Healthy Buildings Research Articles

HUBUNGAN SANITASI LINGKUNGAN DENGAN KEJADIAN INFEKSI SALURAN PERNAFASAN AKUT ( ISPA) PADA BALITA DI DESA MARENDAL I PASAR V KAB. DELI SERDANG TAHUN 2018

Infection of exhalation Acude (ISPA), is one of the main painfulness because for children under five years old in developing countries. The aims of this research was to know the relationship between environmental sanitation forincluded houseventilation, air pollution, andaccupancydensity. The conducted of this research in November 2018 in Marendal I Pasar V Deli Serdang. Regency theobservational research with cross sectional approach. The subject were all of the house which have children under five years old with 54 respondents sample. The technique of sample used cluster random sampling.The statistical test used chi square test by using Statistical product and service solutions version 20 program. The resultof this research indicated that there was a relationship between house ventilation (p=0,001),air pollution (p=0,030) and accupancy density (p=0,006) with the occurrence of ISPA (Infection of exhalation Acude). Poor ventilation can cause high humidity and endanger health so that the incidence of Infection of exhalation Acude will increase. The condition of a dense residence can increase the air pollution factor in the house. And the floor area of ​​a healthy home building must be enough for the residents inside. The area of ​​a building that is not proportional to the number of occupants can cause easy disease. lack of oxygen, dirty air can invite various chemicals so it is easy to trigger the disease that comes, Every citizen is expected to always pay attention and try so that his house meets health requirements such as house ventilation, residential density in the bedroom, and healthy air pollution.

HUBUNGAN SANITASI LINGKUNGAN DENGAN KEJADIAN INFEKSI SALURAN PERNAFASAN AKUT (ISPA) PADA BALITA DI DESA MARENDAL I PASAR V KAB. DELI SERDANG TAHUN 2018

Infection of exhalation Acude (ISPA), is one of the main painfulness because for children under five years old in developing countries. The aims of this research was to know the relationship between environmental sanitation forincluded houseventilation, air pollution, andaccupancydensity. The conducted of this research in November 2018 in Marendal I Pasar V Deli Serdang. Regency theobservational research with cross sectional approach. The subject were all of the house which have children under five years old with 54 respondents sample. The technique of sample used cluster random sampling.The statistical test used chi square test by using Statistical product and service solutions version 20 program. The resultof this research indicated that there was a relationship between house ventilation,air pollution and accupancy density with the occurrence of ISPA (Infection of exhalation Acude). Poor ventilation can cause high humidity and endanger health so that the incidence of Infection of exhalation Acude will increase. The condition of a dense residence can increase the air pollution factor in the house. And the floor area of a healthy home building must be enough for the residents inside. The area of a building that is not proportional to the number of occupants can cause easy disease. lack of oxygen, dirty air can invite various chemicals so it is easy to trigger the disease that comes, Every citizen is expected to always pay attention and try so that his house meets health requirements such as house ventilation, residential density in the bedroom, and healthy air pollution.

Reducing Indoor Levels of "Outdoor PM2.5" in Urban China: Impact on Mortalities.

This study estimates adult mortalities attributed to PM2.5 across urban China in 2015 and the corresponding mortalities that might be avoided by meeting the yearly averaged indoor PM2.5 threshold in the newly established Assessment Standard for Healthy Building (ASHB) and seven other potential thresholds. We use outdoor PM2.5 concentrations from ∼1500 monitoring sites in 339 Chinese cities, coupled with a detailed exposure model, to estimate outdoor and indoor exposures to PM2.5 originating outdoors. We proceed to calculate premature mortality attributable to PM2.5 exposure using an integrated exposure-response model. Results indicate that indoor exposures accounted for 66%-87% of total exposure to PM2.5 of outdoor origin and 81% (95% confidence interval (CI), 71%-87%), i.e., 316 000 (95% CI, 176 000-435 000), of the 389 000 (95% CI, 245 000-501 000) mortalities attributable to "outdoor PM2.5" for the urban population ≥25 years of age in China in 2015. Potentially 14 000 (95% CI, 8000-20 000) deaths might be avoided if indoor PM2.5 of outdoor origin met the ASHB guideline of 35 μg/m3 for annual mean indoor PM2.5, and 162 000 (95% CI, 79 000-237 000) deaths might be avoided by meeting a 10 μg/m3 threshold. The analysis in this work should be helpful in formulating indoor air quality policies.

