Evaluation of environmental performance in academic building by indoor environmental quality (IEQ)

Abstract

Most people spend about 90% of their lives indoors, and students spend about 30% of their time in school. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is becoming a key aspect considering building envelopes and the health of building occupants. Buildings have to provide a healthy and comfortable environment for humans. However, each building provides different environmental quality results for indoor spaces and occupants. Therefore, the study of indoor environment quality in three different buildings has been carried out in academic building as it acts as important place in performing general activities. The methodologies used to conduct this research are qualitative and quantitative methods. This is to measure the IEQ levels in multipurpose hall, cafeteria and lecture room. This research focuses on the comparison of IEQ in different locations with the national or international standard. Measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, carbon monoxide (CO) con-centration, air temperature (°C), mean radiant temperature (°C), air velocity (m/s), relative humidity (%), lighting (lux), and sound quality (dB) in the three locations were collected. This research found that most of the elements in the three locations were compliance with the standard threshold limit value. However, the indoor air temperature in the multipurpose hall and cafeteria were slightly high with an average air temperature of more than 26 (°C) as set in the standard Threshold Limit Value (TLV). High level of noise in the lecture room also exceeds the guideline. Therefore, some suggestions had made such as improvement of ventilation system in multipurpose hall and maintenance of air-conditioning system in lecture room. The relationship between the IEQ levels and the types of activities carried out in the buildings is also established.