Abstract
In southern Europe, the present stock of social housing is ventilated naturally, with practice varying in the different seasons of the year. In winter, windows are kept closed most of the day with the exception of short periods for ventilation, whereas the rest of the year the windows are almost permanently open. In cold weather, air changes depend primarily on the air infiltrating across the envelope and when the temperature is warm, on the air flowing in through open windows. CO2, PM2.5, and TVOC concentration patterns were gathered over a year’s time in three social housing developments in southern Europe with different airtightness conditions and analyzed to determine possible relationships between environmental parameters and occupants’ use profiles. Correlations were found between TVOC and CO2 concentrations, for human activity was identified as the primary source of indoor contaminants: peak TVOC concentrations were related to specific household activities such as cooking or leisure. Indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations were likewise observed to be correlated, although not linearly due to the presence of indoor sources. Ventilation as presently practiced in winter appears to be insufficient to dilute indoor contaminants in all three buildings, nor does summertime behavior guarantee air quality.
Highlights
Different national regulations have established a legally binding target of 80% reduction in carbon emissions for 2050 in response to the European regulations
Within the strategies to achieve the objectives emitted from the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), envelope airtightness and fabric insulation can be considered the key factors with the greatest impact on thermal performance, energy consumption, and indoor air quality in homes [2,3]
This paper aims to analyze the indoor air quality (CO2, total volatile organic compound (TVOC), and PM2.5) in three representative case studies in Andalusia, in order to establish whether there is a correlation between indoor air quality and different parameters or occupant behavior
Summary
Different national regulations have established a legally binding target of 80% reduction in carbon emissions for 2050 in response to the European regulations. Within the strategies to achieve the objectives emitted from the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), envelope airtightness and fabric insulation can be considered the key factors with the greatest impact on thermal performance, energy consumption, and indoor air quality in homes [2,3] These considerations are applicable to a significant portion of Europe: all of the Mediterranean area, from southern Portugal to Turkey. The residents of the area share a similar climate, and similar architectural approaches and social and cultural habits in terms of the use and occupation of housing [10], an aspect of capital importance when analyzing the actual performance of the stock Both definitions and programs for social housing vary between different countries, broadly this can be understood as housing developments which have received some type of public financial support. Social housing shares a series of characteristics, such as being occupied by lower income population and usually being built to minimum construction quality standards [11]
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