Improve Indoor Environment Research Articles

Innovative Antifungal Photocatalytic Paint for Improving Indoor Environment

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has emerged as a global concern due to the increasing presence of indoor pollutants, which have been shown to negatively impact public health. These pollutants stem from various household activities and the materials used in buildings. Previous studies have explored several methods to improve IAQ, including gas adsorption, ozonation, non-thermal plasma, and photocatalytic oxidation (PCO). However, these methods often have drawbacks, such as generating secondary pollutants or incurring high costs. This study examines the effectiveness of photocatalytic paint, which is activated by visible light, in controlling fungal growth to enhance IAQ. Experimental results showed that when applied to grown fungi, the photocatalytic paint led to a significant reduction in the size of fungal fibers, as observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, exposure to the photocatalytic paint reduced the size of fungal hyphae by 37% after 85 h. The paint produced by adding 1 mL photocatalytic paint to 10 mL commercial paint demonstrated high efficiency in fungi removal, i.e., reducing the weight of fungi by approximately 45% within 3 h. These results highlight the potential of photocatalytic paint to significantly inhibit fungal growth, offering a promising solution for improving indoor environments.

Air infiltration characteristics in oxygen-enhanced and heated chambers on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is characterized by a low-pressure and oxygen-deficient environment due to its high altitude, causing discomfort and major safety problems for the inhabitants. To address this, oxygen-enriched chambers can be used to alleviate the plateau reaction. However, little consideration has been given to air infiltration in these chambers, with a lack of information on the corresponding infiltration heat loss phenomenon. This paper addresses this by investigating the phenomenon of air flow in an oxygen-enriched chamber using experiments and simulations. The results highlight that when there is a difference in oxygen concentration between the interior and exterior of the chamber, mass transfer occurs due to both the molecular diffusion in addition to a flow due to the air density difference caused by the variation in concentration. Also, the simultaneous stack effect is roughly equivalent to 10 times the oxygen pressure, and the two pressure effects act in opposite directions. It is also noted that both the oxygen pressure and the stack effect decrease as the atmospheric pressure decreases. Overall, the oxygen-enriched chambers exhibit less infiltration in plateau areas with a low atmospheric pressure compared to plains areas with a relatively high atmospheric pressure. Finally, this study establishes formulas that can be used to calculate air infiltration rates in oxygen-enriched chambers. This study fills a gap in the existing literature regarding the air infiltration mechanism in oxygen-enriched chambers at high altitudes and low pressures, providing a theoretical foundation for improving indoor environments in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and other high-altitude regions.

A Case Study on the Odor Preferences and Influencing Factors in Chinese Residential Environments

Research on odor preference is needed to improve indoor environment quality. There-fore, to create a better odor environment in the living space, it is necessary to determine the common characteristics of odor preferences in the living environment for individuals with a similar cultural background. In this study, representative odors that are found in Chinese living spaces were selected and the odor preferences and individual traits were examined using online surveys. A total of 1236 valid responses were collected and the factors affecting odor preferences were assessed, including social, geographic, and behavioral attributes, using correlation and descriptive analysis. The results revealed that gender, age, occupation, income, mode, and frequency were correlated with odor preference characteristics in the living environment and were the primary factors for the odor preference characteristics. Further analysis revealed that the odor preferences across the gender, age, income, and frequency groups were consistent with the trend for the overall characteristics. The results of the study showed that there were significant differences in odor preferences in the living environment across occupations and living patterns. Different occupational groups showed different characteristics in odor preferences, while the complexity of living patterns and the frequency of odor exposure also had a significant impact on odor preferences. These research findings will enable us to develop customized fragrance solutions based on specific olfactory preferences related to gender, age, occupation, income level, and lifestyle. Integrating the study conclusions into the spatial layout, selection of decorative materials, and ventilation design of residential spaces has practical significance for creating living environments that better meet the needs of residents.

