The Approach of Including TVOCs Concentration in the Indoor Environmental Quality Model (IEQ)—Case Studies of BREEAM Certified Office Buildings

Michał Piasecki,Mateusz Kozicki,Szymon Firląg,Anna Goljan,Krystyna Kostyrko

doi:10.3390/su10113902

Michał Piasecki, Mateusz Kozicki + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su10113902

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Abstract

The article analyzes the impact of measured concentrations of Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) emissions determined for four BREEAM certified buildings on the Indoor Air Quality Index (IAQindex) and the overall Indoor Environment Quality index (IEQindex). The IEQindex indicates the percentage of building users who are satisfied from the indoor environment. In existing IEQ models, currently the concentration of CO2 is mostly used to evaluate the IAQindex sub-component. Authors point out that it is recommended to use TVOC instead CO2 at pre-occupant stage where building is mainly polluted by emission from finishing products. The research provides the approach where the component related to the emission of TVOCs is implemented to IEQ model. The first stage of assessment was a test of the volatile organic compounds concentrations in case study buildings. Secondly, the analysis results were assigned into the number of dissatisfied users (PD(IAQ)) from the theoretical function given by Jokl-Fanger resulting from the Weber-Fechner equation. Finally, the overall IEQindex was calculated. The IEQ approach proposed in this paper is mainly based on a consideration of EN 15251 and scientifically accepted models.

Highlights

Employees often spend eight–10 h daily in the offices
The authors in a paper undertook the research to include in the practical indoor environmental quality (IEQ) assessment the element related to the emission of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs)
TVOC level required by the BREEAM system was obtained in all the buildings and the TVOC concentration is far belowStuhsteainaabsisliutym201e8d, 10t,h3r9e02shold

Summary

Introduction

Employees often spend eight–10 h daily in the offices. The working environment affects their health and productivity. The analysis of the literature on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) testing [16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23] and own tests of new office buildings shows that the TVOC concentration range may vary depending on the construction and finishing materials, temperature, and ventilation rate. It may change in the range 20–3000 μg/m3, where the value “pass” required in the BREEAM system is 300 μg/m3. The sensory effects may include dryness, irritation, weak inflammatory irritation in nose, eyes, skin, and air ways At TVOC concentrations level above 2500 μg/m3, other types of effects may become of greater concern [25]

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