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Atmosphere
Special Issues
Modelling of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort
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Modelling of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 3563

Editors

Dr. João M. M. Gomes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering, ISE, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Interests: building energy savings; fault detection for electrical energy systems; HVAC control systems; renewable energies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eusébio Z. E. Conceição

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
Interests: energy; renewable energy; efficiency in buildings; thermal comfort; indoor air quality; building ventilation; CFD; human and building thermal simulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The modelling of indoor air quality and thermal comfort is an important issue within the field of air quality studies. Good indoor air quality and thermal comfort are fundamental in order for building occupants to achieve high health standards, as well as good professional and academic performance. Furthermore, indoor air quality and thermal comfort have been increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change. Therefore, research in this area is becoming increasingly relevant. The objective of this new Special Issue is to gather together new innovative research papers on the modelling of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. Numerical results, experimental tests and state-of-the-art research are welcome.

For this Special Issue, we are seeking studies related to the modelling of indoor air quality and thermal comfort, namely in the following areas:

  • Numerical and experimental studies in the area;
  • Building and vehicle spaces;
  • Indoor and outdoor air quality;
  • Indoor and outdoor thermal comfort levels;
  • The impact of climate change on indoor environmental conditions;
  • New indices to assess the quality of indoor environments;
  • Strategies for optimizing both energy consumption and indoor environmental quality;
  • Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems;
  • Design and construction strategies.

Dr. João M. M. Gomes
Dr. Eusébio Z. E. Conceição
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • numerical and experimental studies
  • buildings and vehicles
  • air quality
  • thermal comfort
  • HVAC systems
  • design and construction strategies
  • indoor air quality (IAQ)
  • heat stress

