Abstract
Indoor air quality and thermal conditions are important considerations when designing indoor spaces to ensure occupant health, satisfaction, and productivity. Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration and indoor air temperature are two measurable parameters to assess air quality and thermal conditions within a space. Occupants are progressively affected by the indoor environment as the time spent indoors prolongs. Specifically, there is an interest in carrying out investigations on the indoor environment through surveying existing Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) system operations in classrooms. Indoor air temperature and CO2 concentration in multiple lecture halls in Toronto, Canada were monitored; observations consistently show high indoor air temperature (overheating) and high CO2 concentration. One classroom is chosen as a representative case study for this paper. The results verify a strong correlation between the number of occupants and the increase in air temperature and CO2 concentration. Building Energy Simulation (BES) is used to investigate the causes of discomfort in the classroom, and to identify methods for regulating the temperature and CO2 concentration. This paper proposes retro-commissioning strategies that could be implemented in institutional buildings; specifically, the increase of outdoor airflow rate and the addition of occupancy-based pre-active HVAC system control. The proposed retrofit cases reduce the measured overheating in the classrooms by 2-3 °C (indoor temperature should be below 23 °C) and maintain CO2 concentration under 900 ppm (the CO2 threshold is 1000 ppm), showing promising improvements to a classroom’s thermal condition and indoor air quality.
Highlights
In the design of the built environment, it is often a conventional practice to only consider the physical features of spaces whilst there are many other aspects largely influencing the indoor environmental quality (IEQ)
Through measuring CO2 concentration and indoor air temperature, this study aims to evaluate the contribution of high occupant density to undesirable indoor air quality and thermal conditions in a typical classroom
Building Energy Simulation (BES) is commonly used for research in thermal comfort because of the abundant building information stored in the models and the ability to predict indoor thermal conditions
Summary
In the design of the built environment, it is often a conventional practice to only consider the physical features of spaces whilst there are many other aspects largely influencing the indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Outdoor air ventilation rates are determined according to the conditioned area served by the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) system and a default occupant density value defined according to building type [1]. This design method fails to take into account the effect of occupant density changing over time and their interaction with the immediate indoor environment. Researchers shift their focus to the adaptive design method, in which occupants are considered as integral parts of the whole comfort system of the building [2]. An adult around 21–50 years old releases approximately
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