Inside Buildings Research Articles

HIS THE INCREASE IN THE INCIDENCE OF TYPE 2 DIABETES IN YAKUTIA DUE TO A DECREASE IN COLD EXPOSURE OR DIETARY CHANGES?

In Yakutia for 30 thousand years people live, and for centuries they were constantly fighting with the cold for survival [5, 6]. Situation began to change only in the second half of the twentieth century. In 20-ies of the last century a campaign for the reconstruction of traditional Yakut home began. As a result of the transition from balagan (yurts) to houses with stove heating, and then to centralized and gas heating, the temperature inside residential buildings has significantly increased. A fairly extensive literature has now accumulated linking rising residential temperatures with obesity-related morbidity. In order to determine the role of climate warming, an increase in the average temperature in the houses of the region, and changes in the diet on the incidence of type 2 diabetes, we built a multiple regression equation with 10 factors over 20 years (1994-2013). The following factors were included in the multiple regression model: the average annual temperature in Yakutsk, the average temperature of houses in the region during the heating period, the consumption of vegetables, fruits, sugar, proteins, fats, carbohydrates per year per person, and the daily calorie content of the diet. The conducted studies made it possible to find out that there are positive linear statistically significant pair correlations between the incidence of DM2 and the consumption of fruits and berries, the average housing temperature, the consumption of vegetables and melons, and the calorie content of the diet, but when analyzing multiple regression, the role of each factor in the development of DM2 turns out to be statistically unreliable, except the level of consumption of fruits and berries (at p > 0.05). It should be noted that a sharp increase in the incidence of DM2 in the population of Yakutia (including indigenous people) is associated with many factors, but the role of increased consumption of fruits and berries in its development should be considered causal, probably due to the lack of adaptation of the body of northerners to intake of large amounts of fructose, with a high level of fat intake.

Considerations of the built environment for autistic individuals: A review of the literature.

Factors related to the interiors of buildings, including the layout of rooms, colours, smells, noises, temperature, ventilation, colour and clutter, among other things, can change the way we interact with our environment and the people around us. Autistic individuals can have differences in processing sensory information and may find aspects of the built environment (BE) over-whelming and difficult to navigate. We reviewed the existing literature exploring the BE and autism. This study found that it is possible to make changes to the BE to create more inclusive and friendly environments for everyone, including autistic individuals. Findings from this study provide clear recommendations that can be used by interior designers, architects, builders, and clinical practitioners to make a positive difference. Key recommendations include using simple spatial layouts, compartmentalising and zoning spaces into specific activity sections and providing retreat spaces. The thoughtful placement of windows and blinds and the installation of dimmable lights, for example, will allow users to manage or reduce sensory over-stimulation caused by lights. Similarly, we recommend creating soundproofing and sound absorbent materials to reduce background noise and sound levels. We also recommend using neutral or simple colour palettes and restrained use of patterns. Finally, and most importantly, the BE needs to be flexible and adaptable to meet the unique needs of each person. This study provides a starting point for design guidelines and recommendations towards making a difference to the everyday experiences of the interiors of buildings.

A comprehensive review on the adoption of insulated block/eco-block as a green building technology from a resident perspective

Green building technologies (GBTs) have gained significant momentum as a result of the environmental, energy management and societal problems within the building sector. The insulated block/eco-block is a GBT, which consists of an insulation material that prevents hot/cold air to enter inside buildings, conserve energy and improve indoor comfort in comparison to conventional block. However, conventional building techniques are still dominant in developing countries due to a lack of people's knowledge about GBT, poor interaction with building experts and low support from policymakers. Public acceptance of the eco-block technology is essential for its successful introduction into society. This paper is the first one to systematically review 45 peer-reviewed articles in this field of study with a focus on eco-block. Recent publications have extended theoretical models like (TPB, TAM, DOI, VBN and UTAUT) to study green building consumption. Lack of subjective knowledge about eco-block, lack of trust in the suppliers of eco-block, high price sensitivity, poor education and low-income households are recognised as the major barriers to the technology adoption. The contribution of the paper lies in establishing an original adoption decision framework that groups together a set of (contextual factors, psychological factors and demographic factors) to fill the research gap. The adoption framework could eventually assist the construction experts to analyse the different stages involved in the residents' decision to adopt the eco-block building technology. The paper culminates with a discussion on the application of the conceptual framework as a reference in future GBT usage. • The concept of building insulation was introduced in developing countries. • 45 published articles discussing the adoption of the eco-block building were selected for full paper analysis. • An adoption decision framework was developed to understand residents' acceptance of the eco-block building technology.