Association between cooking with solid fuels and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults in China: The mediating effect of the residential environment

BackgroundDepression is a common issue among elderly people in both developing and developed countries. Existing research indicates that cooking with solid fuels has a negative impact on the mental health of middle-aged and elderly people (aged 45 and older). However, the potential role of the residential environment in this process is not yet clear. Clarifying this issue may help identify effective interventions to improve public health for elderly people. This study aimed to explore the association between cooking with solid fuels and depressive symptoms, as well as the potential mediating role of the residential environment in this relationship. MethodThis study utilized cross-sectional data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) for 2020, involving approximately 19,000 respondents aged 45 years and older. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to explore the association between cooking with solid fuels and depressive symptoms. Additionally, a range of potential covariates were adjusted, and the Sobel test was applied to assess the potential mediating effect of the residential environment on this relationship. ResultsAccording to the fully adjusted model, cooking with solid fuels was significantly associated with an increased risk of depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults (β = 0.315, P < 0.001), and this finding was confirmed through robustness tests using different propensity score matching methods. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that this association was particularly significant among men (β = 0.318, P < 0.001), those aged 60–74 (β = 0.347, P < 0.001), and individuals with a middle school education (β = 0.353, P < 0.001). Mediation effect analysis revealed that indoor cleanliness (β = 0.0090, P < 0.001), indoor broadband coverage (β = 0.0077, P < 0.001), and the installation of indoor air purifiers (β = 0.0010, P < 0.1) mediated the relationships between cooking with solid fuels and depressive symptoms. ConclusionGiven the growing attention given to improving indoor environments and enhancing mental health, the findings of this paper highlight that improving indoor cleanliness, increasing broadband coverage indoors, and installing air purifiers can effectively intervene in and prevent depressive symptoms caused by cooking with solid fuels.

Ontology-Based Data Representation Prototype for Indoor Air Quality, Building Energy Performance, and Health Data Computation

This study investigates the data integration of IoT-enabled sensor networks, emphasizing energy performance and personalized indoor air quality (IAQ) solutions to improve indoor environments, energy efficiency, and sustainability. Ontologies—structured frameworks that standardize data representation and enable interoperability—are the tools for interpreting complex IAQ data for optimal energy rate plans and health situations. Our methodology follows the well-established three-phase engineering approach. We present the design of a prototype with essential classes, which is proposed to integrate IAQ data with health conditions, enhancing real-time monitoring and automated decision making for optimal energy performance for smart buildings. Our research goal is to define the most essential classes, arranging them hierarchically to create a prototype for data computing covering IAQ, energy performance, and health aspects. This ontological framework, covering all three aspects, addresses a current research gap. Results demonstrate the minimum viable product with 78 classes for a smart home IoT system, providing tailored indoor climate control based on user health profiles and energy performance. This prototype represents a significant advancement in sustainable building and IAQ management, promising improved building energy performance, occupant health, and comfort. Future research will validate this framework through extensive testing in real-world environments.

Harmful Risk of Bioaerosol Pollution at Major Indoor Sites of a Summer Campus in Guilin City

Bioaerosols are a potential risk of infection in densely populated indoor sites at university campuses. In this study, indoor bioaerosols from the canteen, classroom, and dormitory on campus were sampled and analyzed in the summer of 2021 to investigate the harmful risk. The results showed that bacteria are the predominant microbes, and the total number of bacteria detected in the classroom during no lesson in the morning (33% of samples) and in the canteen during meal times (55% of samples) was greater than the World Health Organization’s recommended value (1000 CFU/m3). The ranges of respirable bioaerosol (&lt;3.3 µm) contributions in the classroom, dormitory, and canteen were 50–75%, 57–70%, and 64–80%, respectively. Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the most dominant phyla in all three indoor environments, with a relative abundance of both above 20%. At the family level, Muribaculaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Bacteroidaceae had high relative abundance in all indoor sites. Some of the microbes carried by bioaerosols were conditionally pathogenic bacteria, such as Micrococcaceae and Enterococcaceae, which may have a harmful risk of causing various inflammatory infections. The results of this study provide basic data to improve indoor environments and control indoor bioaerosol pollution on campus.

Indoor Environmental Quality &amp; Occupant Satisfaction in Green Building (Case Study: Company X at East Jakarta, DKI Jakarta)

The global movement in green building development has been going on since the early 1960s. Although initially driven by environmental agendas such as carbon and energy, there is a growing acknowledgment that green buildings can affect Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). Many researchers also state that improved indoor environmental quality is associated with better occupant satisfaction. However, some localized green buildings, especially in developing countries, often don’t recognize IEQs and occupant satisfaction as important issues, so they remain unstudied. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the performance of IEQ and occupant satisfaction. The analytical methods used were descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The outcome demonstrated that green building standards do not automatically improve indoor environment quality, particularly when the lighting parameter is below the limit values. The analysis findings showed that most respondents expressed their satisfaction with IEQ and significantly influenced occupant satisfaction. In addition, this research contributes to the development of green building evaluation practices that prioritize environmental health and occupant satisfaction

