An implementation choice of assessment parameters for indoor air quality (IAQ) in air‐conditioned offices

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a screening test for indoor air quality (IAQ) assessment by auditing only a few “dominant” contributors for preliminary measurements in air‐conditioned offices.Design/methodology/approach – In Hong Kong, up to ten common indoor air pollutants have to be audited in determining the IAQ acceptance for typical air‐conditioned offices. Indeed, parameters could not be uniformly contributed to the assessed “IAQ satisfaction”. The study reviews the past ten‐year assessment experiences in Hong Kong and investigates the “dominant” contributors of unsatisfactory IAQ for screening tests.Findings – When compared with the “full” assessment of all ten listed parameters, a screening test with assessment parameters reduced by half would correctly identify 96 per cent unsatisfactory and 95 per cent satisfactory cases.Research limitations/implications – The screening test was developed with the reported patterns of the ten common air pollutants from on‐site measurements and ...