through human-centred design approaches that prioritise occupant health, comfort, and perception rather than mechanical efficiency alone. It also emphasises integrated solutions, where air quality, infection risk, energy performance, and comfort are considered together. We welcome research on both adaptive design, enabling buildings to respond to changing climates and occupancy patterns, and proactive control, where predictive models or digital twins can be used to anticipate the need to optimise airflow, temperature, and energy in real time.
By drawing on the submitted collection, this Special Issue aims to consolidate recent advances and demonstrate how resilient and adaptable indoor environments can be achieved while linking occupant well-being with energy-efficient building performance.
References
- Fisk, W.J. The ventilation problem in schools: Literature review. Indoor Air 2017, 27, 1039–1051. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12403.
- Brager, G.S., de Dear, R.J. Thermal adaptation in the built environment: a literature review. Energy and Buildings 1998, 27, 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7788(97)00053-4.
- Morawska L, Milton DK. It Is Time to Address Airborne Transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Clin Infect Dis. 2020, 71(9), 2311-2313. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa939. PMID: 32628269; PMCID: PMC7454469.
- IEA (2018), World Energy Outlook 2018, IEA, Paris. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2018, Licence: CC BY 4.0.
- Kenny, G. P., Tetzlaff, E. J., Journeay, W. S., Henderson, S. B., & O’Connor, F. K. (2024). Indoor overheating: A review of vulnerabilities, causes, and strategies to prevent adverse human health outcomes during extreme heat events. Temperature, 11(3), 203–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/23328940.2024.2361223.
Dr. M. Amirul I. Khan
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- indoor air quality (IAQ)
- ventilation strategies
- thermal comfort
- human-centred design
- adaptive building design
- proactive control
- energy-efficient buildings
- infection risk mitigation
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