Microwave detection and quantification of water hidden in and on building materials: implications for healthy buildings and microbiome studies

BackgroundExcess water in all its forms (moisture, dampness, hidden water) in buildings negatively impacts occupant health but is hard to reliably detect and quantify. Recent advances in through-wall imaging recommend microwaves as a tool with a high potential to noninvasively detect and quantify water throughout buildings.MethodsMicrowaves in both transmission and reflection (radar) modes were used to perform a simple demonstration of the detection of water both on and hidden within building materials.ResultsWe used both transmission and reflection modes to detect as little as 1 mL of water between two 7 cm thicknesses of concrete. The reflection mode was also used to detect 1 mL of water on a metal surface. We observed oscillations in transmitted and reflected microwave amplitude as a function of microwave wavelength and water layer thickness, which we attribute to thin-film interference effects.ConclusionsImproving the detection of water in buildings could help design, maintenance, and remediation become more efficient and effective and perhaps increase the value of microbiome sequence data. Microwave characterization of all forms of water throughout buildings is possible; its practical development would require new collaborations among microwave physicists or engineers, architects, building engineers, remediation practitioners, epidemiologists, and microbiologists.

Formula omitted] concentrations in a multifamily building in Porto, Portugal: Occupants' exposure and differential performance of mechanical ventilation control strategies

Adequate supply of fresh outdoor air is important to create healthy and comfortable indoor building environments. Currently, most of the residential buildings in mild climate European countries, such as Portugal or Spain, remain naturally ventilated. Distinct concerns have emerged in the building community regarding the indoor air quality (IAQ) in these buildings since several studies have shown that they are often poorly ventilated. The main cause has been identified as occupants' different window opening behavior, which can vary notably from one apartment to the next. This work presents a comparative method for evaluating occupants' exposure to CO2 concentration levels in existing buildings based on the comparison of cumulative frequency distribution curves. Indoor CO2 concentration levels recorded over 17 months in the bedrooms and living rooms of eight apartments of a naturally ventilated residential building located in Porto (Portugal) were used as experimental input data for developing the method and to calibrate the IAQ performance of an EnergyPlus building model. The calibrated building model exhibited a good agreement with the recorded data on the apartments, reporting maximum Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) for the majority of the apartments below 5% and 10% for the living rooms and bedrooms, respectively.

Relations between indoor and outdoor PM2.5 and constituent concentrations

Outdoor PM2.5 influences both the concentration and composition of indoor PM2.5. People spend over 80% of their time indoors. Therefore, to assess possible health effects of PM2.5 it is important to accurately characterize indoor PM2.5 concentrations and composition. Controlling indoor PM2.5 concentration is presently more feasible and economic than decreasing outdoor PM2.5 concentration. This study reviews modeling and measurements that address relationships between indoor and outdoor PM2.5 and the corresponding constituent concentrations. The key factors in the models are indooroutdoor air exchange rate, particle penetration, and deposition. We compiled studies that report I/O ratios of PM2.5 and typical constituents (sulfate (SO42–), nitrate (NO3–), ammonium (NH4+), elemental carbon (EC), and organic carbon (OC), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn)). From these studies we conclude that: 1) sulfate might be a reasonable tracer of non-volatile species (EC, Fe, Cu, and Mn) and PM2.5 itself; 2) particulate nitrate and ammonium generally desorb to gaseous HNO3 and NH3 when they enter indoors, unless, as seldom happens, they have strong indoor sources; 3) indoor-originating semi-volatile organic compounds sorb on indoor PM2.5, thereby increasing the PM2.5 OC load. We suggest further studies on indoor-outdoor relationships of PM2.5 and constituents so as to help develop standards for healthy buildings.