Indoor particulate matter induces epigenetic changes in companion atopic dogs

The prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) is increasing and environmental factors are receiving attention as contributing causes. Indoor air pollutants (IAPs), especially particulate matter (PM) can alter epigenetic markers, DNA methylation (DNAm). Although DNAm-mediated epigenetic changes have been reported to modulate the pathogenesis of AD, their role at high risk of exposure to PM is still unclear. The study investigated the effects of exposure to IAPs in the development of AD and epigenetic changes through DNAm in companion atopic dogs that share indoor environment with their owners. Dogs were divided into two groups: AD (n = 47) and controls (n = 21). The IAPs concentration in each household was measured for 48 h, and a questionnaire on the residential environment was completed in all dogs. Eighteen dogs with AD and 12 healthy dogs were selected for DNAm analysis. In addition, clinical and immunological evaluations were conducted. The concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were significantly higher in the AD group. Moreover, there were more significant methylation differences in the LDLRAD4, KHSRP, and CTDSP2 genes in connection with PM10 in AD group compared to the controls. The degree of methylation of the LDLRAD4 and CTDSP2 genes was also correlated with related protein productions. The present study revealed that exposure to high indoor PM can cause epigenetic development of AD by methylation of the LDLRAD4, KHSRP, and CTDSP2 genes in dogs. Under the concept of "One Health," improving indoor environments should be considered to prevent the development of AD.

Cooling, CO2 reduction, and energy-saving benefits of a green-living wall in an actual workplace

Vertical green-living walls (VGWs) are a promising solution for sustainable building design. However, their effectiveness in improving indoor air quality and reducing energy consumption in real-world settings still needs to be studied. Here we aim to contribute to this understanding by examining six indoor plant species (Peperomia obtusifolia, Tradescantia spathacea, Chlorophytum comosum, Spathiphyllum wallisii, Aeschynanthus radicans, and Philodendron hederaceum) in a 15 m2 Patrick Blanc's VGW system established in a shared office space (∼140 m3 volume). Carbon dioxide (CO2) assimilation, transpiration, and stomatal conductance were measured under varying light conditions and CO2 levels. In addition, numerous sensors were placed in the room to assess impacts on the indoor environment. Results indicate that all species but one (Philodendron) were equally effective in reducing CO2. Tradescantia had the highest cooling effect via transpiration. All species except Tradescantia had a very low light compensation point (<5 μmol m−2 s−1 PPFD), indicating their efficiency at reducing CO2 levels even under low light conditions. The net cooling effect of the VGW was 2.5°C–4.5 °C when the ventilation system was on and 1.2°C–3.6 °C when it was off. There was also a positive effect on indoor air quality, with an average CO2 reduction of 5% and sometimes up to 50%. By conducting controlled CO2 enrichment experiments, we estimated a 20% energy consumption savings from reduced air ventilation, equivalent to 1400 kWh/year. These results suggest that VGWs can improve indoor environments and thermal comfort in workplace settings and highlight the importance of choosing appropriate plant species.

Numerical simulation on exploring influencing factors of wind-driven natural ventilation effect in large indoor dock

The shipbuilding industry is booming and the health problems of workers caused by the harsh indoor dock environment force us to explore efficient and reasonable ventilation methods suitable for large workshops. Due to the strong specificity of large workshops, general or local ventilation methods cannot be universally applied. It has great potential and good economy to improve indoor environment by changing natural ventilation design. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has gradually become a powerful tool for predicting indoor and outdoor airflow organization and optimizing indoor ventilation. This paper adopts CFD to study the effect of the inflow wind speed, the position of the side wall shutters, the area ratio and form of roof ventilators on the effectiveness of natural ventilation in a large shipyard driven by wind pressure. The results show that the influence on total ventilation volume is more obvious when the intake side is shaded than the exhaust side. Different incoming wind speeds will affect the wind pressure at the ventilation position, which is the decisive external factor affecting the natural ventilation of docks. When the area ratio of roof ventilators increases to a certain extent, its continued increase has an insignificant effect on the total ventilation volume. The influence of changing the arrangement of the roof ventilator on the natural ventilation effect can be neglected when the area ratio is kept constant.