INDOOR MAPPING WITH AN OMNIDIRECTIONAL CAMERA SYSTEM: PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

Abstract. The use of BIM (Building Information Modeling), a component of the Digital Twin concept, is on the rise, and the need for indoor data is rapidly growing. BIM information is not only used for management purposes, but it is essential to support navigation indoors. Observing building interiors by optical sensors, such as cameras and laser scanners, has challenges as the image scale changes over a broad range in rooms and floors, and then complete coverage is required, requiring images taken from several locations with various camera orientations. Using 360° imaging sensors partially addresses the need for efficient wide FOV observations. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using a 6-sensor omnidirectional/fisheye camera system and report about its performance.

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) application in building design to terminate pathogens naturally

Advanced building design technology is being proposed to eliminate all pathogens, including COVID-19, inside buildings naturally before they attack the human body. Pathogens comprise viruses, fungi, molds, protozoans, and bacteria that cause deadly diseases in humans. Thus, in this research, the application of solar irradiance through an outer glazing wall of the building forming Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) derived from sunlight has been performed to eliminate all pathogens inside the buildings before the pathogens attack the human body to cause deadly disease. Based on the findings that all pathogens, including COVID-19, can be killed with short-range wavelengths of 254–280 UVGI by disrupting their nucleic acid bonds, the pathogens are forced to malfunction in their biochemical functions and eventually the pathogens are caused to die. Simply, utilization of the outer glazing wall of a building to kill pathogens by controlling the photophysical reaction shall indeed be an interesting field of science to eliminate pathogens inside the building before those pathogens penetrate the human body.

NORMAL CLASSIFICATION OF 3D OCCUPANCY GRIDS FOR VOXEL-BASED INDOOR RECONSTRUCTION FROM POINT CLOUDS

Abstract. In this paper, we present an automated method for classification of binary voxel occupancy grids of discretized indoor mapping data such as point clouds or triangle meshes according to normal vector directions. Filled voxels get assigned normal class labels distinguishing between horizontal and vertical building structures. The horizontal building structures are further differentiated into those with normal directions pointing upwards or downwards with respect to the building interior. The derived normal grids can be deployed in the context of an existing voxel-based indoor reconstruction pipeline, which so far was only applicable to indoor mapping triangle meshes that already contain normal vectors consistently oriented with respect to the building interior. By means of quantitative evaluation against reference data, we demonstrate the performance of the proposed method and its applicability in the context of voxel-based indoor reconstruction from indoor mapping point clouds without normal vectors. The code of our implementation is made available to the public at https://github.com/huepat/voxir.

Energy Savings of an Optimized Daylight-Pipe System With Single and Dual Reflectors in Tropical Climates of India

Abstract Buildings in India consume over one-third of the country’s total electricity consumption and out of which about 28% and 25% are accounted for lighting energy in the residential and commercial buildings, respectively. Passive daylighting system using tubular daylight-pipe is a promising technique to save lighting energy by illuminating deep building interiors that have no daylight access through exterior windows. In this study, an innovative daylight-pipe has been designed and developed for enhanced daylighting performance by optimizing configurations of single and dual reflectors at its receiver. A detailed daylight assessment has been carried out using controlled experimentation while varying the reflectors position and orientation inside the hemispherical receiver of the daylight-pipe. It has been found that the single reflector oriented toward south has the best performance with a light transmission efficiency of 35.6%. Furthermore, monthly electrical energy savings due to the advanced daylight-pipe along with various supplementary electrical lighting options such as incandescent bulb, compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), and light emitting diode (LED) were estimated and compared for various climatic locations of India. From these evaluations, a lighting energy saving up to 23% has been observed in the summer month of May for temperate climate of Pune and hot-dry climate of Jodhpur.

Indoor-outdoor pollutant concentration modelling: a comprehensive urban air quality and exposure assessment

This paper is devoted to the investigation of the relationship between concentrations of traffic-related pollutants at pedestrian level in the street and indoor pollutant concentrations inside different rooms of different floors of a standard building. CFD modelling covering the whole urban environment, including the interior of a target building, is used to explicitly simulate wind flow and pollutant dispersion outdoors and indoors. A wide range of scenarios considering different percentage and location of open windows and different wind directions is investigated. A large variability of indoor pollutant concentrations is found depending on the floor and configuration of the open/closed windows, as well as the wind direction and its incidence angle. In general, indoor pollutant concentrations decrease with floor, but this decrease is different depending on the scenario and the room investigated. For some conditions, indoor concentrations higher than the spatially averaged values in the street (up to a ratio of 1.4) are found in some rooms due to the high pollutant concentrations close to open windows. This behavior may lead, on average, to higher exposure inside the room than outside although, in general, indoor pollutant concentrations are lower than that found in the street at pedestrian level. Results are averaged for all scenarios and rooms being the average ratio between indoor and oudoor concentrations 0.56 ± 0.24, which is in accordance with previous studies in real buildings. This paper opens to a unified approach for the assessment of air quality of the total indoor and outdoor environment.