Healthy Buildings - healthier people: the importance of buildings in climate action and public health

Healthy Buildings - healthier people: the importance of buildings in climate action and public health

Healthy Buildings - healthier people: the importance of buildings in climate action and public health

Healthy Buildings - healthier people: the importance of buildings in climate action and public health

Decision support tools for energy efficient and healthy school buildings

Property owners are being forced to increase the energy efficiency of their buildings. Besides energy efficiency the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of a larger part of Dutch primary school buildings is insufficient. This affects the performance, productivity and health of students and staff, and additionally has monetary consequences for school boards. The inability to achieve healthy, energy efficient buildings is largely explained by a lack of knowledge and experience in building renovation by school boards. The objective of the study is to provide school boards of primary schools with decision support tools to provide more insight in the technical, financial and organizational opportunities of renovation of school buildings. It is expected that this will lead to better balanced school buildings in terms of People (Indoor Environmental Quality), Planet (energy efficiency), and Profit (costs) and will contribute to a better work and learning environment for staff and students. Applied research methods are a literature review, semi-structured interviews, desk research, expert meetings, a focus group and design. Expert meetings were organized to get input for the design ofa decision flow chart. Both were tested by members of school boards. It was found that the tools provides more insight in the renovation decision-making process and opportunities to renovate the school buildings. By raising problem awareness about the indoor environment, the decision support tools are also expected to contribute to an improved IEQ in renovated school buildings. . The research was the basis for the development of a web tool for school boards: “Decision tree sustainable renovation primary and secondary school buildings”, published by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), design and consultancy firm Arcadis and the ‘Green Deal Scholen’.

ITCM: Toward Learning-Based Thermal Comfort Modeling via Pervasive Sensing for Smart Buildings

For decades, ASHRAE Standard 55 has been using the Fanger’s predicted mean vote (PMV) model to evaluate the indoor thermal comfort satisfaction. However, this canonical model has drawbacks in both data inadequacy and lack of inputs from test subjects. In this paper, we propose a learning-based solution for thermal comfort modeling via the emerging machine learning techniques and Internet of Things-based pervasive sensing technologies. First, we build an intelligent thermal comfort management (iTCM) system. It adopts the wireless sensor network to collect environmental data and utilizes the wearable device for vital sign monitoring. In addition, a cloud-based back-end system, with cost-efficient deployment fees, is developed for data management and analysis. Second, we implement a black-box neural network (NN), namely the intelligent thermal comfort NN (ITCNN). To evaluate the performance of ITCNN, we compare it with the PMV model, three traditional white-box machine learning approaches and three classical black-box machine learning methods. Our preliminary results show that four black-box methods achieve better performance than the PMV model and the three white-box approaches. The ITCNN achieves the best performance and outperforms the PMV model by on average 13.1% and up to 17.8%. Third, with the iTCM system, we demonstrate a novel deep reinforcement learning-based application by encouraging human behavioral changes to form energy-saving habits for greener, smarter, and healthier building. Finally, we discuss the limitations of this paper and present the plan for our future research.

Effects of tightening standards for indoor ozone levels on associated mortalities in urban China: a population-based modelling study