Controlling and Limiting Infection Risk, Thermal Discomfort, and Low Indoor Air Quality in a Classroom through Natural Ventilation Controlled by Smart Windows

In this study, a controller method for window opening was developed to naturally ventilate a classroom with 30 occupants. The aim was to improve indoor environment quality and limit the probability of COVID infection risk simultaneously. The study was based on a building performance simulation using combined EnergyPlus, CONTAM, and Python programs. Seven cases with automatically opening windows were considered. Opening window parameters were optimized by genetic algorithms. It was shown that the optimized controller with indoor environment functions improved classroom ventilation and considerably decreased CO2 concentration compared to a reference case where the windows were opened only during breaks, and the controller also improved occupants’ thermal comfort. However, there was a noticeable increase in energy demand, caused by the increased air change rate. Introducing the probability of infection risk function to the controller did not reduce the transmission risk substantially, and the probability of infection transmission was high for 80% of the classroom occupancy time. The risk of infection changed only when additional actions were taken, such as introducing face masks, indoor air cleaners, or reducing the number of students present in the classroom. In these cases, it was possible to prevent the infection transmission for more than 90% of the lecture time (R0 &lt; 1).

Real-time monitoring of pollutants in occupied indoor environments: A pilot study of a hospital in China

Indoor air pollution has severe impacts on human health. Few studies have focused on indoor air quality (IAQ), especially air pollution in the hospital, which is sensitive due to its high mobility and multiple carriers. The traditional experiments usually develop in artificial environments, which lack authenticity with limited consideration for indoor occupancy than that in real environments. This study adopts field investigation, from a data-driven perspective aimed to evaluate pollutants in occupied indoor environments, including carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) in a hospital in China, emphasising their dynamic variation patterns and characteristics under natural ventilation. The results indicated that (1) the concentrations of indoor pollution in areas with high population densities were typically higher than those in outdoor and low-occupancy-level working areas; (2) indoor air pollutants, including PM2.5, PM10, and CO2, were significantly influenced by indoor activities under the same outdoor conditions; (3) TVOCs were different from the other pollutants and exhibited a lower periodicity; that is, the changes in TVOCs concentrations were more likely to be affected by non-fixed interference sources. In the end, suggestions were made for the improvement and management of the hospital's IAQ according to the research results. This study as a comprehensive analysis may provide operational guidelines for managing and improving indoor environments in hospitals in China.

Impact of improved indoor environment on recovery from COVID-19 infections: a review of literature

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of the indoor environment on recovery from COVID-19 infections. Extant literature on the impact of the four key themes of the indoor environment (indoor air quality, indoor thermal quality, daylighting and visual comfort, and acoustic comfort) on COVID-19 infection and recovery rates were reviewed.Design/methodology/approachData collection for this study was based on extant literature within the Scopus database and scoped to a time frame of 2020–2021 because the topical issue of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and its impact on COVID-19 arose in the wake of the pandemic. In total, 224 documents were systematically desk reviewed from various journals.FindingsThe study identified that air pollutants such as PM2.5 and PM10 as well as air-conditioned places, low ambient temperatures, poor ventilation and no views of the outdoor environment were deteriorating factors for COVID-19 patients. On the other hand, proper ventilation, the use of air cleaners, views of the outdoor environment and allowance for ample daylighting were improvement factors for COVID-19 patients. The inter-relationship of the various concepts was presented in an ontology chart.Practical implicationsAs COVID-19 still exists and keeps evolving, this study provides suggestions to industry professionals, especially health-care Facility Managers, to create a post-pandemic environment focusing on the IEQ and finding long-term and reliable solutions for the well-being of occupants. Adaptability is crucial. New, creative technology solutions are being introduced daily, but it is up to the facility managers and health-care professionals to analyse and specify the most cost- and outcome-effective technologies for their facility.Originality/valueThe study brought to light the pivotal role of the indoor environment on the health and well-being of occupants, particularly in the contraction, spread, prevention and control of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

A new method to improve indoor environment: Combining the living wall with air-conditioning