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 7931 KB  
Article
Numerical Analysis on Shading-Based Pedestrian Environment Optimization for HOD: A UTCI-Based Comparison at Macau LRT Union Hospital Station
by Zekai Guo, Qingnian Deng, Jingwei Liang, Lina Yan, Wei Liu, Yufei Zhu, Liang Zheng and Yile Chen
Atmosphere 2026, 17(6), 603; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17060603 - 12 Jun 2026
Viewed by 383
Abstract
In the context of subtropical cities, the slow-moving environment of HOD (Hospital-Oriented Development) faces the dual challenges of spatial fragmentation and an extreme hot and humid climate, which also restricts the outdoor space’s thermal environment performance. Taking the Macau Light Rapid Transit (LRT) [...] Read more.
In the context of subtropical cities, the slow-moving environment of HOD (Hospital-Oriented Development) faces the dual challenges of spatial fragmentation and an extreme hot and humid climate, which also restricts the outdoor space’s thermal environment performance. Taking the Macau Light Rapid Transit (LRT) Union Hospital Station as an example, this study constructs a “topology-climate” dual quantitative assessment framework that integrates space syntax and parametric universal thermal climate index (UTCI) simulation. In response to the current problems of mixed pedestrian and vehicular traffic and high-intensity heat radiation, a comprehensive intervention strategy combining three-dimensional stitching and spatial optimization is proposed. The results show that: (1) The implantation of three-dimensional corridors improved the spatial integration of the core area of the site by 67.0%, significantly optimizing network connectivity. (2) During the extreme high-temperature period of daytime (9:00–18:00) in summer and autumn, the intervention strategy precisely opened up a continuous low-heat-stress linear shade zone through the synergistic mechanism of building projection shadows, physical shading of connecting corridors, (landscape shading effect, original evaporation removed). (3) The study confirms that landscape-coupled shading layout is the most effective method, reducing potential pedestrian heat exposure across the entire area, while the three-dimensional connecting corridors precisely control the thermal environment of core walkways. Together, these two elements construct a “topology-climate” optimization framework, achieving a synergistic improvement in spatial accessibility and simulated thermal comfort performance under standard meteorological input and quantitatively verifying the optimization effectiveness of the tiered intervention scheme. This study provides a data-driven decision-making basis for optimizing potential walking thermal conditions for vulnerable groups and reshaping the space’s potential to improve microclimate via shading design of medical hub areas and also provides a scientific paradigm for TOD microclimate planning focused on shading-based thermal environment optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort)
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26 pages, 2669 KB  
Article
Effects of Green Plants on the Indoor Environment: Real-Life Case Studies in Italian Schools and Office Spaces
by Simone Putzolu, Rita Baraldi, Luisa Neri, Alessandro Zaldei, Carolina Vagnoli, Beniamino Gioli, Adam Nawrocki and Cinzia De Benedictis
Atmosphere 2026, 17(6), 596; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17060596 - 10 Jun 2026
Viewed by 363
Abstract
Students and workers spend much of their day in school and office environments, where poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can negatively affect health and comfort. Indoor vegetation is increasingly proposed as a low-cost nature-based solution (NBS) to improve IAQ. This study evaluated the [...] Read more.
Students and workers spend much of their day in school and office environments, where poor indoor air quality (IAQ) can negatively affect health and comfort. Indoor vegetation is increasingly proposed as a low-cost nature-based solution (NBS) to improve IAQ. This study evaluated the effects of phytoremediation on IAQ and indoor microclimate in schools across different regions and educational levels, as well as in office environments, under real-world conditions. Several C3 plants (e.g., Chamaedorea, Schefflera, Ficus, Epipremnum, Yucca, and Spathiphyllum) were used, with crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants (Sansevieria) included in selected settings. Temperature, relative humidity, CO2, PM2.5, and PM10 were continuously monitored using intercalibrated low-cost sensors in absence and presence of vegetation. A comparable plant configuration was implemented in offices to assess its effects on volatile organic compounds (VOC). Indoor greenery reduced particulate matter, especially PM10 (18–20%), and improved microclimatic conditions by lowering air temperature (1–2 °C) and increasing relative humidity (6–15%). However, CO2 reductions were limited and context-dependent. In the tested office environments, plant introduction was associated with reduced total VOC concentrations (25–50%). Overall, our results further support that indoor vegetation constitutes a robust, cost-effective nature-based solution (NBS) capable of complementing conventional ventilation systems in both school and office environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort)
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23 pages, 4307 KB  
Article
Application of Solar HVAC System in Residential Buildings for Winter Conditions in Mediterranean Climate
by Eusébio Conceição, João Gomes, Margarida Conceição, Maria Inês Conceição, Maria Manuela Lúcio and Hazim Awbi
Atmosphere 2026, 17(2), 211; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos17020211 - 17 Feb 2026
Viewed by 658
Abstract
The design of thermal strategies applied in buildings based on the use of renewable energies can play an important role in the development of a built environment that is better adapted to the climate. This paper is focused on the application of a [...] Read more.
The design of thermal strategies applied in buildings based on the use of renewable energies can play an important role in the development of a built environment that is better adapted to the climate. This paper is focused on the application of a renewable solar energy system coupled with a Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioned (HVAC) system to promote occupants’ thermal comfort (TC) and indoor air quality (IAQ) in buildings during heating season. In the building thermal design, a building thermal dynamic model is used to calculate the temperatures of the opaque and transparent building surfaces, the temperature of the water supply ducts, the TC level and the IAQ level, among other variables. The TC conditions of the occupants were evaluated using the Predicted Mean Vote index, commonly used in the literature in similar studies. IAQ was assessed by the usual carbon dioxide concentration in environments where most of the pollution is of human origin. The numerical study was carried out in a virtual residential building consisting of two floors and seven compartments. The building is occupied at night and at midday. Two cases were studied, considering, respectively, the non-use and use of the solar HVAC system. The solar HVAC system consists of solar water collectors, installed above the roof area, and thermo-convector heat exchangers, installed inside each occupied space. The results show that the application of this solar HVAC system in a Mediterranean-type climate is able to guarantee, during occupancy, acceptable TC levels in three compartments and near acceptable TC levels in one compartment. Regarding IAQ, acceptable level can be achieved throughout the day. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort)
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31 pages, 14974 KB  
Article
3SqAir Project: A Living Lab Towards Sustainable Smart Strategy for Indoor Climate Quality Assurance in Classrooms
by James Ogundiran, Jean-Paul Kapuya Bulaba Nyembwe, John Omomoluwa Ogundiran, Ruben Alexandre de Souto Santos, Luísa Dias Pereira and Manuel Gameiro da Silva
Atmosphere 2025, 16(5), 584; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16050584 - 13 May 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1229
Abstract
The indoor climate quality in classrooms at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, was investigated as part of the 3SqAir project, supported by the Interreg SUDOE program. This research focused on two equipped classrooms with different ventilation systems: natural and mechanical ventilation. Both classrooms [...] Read more.
The indoor climate quality in classrooms at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, was investigated as part of the 3SqAir project, supported by the Interreg SUDOE program. This research focused on two equipped classrooms with different ventilation systems: natural and mechanical ventilation. Both classrooms were continuously monitored for IEQ parameters: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, noise, and lighting during heating and cooling seasons. Air temperature, relative humidity, CO2 concentration, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, sound pressure level, and illuminance were measured. Outdoor weather conditions were also recorded. The primary focus was on air temperature, CO2 concentrations, and relative humidity, while air change rates (ACH) were estimated using the Tracer Gas Method. The results showed inadequate thermal conditions in both classrooms, particularly during the heating season. Most weekly mean CO2 concentrations were within acceptable limits, while ACH were below standard recommendations in four CO2 decay phases. Simulations of CO2 decay revealed further air quality gaps in each room. Corrective measures within the 3SqAir project framework were suggested for approval and implementation while monitoring continues. This work represents the first phase in an evolving study towards developing sustainable strategies for improving indoor air quality in classrooms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modelling of Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort)
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