BackgroundPrevious studies have shown that exposure to ozone is associated with mortality. Reducing indoor ozone of outdoor origin may be an effective short-term method to reduce overall ozone exposure and the associated premature mortality. Here, we estimated (1) premature mortalities attributable to ozone for individuals aged 25 years and over in urban China, (2) the proportion of this mortality associated with time indoors, and (3) the mortality that might be achieved by meeting the current Chinese Indoor Air Quality Standard (IAQS) or Assessment Standard for Healthy Buildings (ASHB), as well as more stringent guidelines. MethodsOutdoor ozone concentrations were measured hourly at all 1497 government monitoring stations (as at 2015) located in 339 cities dispersed across China, and these data were used to estimate premature mortality in 2015 from circulatory and respiratory causes based on a concentration–response model derived from an extended analysis of the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II. We used estimated air exchange rates, ozone penetration factors, and ozone surface removal rates to estimate the corresponding indoor ozone concentrations for the hourly outdoor ozone measurements. Finally, we estimated mortality reductions that might be achieved in urban China by meeting different 1-h indoor ozone standards or guidelines. FindingsWe estimated that there were 61 000 premature deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular disease attributable to ozone among individuals aged 25 years or over in urban China in 2015. Indoor exposures accounted for 87% (53 000) of this total. If the current indoor ozone standards (IAQS 80 ppb; ASHB 56 ppb) were met, the reduction in total mortality would be indistinguishable from zero. To be meaningful, an indoor standard should be no higher than 30 ppb. InterpretationRegardless of whether a person is outdoors or indoors, the mortality risks associated with long-term ozone exposure are derived using data from outdoor ozone monitoring stations. Outdoor concentrations of ozone are substantially higher than the time-matched estimates of indoor ozone concentrations, reflecting the reactive chemistry of ozone indoors. Globally, guidelines for indoor ozone concentrations should be substantially lower than guidelines for outdoor ozone concentrations to account for both ozone and its indoor reaction products. FundingNatural Science Foundation of China (numbers 51420105010 and 51521005) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (number 2017YFC0702700).

Tightening Standards for Indoor Levels of PM2.5: A Promising Approach for Reducing PM2.5 Associated Mortalities in Urban China

Outdoor PM2.5 pollution in China has been estimated to cause more than one million premature mortalities annually. In urban areas residents spend a major fraction of their time indoors, meaning that a large fraction of urban exposure to “outdoor PM2.5” occurs indoors. This study estimates premature adult mortalities attributed to PM2.5 across urban China in 2015 and the corresponding mortality reductions achieved by meeting the yearly-averaged indoor PM2.5 threshold in the newly established Assessment Standard for Healthy Building (ASHB) and seven other potential thresholds. We use outdoor PM2.5 concentrations from 1497 monitoring sites in 366 cities in China, coupled with a detailed exposure model, to estimate outdoor and indoor exposures to PM2.5 originating outdoors. We proceed to calculate premature mortality attributable to PM2.5 exposure using an integrated exposure-response model. Results indicate that indoor exposures accounted for 66%-87% of total exposure to PM2.5 of outdoor origin and 76% (248,174) of the 328,362 premature mortalities attributable to “outdoor PM2.5” for the urban population ≥25 years of age in China in 2015. Stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer mortalities attributable to indoor exposure were 132,209, 71,960, 24,233 and 19,773, respectively. Potentially 10,172 deaths could be avoided if indoor PM2.5 of outdoor origin met the current ASHB standard of 35 μg/m3 as annual mean, and 113,219 deaths could be avoided by meeting a 10 μg/m3 threshold. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of reducing indoor exposures to “outdoor PM2.5” in reducing premature mortalities attributable to urban PM2.5 pollution in China. Estimates of mortality reductions associated with various indoor PM2.5 thresholds can help formulate indoor air quality policies and practices, including building- or room-based filtration of ventilation air.

Is Our City Livable and Healthy in the Post-SARS Era? Re-designing Healthy Cities – a Lesson from Hong Kong

The paper draws an attention on the academic debate on the pros and cons of compact city, onethat embraces a high-density and high-rise, mixed land-use urban form. The paper supports compact cityas a candidate for sustainable urban form by reviewing and discussing recent new initiatives from HongKong in the post-SARS era that includes research and development efforts by academia and governmentson the evaluation and derivation of guidelines for design implementation and building management operationsat the urban design and building design levels. Similarly, innovative initiatives are also found in thecollective efforts by statutory bodies, developers and professionals to improve the standard and quality ofthe habitable environment. The discussion is based on selected case studies from recently realized projectsin the residential market; as well as applied research programs undertaken by universities and government.The summary is that recent efforts in Hong Kong show that there is confidence for a high density compactcity to be a livable and healthy city. In the paper, the reference to ‘health,’ ‘hygiene’ or ‘healthy buildings’is a causal usage. The three terms project a layperson’s perception of the quality of the physical environment.In this way, the terms have no specific medical connections.