Indoor plants can improve indoor thermal environment, relieve the anxiety, and reduce the CO2 concentration especially in enclosed rooms with air-conditioning and heating. However, owing to the space limitation and the light requirement, it is very difficult to maintain traditional large-scale plantings indoors. To improve indoor planting efficiency and thermal environment, the living wall was introduced to be combined with air-conditioning. Two identical rooms were built to analyze the efficiency of combining a living wall with air-conditioning. One room contained a living wall and air-conditioning, while the other room only with air-conditioning was served as a reference. The indoor thermal environment and CO2 concentration were monitored, while the 64 participants were questioned to display their subjective feelings in two rooms. The results showed that combining the living wall lowered the relative humidity by 2.6%, maintained the indoor air speed at 0.20 m/s∼0.30 m/s and reduced the CO2 concentration by approximately 10%, while it increased the uniformity of these environmental parameters. The average skin temperature in the room with the living wall was 0.2 °C higher than that in the referred room and closer to the neutral mean skin temperature. The living wall significantly improved the subjective evaluation on indoor environment, especially in air movement and air freshness, with the thermal comfort level from 0.13 (Slightly higher than ''Neutral (0)'') to 0.73 (Slightly lower than ''Comfortable (+1)'').

Imputing missing indoor air quality data with inverse mapping generative adversarial network

Sensors deployed all over the buildings are nowadays collecting a large amount of data, such as the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) data which can provide valuable suggestions on improving indoor environments and energy consumption strategies. However, as treated as Multivariate Time Series (MTS), IAQ data often contain missing values that severely limit further analysis on them. Unfortunately, most of the existing methods fail to handle a couple of technical issues due to the complexity of MTS data, such as data distribution approximation, removing the redundancy, and so on. In this paper, we formulate the IAQ missing data imputation problem and propose an Inverse Mapping Generative Adversarial Network (IM-GAN) to tackle that problem. IM-GAN takes advantage of Bi-directional Recurrent Neural Network (BRNN), Denoising Auto-Encoder (DAE), and Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) to overcome the aforementioned technical issues. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed IM-GAN, we conduct comprehensive experiments on two public IAQ datasets GAMS and Gainesville. Results show that our IM-GAN achieves the new state-of-the-art performance in accurately estimating missing values in indoor air quality time series data, with the average performance of 0.1566 and 0.0789 in terms of Mean Relative Error, and 17.2884 and 2.7434 in terms of Mean Absolute Error on GAMS and Gainesville respectively at different missing rates. Our ablation study and visualization also validate that IM-GAN effectively overcomes the aforementioned technical issues by capturing data distribution, eliminating network saturation, and so on for IAQ data imputation.

The Impact of Certification Systems for Architectural Solutions in Green Office Buildings in the Perspective of Occupant Well-Being

The green building certification system has long-lasting benefits by improving building efficiency and sustainability. The ultimate goal of such classification is to promote the preservation of the global environment as well as the occupants’ well-being and their health. In this paper, we present examples of buildings that have been designed and built in Poland and have been certified with BREEAM, LEED and WELL. Our study investigates human factors in certification systems and examines the WELL Building Standard as a supplement to other green systems, which will probably be the most popular in the future. The green building movement should prioritize pro-human factors and the associated environmental beliefs to improve indoor environment quality for users’ needs. We present this matter on the example of the Polish office space market, providing statistics and analyzing the architecture of six certified office buildings from Warsaw, Poznań and Wrocław. They are a representative sample of buildings designed following the certification regime. It was demonstrated how this aids in improving work comfort, enhances the program of office spaces and the organization of service spaces within buildings, which increases the rank of this architecture and positively affects the urban environment.

Investigating environmental life cycle impacts of active living wall for improved indoor air quality

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the systematic analysis of the potential environmental impacts of any product or process throughout the life cycle. This work presents the LCA of Active Living Wall System (ALW), an advanced form of living wall, which is a vertical greening system designed to reduce the indoor air pollutants along with several other benefits for occupants and building environment. Although this system is considered as having high potential to improve indoor air quality, ALW has not yet been assessed thoroughly from environmental perspective. Hence, the environmental impacts of production, operation, maintenance, and finally disposal phases of ALW systems have been investigated through LCA in this paper. Built as an experimental set-up, two different ALW systems have been investigated extensively for this study including ALW system based on felt layers, and planter box ALW. Life-cycle environmental impacts have been analyzed using ReCiPe environmental impact methodology. Comprehensive study results showed similar environmental burden for both ALW systems for a life span of 10 years, indicating stainless steel and PVC as the most impacting construction materials. Operational energy was responsible for major impacts in climate change and terrestrial acidification category where incorporation of solar energy showed possible reduction of burden. Although having few limitations, this LCA study has the potential to help both the manufacturers and built environment experts to improve the balance between benefits and environmental impacts for a more sustainable ALW system that can ultimately lead us to an improved indoor environment.

