Thermal comfort and Indoor Air Quality assessment in university classrooms

Abstract

Investigation of thermal comfort in various types of buildings is a rather intense research activity by recent years. Besides thermal comfort, the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is also important for the sensation of humans in indoor environments, as well as for their health. In the proposed work, a systematic measurement campaign in university classrooms in the Educational School of the University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece, is presented; the campaign was performed through winter time, noting that the University lies on the coldest thermal zone on a country level. Measurements include thermal comfort parameters, as well as IAQ ones, namely volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes and NO2concentration.As far as thermal comfort is concerned, Fanger’s thermal comfort indices are calculated, on the basis of the measured data; a comparison is made through the support of questionnaires investigating the actual thermal comfort level of the students while being in the classrooms, aiming at providing information on an adaptive sensation level. In terms of air quality, measurements are made both indoors and outdoors, allowing the determination of indoor/outdoor correlations.