Regional suitability of climate-responsive technologies for buildings based on expert knowledge: A China study

Global warming and energy shortage have aroused great interests in climate-responsive technologies during recent years. They are required for buildings to positively adjust themselves to local climates in different climate regions. Incorrect selections of these technologies may cause resource waste and low technological efficiency. Therefore, the present study to explore the regional suitability of climate-responsive technologies was conducted with expert knowledge-based investigation in five kinds of climate regions in China, including severe cold region, cold region, hot summer & cold winter region, hot summer & warm winter region and temperate region. 71 climate-responsive technologies were identified for controlling climate physical features (i.e., temperature, humidity, sunlight, and ventilation). Suitability priorities as well as application levels were analyzed with expert knowledge-based rankings, based on which, a database of climate-responsive technologies for buildings in different climate regions was established. The most suitable general technologies in different climate regions were derived regarding temperature, humidity, sunlight, and ventilation. The findings illustrated universality and disparity of technology regional suitability and those with high suitability rankings are well-responded to different climate regions. The study provides guidance for selecting climate-responsive technologies according to their regional suitability. It promotes wide application of appropriate technologies in different climates and contributes to the formation of healthy climate-responsive buildings with highly suitable climate-responsive technologies.

A cross-disciplinary path to healthy and energy efficient buildings

This paper complements existing Smart City taxonomies with a case study of concrete cross-boundary collaboration between actors from diverse disciplines and institutions. The paper explores technical, social and organizational aspects of indoor climate in public buildings in Copenhagen, and outlines a digital platform (skoleklima.dk/climify.org) for the visualization and evaluation of locally produced data. The platform is to improve temporarily challenging situations ‘right-in-time’, help to solve continuous problematic conditions in the buildings and provide a scientific data infrastructure for better political decision-making. Furthermore, the paper suggests that research in active public organizations (‘living labs’) unfolds in erratic and dynamic trajectories, and in order to attain comprehensive understanding and reach innovative solutions, involved actors need to explore and intertwine diverse technical, social, political and organizational circumstances. With an empirically outset, the paper thus opens for new contextual driven understandings of cross-boundary collaboration in Smart City development.

Applications of neural network models for structural health monitoring based on derived modal properties

Structural health monitoring is required to interpret damaged structures in terms of locations and severity, even remaining performance of the damaged members. Therefore, this study proposes a new artificial intelligence-based structural health monitoring strategy based on neural network modeling. A neural network model is developed in accordance with a numerical model which is derived from the identified modal properties under ambient vibrations. The stochastic subspace system identification is first implemented to derive the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a healthy structure. These natural frequencies and mode shapes are then employed to derive a simplified model of this structure, allowing changing stiffness terms to construct various damage patterns. A neural network model is trained and built by the modal properties of the structure with these damage patterns. After a critical event occurs (e.g., earthquakes), this neural network model can be employed to estimate the damage patterns in terms of stiffness reduction. In this study, a numerical example consisting of two damage scenarios is carried out. This example studies a seven-story building with a single and multiple damaged columns in order to evaluate performance of the proposed structural health monitoring strategy. Moreover, the proposed structural health monitoring strategy is also applied to an experimental test of a scaled twin-tower building with weak braces in some floors. Partially modal properties of the structure are obtained from the stochastic subspace system identification, while a simplified model is developed in accordance to the identified modal properties of the healthy building. Then, a neural network model is established based on this simplified model. After seismic events, this neural network model is employed to carry damage detection of this building in terms of damage locations and levels. As a result, the proposed artificial intelligence-based structural health monitoring strategy is quite effective to locate damage if the identified modal properties are relatively accurate.