Techno-economic analysis and energy modelling as a key enablers for smart energy services and technologies in buildings

Smart energy services and technologies are key components of energy transition and decarbonisation strategies for the built environment. On the one hand, the technical potential of the building stock in terms of energy, emissions and cost savings is large and exploited only partially at present. On the other hand, the increasing availability of data generated by smart meters, smart devices, sensors and building management systems can help monitoring, verifying and tracking building energy performance improvements in a transparent way. In particular, energy modelling and data analytics can provide empirically grounded and tested methods to standardize the way energy performance is measured and reported. Further, techno-economic analysis is crucial to ensure the feasibility of innovative business models. For these reasons, this paper aims to address the role of techno-economic analysis and energy modelling as key enablers for next-generation energy services and technologies. In terms of methods, scientific literature selection criteria are derived from previous research and are focused on limitations and bottlenecks to the achievement of innovative business models, which are motivated, at their very basics, by energy, emission and cost savings. Additionally, besides these potential savings, smart energy services and technologies can provide multiple additional benefits such as improved Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and energy flexibility on the demand side, with respect to energy infrastructures. First, the research identifies the key elements that are necessary to integrate and to streamline techno-economic analysis and energy modelling processes. After that, it highlights potential advances in the broad area of energy transitions and decarbonisation of the built environment that can be achieved as an evolution of current practices and processes. Finally, it envisions the creation of “eco-systems” of interacting models for the building sector that share common underlying principles.

The Spirit of Time—The Art of Self-Renovation to Improve Indoor Environment in Cultural Heritage Buildings

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of an old low-standard urban district with a strong historical and cultural heritage and propose more sustainable renovation solutions, acceptable for the residents and municipality. The challenges of physical renovation or refurbishment are complex due to poor condition of the buildings, municipal ownership and governance, mixed management with community and low rents, which are insufficient to cover the costs. The paper discusses the proposed solutions of living standards, supported by the research in two directions: (i) available resources and reuse of materials, (ii) developing a renovation guidance for inhabitants from the building physics perspective, including indoor environment quality. Challenges related to energy efficiency are addressed from the decision-making perspective to overcome the barrier of lack of motivation to invest in energy-efficient measures at the individual and community level. The interdisciplinary approach complements engineering-focused studies with a focus on the comfort conditions and the influence of occupant habits in sustainable buildings. The methods used were literature review, case studies with observations and survey, looking to cover all technical, social, and historical aspects of sustainable renovation of cultural heritage buildings with the same level of importance. Results show that to keep a sustainable, low-cost urban living model, instructions for self-renovation are a valuable guidance for non-professional actors to make more sustainable choices. In conclusion, we can emphasize that inhabitants are accustomed to lower living standards, so the project is aimed to present the proper solutions for improvement as a balance between new sustainable technical solutions, personal self-renovation skills, habits, and health.

Indoor Environmental Quality towards Classrooms’ Comforts Level: Case Study at Malaysian Secondary School Building

The indoor environmental aspects of classrooms in secondary school buildings need to be determined to ensure that they meet the users’ basic requirements. Students’ efficiency and learning productivity can be affected if the classroom’s indoor environment is of poor quality. The question raised here: how can we ensure that the comfort level provided to building users in terms of indoor aspects is up to their satisfaction? Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is an instrument to examine the success of building design and performance after occupancy. It indicates users’ satisfaction and comfort level related with the indoor environment. Considering users as a benchmark, there is a large potential for improvement in buildings’ indoor environmental aspects. As reflected by the title, the study’s main purpose is to evaluate students’ satisfaction and perception of their classrooms’ comfort level along with recommendations to enhance the quality of their indoor environment. The survey method applied in this study is by distributing questionnaires to 382 students in classrooms where physical measurements were taken to determine how environmental aspects affect these students. This is because these students are highly correlated with the level of comfort and productivity in the classroom. To enhance physical satisfaction during the learning process, semi-structured interviews consisting of 35 experts in related fields were selected, of whom 17 experts are those with a technical background while the remaining 18 experts are from non-technical fields. The results of this interview will be integrated in finding the best methods to improve Indoor Environment Quality in the classroom. The paper recommends the adaptation of POE in order to evaluate the indoor environmental aspects of classrooms as significant learning spaces in school buildings that need to be managed and monitored continuously.