INDOOR

ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY

INTRODUCTION

Feeling good in ourhomes or officesisnt just a

matter of having a beautiful space. No matter how
fabulous your furnishings, a poorly designed
indoor environmentcan literally make you sick.
Building green means considering not only the
environmental impact of materials and
construction, but also the physical and
psychological health of the occupants.

Though there are many other personal/cultural/interior design preference

parameters which relate to IEQ as noted in the figure, these are treated
separately from the core physiological sensors common to all human beings.

IEQ = IAQ +ITQ + ILQ + ISQ + IOQ + IVQ

where

I = Indoor, Q = Quality

and,

A = Air

T = Thermal

L = Lighting

S = Sound

O = Odor

V = Vibrations

Indoor Environmental
Quality?

encompasses the conditions inside a building air

quality, lighting, thermal conditions, ergonomics
and their effects on occupants or residents.

protect human health, improve quality of life, and

reduce stress and potential injuries.

Better indoor environmental quality can enhance

the lives of building occupants, increase the
resale value of the building, and reduce liability
for building owners.

Why is this important for

buildings?

goals often focus on providing stimulating and

comfortable environments for occupants and minimizing
the risk of building-related health problems.

Ideally, the chosen strategies do both: the solutions that

conserve energy, water and materials also contribute to
a great indoor experience.

What are common sources of indoor air

contaminants?

People smoking tobacco inside the building or near building

entrances or air uptakes

Building materials such as paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, and

furniture that may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
substances that vaporize at room temperature and can cause health
problems

Combustion processes in HVAC equipment, fireplaces and stoves,

and vehicles in garages or near entrances

Mold resulting from moisture in building materials

Cleaning materials

Radon or methane off-gassing from the soil underneath the building

Pollutants from specific processes used in laboratories, hospitals,

and factories

Pollutants tracked in on occupants shoes

Occupants respiration, which increases carbon dioxide levels and

may introduce germs

What are effective strategies improving

occupants comfort and control?

Use daylighting

Install operable windows

Give occupants temperature and ventilation control

Give occupants lighting control

Conduct occupant surveys

Provide ergonomic furniture

Include appropriate acoustic design

CRITERIA

Maintain clean air

Indoor Plants that Purify the Air Around You Naturally

Gives everyone freedom to have individual activities in

a shared atmosphere

Help buildings breathe better

Reduce Indoor Air Quality Problems At the Source

Eliminate Poisons and Beware of Harmful Pest Control

Substance

DID YOU KNOW...

We spend on average 90% of our time in buildings. The right
balance of acoustic, thermal and visual comfort together
with good air quality improves workplace productivity and
learning outcomes

AIR QUALITY

a term which refers to the air quality within and

around buildings and structures, especially as it
relates to the health and comfort of building
occupants.

A common air filter, being cleaned with a vacuum

cleaner

THERMAL COMFORT QUALITY

the condition of mind that expressessatisfactionwith

the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective
evaluation.

Maintaining this standard of thermal comfort for

occupants of buildings or other enclosures is one of the
important goals of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning) design engineers.

Satisfaction with the thermal environment is important

for its own sake and because it influences productivity
and health.

Important variables that control thermal comfort

LIGHT QUALITY

Humans are day-active creatures, we are used to a light

intensity such as that which is available during the day.

Effects
Fatigue on account of too little light occurs more in the
organism as a whole than in the eye itself. For this reason,
insufficient or bad lighting conditions cannot be identified
as the cause of accidents or fatigue.

VISUAL COMFORT

The light reflectance of the ceiling, floor and wall surfaces

play the second most important role for overall illumination
of the room, thus also directly affecting working comfort and
productivity.

A well designed ceiling with high light reflectance improves

space illumination, allowing for fewer light fixtures, a
reduced electrical light output, lower maintenance costs and
a reduced cooling load.

SOUND QUALITY

The quality of acoustics has a direct effect on the comfort,

efficiency and well-being of the occupants, with good
architectural acoustics achieved through the use of
absorbers and diffusers.

The role of diffusers has been developed more so recently

than that of absorbers. This is because most of the
absorbers contain porous materials derived from synthetic
fibers, such as mineral wool or glass wool, which are
considered harmful to human health, and which also do not
stand up well to the effects of wind, rain and toxic
environments.

ODOR QUALITY

Odors in a property can cause everything from a

nuisance to health concerns for building occupants.
These same odors can even lower property values.

Common problematic odors in residential properties

may include everything from smells due to cigarette
smoke, cooking odors and cleaning supplies to pet odors
or basic dirty conditions.

VIBRATION QUALITY

Heavy vehicles can generate vibrations that travel

through the ground to nearby buildings. In some cases
this may be felt by people in those buildings. Vibration
levels are lower the further away the building is from
the source.

During construction, higher vibration levels may occur, the

Construction panel describes how this will be managed.

Monitoring of vibrations that currently occur is being

undertaken, and the ground conditions studied.

An appropriate separation distance from the expressway to

buildings will be determined as a buffer to vibration, and
the design will reflect this.

Design approaches to manage vibration may include:

using smooth asphalt surfaces that reduce the

vibration generated by trucks on the road
maintaining a suitable buffer distance between the
expressway and buildings
using subsurface structures to lessen the transfer of
vibration.

. . . . GREEN INNOVATION