Healthy Building Management System Based on Business Intelligent

Huge account of building performance data are generated, collected and preserved in Building Automation Systems (BASs), which have been widely implemented with the development of smart building technology. Based on the key information which under covered in these data, building performance management plan can be created and improved. As a technology complex which concludes data warehouse, online analysis and data mining, business intelligence (BI) can extract, collect, and analyse large amounts of data to support decision-makers in making business decisions. With the assistance of BI based Decision Support System (DSS), desired information from massive building operation data can be found, which upgraded BAS as smart Building Management System. A business intelligence-based health building management system is introduced in this paper which can collect and store various performance data such as indoor environment quality (IEQ), water quality and energy consumption into one database. After processed with a predefined procedure, all preserved data can be processed and displayed with a user-friendly graphic interface. With the assistant of this BI based system, operating managers can make building management decision or revise management plan much more accurately as well as quickly according to real-time online monitoring data.

The Radon Gas in Underground Buildings in Clay Soils. The Plaza Balmis Shelter as a Paradigm.

In healthy buildings, it is considered essential to quantify air quality. One of the most fashionable indicators is radon gas. To determine the presence of this element, which is harmful to health, in the environment, the composition of the soil is studied. The presence of radon gas within a building depends both on the terrain in which it is located and on the composition of the materials of which it is composed, and not as was previously believed, only by the composition of the soil (whether granitic or not). Many countries are currently studying this phenomenon, including Spain where the building regulations regarding the accumulation of radon gas, do not list in their technical codes, the maximum dose that can a building can hold so that it is not harmful to people and the measures to correct excessive accumulation. Therefore, once the possible existence of radon in any underground building has been verified, regardless of the characteristics of the soil, the importance of defining and unifying the regulations on different levels of radon in all architectural constructions is evident. Medical and health science agencies, including the World Health Organization, consider that radon gas is a very harmful element for people. This element, in its gaseous state, is radioactive and it is present in almost soils in which buildings are implanted. Granitic type soils present higher levels of radon gas. Non-granitic soils have traditionally been considered to have very low radon levels. However, this paper demonstrates the relevant presence of radon in non-granitic soils, specifically in clayey soils, by providing the results of research carried out in the underground air raid shelter at Balmis Square in Alicante (Spain). The results of the measurements of radon accumulation in the Plaza Balmis shelter are five times higher than those obtained in a similar ungrounded building. This research addresses the constructive typology of an under-ground building and the radon presence in its interior obtained using rigorous measurement techniques.

Sustainable Comfort vs Human Health Comfort, a Future Challenge

Green building technology led to a new concept of commercial construction and healthy environment. Human health comfort remains essential to obtain a fully potential healthier building. Much consideration should be followed and adopted in order to reach this challenging matter.

Assessment of Bacterial Aerosol in a Preschool, Primary School and High School in Poland

The issue of healthy educational buildings is a global concern because children are particularly at risk of lung damage and infection caused by poor indoor air quality (IAQ). This article presents the results of a preliminary study of the concentration and size distribution of bacterial aerosol in three educational buildings: a preschool, primary school, and high school. Sampling was undertaken in the classrooms with an Andersen six-stage impactor (with aerodynamic cut-off diameters of 7.0, 4.7, 3.3, 2.1, 1.1 and 0.65 μm) during spring 2016 and 2017, as well as the outside of the buildings. After incubation, bioaerosol particles captured on nutrient media on Petri dishes were quantitatively evaluated and qualitatively identified. The highest average concentration of bacterial aerosol was inside the primary school building (2205 CFU/m3), whereas the lowest average concentration of indoor culturable bacteria was observed in the high school building (391 CFU/m3). Using the obtained data, the exposure dose (ED) of the bacterial aerosol was estimated for children attending each educational level. The most frequently occurring species in the sampled bacterial aerosol were Gram-positive cocci in the indoor environment and Gram-positive rod-forming endospores in the outdoor environment.