Abstract
People who live in buildings are exposed to harmful effects of indoor air pollution for many years. Therefore, our research is aimed to investigate the indoor air quality in family houses. The measurements of indoor air temperature, relative humidity, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), particulate matters (PM) and sound pressure level were carried out in 25 houses in several cities of the Republic of Macedonia. Mean values of indoor air temperature and relative humidity ranged from 18.9 °C to 25.6 °C and from 34.1% to 68.0%, respectively. With regard to TVOC, it can be stated that excessive occurrence was recorded. Mean values ranged from 50 μg/m3 to 2610 μg/m3. Recommended value (200 μg/m3) for human exposure to TVOC was exceeded in 32% of houses. Mean concentrations of PM2.5 (particular matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm) and PM10 (diameter less than 10 µm) are determined to be from 16.80 µg/m3 to 30.70 µg/m3 and from 38.30 µg/m3 to 74.60 µg/m3 individually. Mean values of sound pressure level ranged from 29.8 dB(A) to 50.6 dB(A). Dependence between characteristics of buildings (Year of construction, Year of renovation, Smoke and Heating system) and data from measurements (Temperature, Relative humidity, TVOC, PM2.5 and PM10) were analyzed using R software. Van der Waerden test shows dependence of Smoke on TVOC and PM2.5. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance shows the effect of interaction of Renovation and Smoke.
Highlights
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is an essential condition to establish a healthy housing environment [1] and is crucially linked to occupant’ health and well-being [2]
This study points out that the values decrease in the single-family houses than in apartments which may have been caused by building characteristics and by the occupant’
Our results indicated that indoor relative humidity in homes meets the requirement of 30%–70%
Summary
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is an essential condition to establish a healthy housing environment [1] and is crucially linked to occupant’ health and well-being [2]. Study [12] states that environmental factors such as thermal comfort, indoor air quality, aural and visual environments have notable combination of effects on the occupant’. Thermal and aural environmental qualities were deemed the most important contributors, whereas indoor air quality was considered the least important Another survey [16] was performed with a sample of 482 residents in high-rise residential buildings to investigate the impact of aspects of IEQ on occupant’s overall environmental satisfaction (OES). The aim of the presented study is to analyze the indoor air quality of selected houses in Prilep, Macedonia Indoor air factors such as indoor air temperature, relative humidity, total volatile organic compounds, particulate matters and sound pressure level were measured in 25 houses. The main contribution of the study is underlining the level of IAQ as well as finding dependence between building characteristics and measured indoor environmental parameters
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