Search Results (3)

The indoor environmental quality of a library greatly affects the comfort and productivity of its users while preserving the materials. Despite the high energy consumption of HVACs in libraries, achieving acceptable thermal conditions, acceptable acoustics, and sufficient daylight levels for users remains a challenge. There are limited studies on the IEQ of educational buildings, especially regarding the current situation of libraries. It is important to conduct further studies to define design guidelines promoting indoor environmental conditions. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the IEQ of a campus library to recommend retrofitting strategies. The IEQ parameters in the rare collection room, which houses special collections, and in the library hall were assessed using a full-scale measurement, with eight HOBO data loggers and sensors deployed in various locations to monitor IEQ. A comparison of the results with the standards revealed that rare collection room was unsuitable for maintaining rare collections, as the average indoor air temperature exceeded 21.2 °C, which is beyond the threshold limit. Additionally, the relative humidity ranged from 51.3% to 55.8%, which is marginally high. To provide acceptable indoor conditions, this study recommends retrofitting strategies for the exterior walls, such as using cement plaster with a low thermal conductivity. In the library hall, the reading zone was found to be thermally uncomfortable. The air velocity was below the range of 0.15 ms⁻¹ to 0.50 ms⁻¹ recommended by MS 1525. The average CO₂ level was 479.5 ppm, with some points registering an increase of up to 588 ppm. The noise level in the library hall ranged between 43 dB(A) and 61 dB(A), while the light intensity was below 300 lux in the reading area, which is not within the acceptable range. This study suggests improvement solutions, such as implementing an air temperature between 24.5 and 26.5 °C for higher thermal comfort and increasing the window-to-wall ratio to utilize natural daylight. These findings provide insights into the design of new libraries and the renovation of existing ones, ensuring that libraries continue to serve as vibrant centers of knowledge and learning for generations to come. Full article

As occupants spend almost 90% of their day indoors, especially in the workplaces, Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) plays a primary role in health and wellbeing, productivity, and building energy consumption. Adopting the IEQ and Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE), data has been gathered from nine multilevel open offices within a university building located in Al Ain, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for three winter months. Physical parameters were monitored using data loggers to record the main IEQ factors. In parallel, POE questionnaires have been distributed to obtain occupants’ satisfaction with the IEQ and health-related symptoms experienced in the workspaces. The IEQ and POE data have shown slightly above or below the recommended ranges with the occupants similarly and slightly dissatisfied with the building. The thermal comfort revealed concerns with 99% of temperatures below international standards where 55% of the survey respondents reported “too cold”. The IAQ measurements showed 45% and 30% of the respondents reporting “stuffy air” and “headache” which indicated symptoms that could be tracked to other parameters or a combination of several, and the findings have been discussed in detail in this paper. This research contributed to identifying correlations between measured data and occupant satisfaction and identifying common IEQ defects and their sources to better communicate with facility managers and architects. Full article

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) has a high-level of impact on one’s health and productivity. It is widely accepted that IEQ is composed of four categories: thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), visual comfort, and acoustic comfort. The main physical parameters that primarily represent these comfort categories can be monitored using sensors. To this purpose, the article proposes a wireless indoor environmental quality logger. In the literature, global comfort indices are often assessed objectively (using sensors) or subjectively (through surveys). This study adopts an integrated approach that calculates a predicted indoor global comfort index (P-IGCI) using sensor data and estimates a real perceived indoor global comfort index (RP-IGCI) based on questionnaires. Among the 19 different tested algorithms, the stepwise multiple linear regression model minimized the distance between the two comfort indices. In the case study involving a university classroom setting—thermal comfort and indoor air quality were identified as the most relevant IEQ elements from a subjective point of view. The model also confirms this findings from an objective perspective since temperature and CO₂ merge as the measured physical parameters with the most impacts on overall comfort. Full article