Evaluation of Sustainable Environment-Friendly Interior Decoration Design from the Perspective of Low-Carbon Economy

With the rapid development of economic and social productivity, the living standards of our people have been continuously improved. As human society enters industrialization and urbanization, in order to meet the increasing needs of life, people have higher and higher requirements for the environmental quality of their lives. People spend nearly 90% of their time indoors. Therefore, the environmental quality of indoor spaces has become an issue that cannot be ignored. The interior space environment of the building is closely related to everyone’s life. However, when people decorate their rooms luxuriously and warmly, the subsequent interior decoration sequelae are also seriously affecting people’s health. The pollution caused by indoor decoration is serious, whether it is the use of decoration materials or improper indoor design that will cause indoor air pollution. Based on building materials and interior design, this paper systematically analyzes the pollutants in the fully decorated interior space and proposes that from the perspective of low-carbon economy, interior space design should be based on the ecological environment, and the focus of the design is on the rational use of nature. Resources and decoration methods should start from the application of natural colors and natural materials and organically combine green materials and green decoration designs to create a more comfortable, healthy, safe, and environmentally friendly indoor space environment.

Lighting in Residential and Public Buildings: Major Challenges and Improvement of Control Methods

Introduction: The increase in time people spent in rooms of various functional purposes makes special demands on the quality of artificial lighting, which increasingly compensates for the lack of daylight. In 2021, Russian Sanitary Regulations and Standards SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 came into force setting new requirements for qualitative and quantitative characteristics of artificial lighting in residential and public buildings, thus necessitating improvement of instrumental control methods. Objective: To develop and substantiate requirements pertaining to organization of instrumental control, procedure and conditions for measuring lighting indicators in the premises of residential and public buildings in order to control their compliance with the updated hygienic standards. Materials and methods: We reviewed 17 regulatory documents and guidelines containing the requirements for illumination and measurement of its parameters and analyzed more than 30 proposals for lighting assessment received from 28 territorial bodies and institutions of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor). We also considered ten main issues concerning instrumental control of lighting suggested for discussion at the meetings on activities and assignments of physical laboratories of Rospotrebnadzor Centers for Hygiene and Epidemiology in 2018–2020 and issues of illumination measurement and assessment in different types of buildings posing challenge for specialists of the Inspection Body in the course of sanitary and epidemiological expert examination of measurement results. Results: We have determined method approaches to organizing and taking measurements of lighting indicators and specified the choice of monitored parameters, measuring points and conditions. Conclusion: When developing guidelines for measuring and assessing lighting inside and outside residential and public buildings, it is necessary to systematize the requirements of valid method documents, eliminate existing contradictions, and determine the choice of indicators, measuring points and conditions to be monitored.

Optimisation of thermal comfort and indoor air quality estimations applied to in-use buildings combining NSGA-III and XGBoost

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) monitoring of in-use buildings has become essential in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it significantly affects the well-being, health and productivity of building users. Nevertheless, knowing in real time the environmental conditions in large multi-zone areas is a difficult issue. Thus, the use of machine learning techniques to estimate indoor conditions has increased considerably. The aim of this paper is to present an interpolation model, based on an optimised extreme gradient boosting algorithm, to estimate every minute the indoor temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration inside buildings. These estimations are obtained without requiring permanent monitoring in the occupied zone. The optimisation, focused on finding the minimum number of monitoring devices needed to provide accurate interpolations, is performed using the multi-objective genetic algorithm NSGA-III. This methodology was applied in a research centre in the north-western Spain. The results show that the optimised or reduced model is capable of estimating indoor temperatures and relative humidity with relative errors below 6% and CO2 levels below 10%.

Thereuonema tuberculata (Wood, 1862) (Chilopoda, Scutigeromorpha, Scutigeridae) from forested habitats in North America

Thereuonema tuberculata (Wood, 1862) is an anthropophilic centipede originating from Asia. Introduced populations were recently reported from inside buildings in the United Kingdom and the USA; however, this centipede has not been reported from outdoor habitats where it is an introduced species. We report established populations of T. tuberculata in two forested and lakeside habitats in Nebraska, USA, which indicates this species has a widely dispersed, established population in the continental USA.

Experimental Study of the Influence of Selected Factors on the Particle Board Ignition by Radiant Heat Flux.

Particleboards are used in the manufacturing of furniture and are often part of the interior of buildings. In the event of a fire, particleboards are a substantial part of the fuel in many building fires. The aim of the article is to monitor the effect of radiant heat on the surface of particle board according to the modified procedure ISO 5657: 1997. The significance of the influence of heat flux density and particle board properties on its thermal resistance (time to ignition) was monitored. Experimental samples were used particle board without surface treatment, with thicknesses of 12, 15, and 18 mm. The samples were exposed to a heat flux from 40 to 50 kW·m−2. The experimental results are the initiation characteristics such as of the ignition temperature and the weight loss. The determined factors influencing the time to ignition and weight loss were the thickness and density of the plate material, the density of the radiant heat flux and the distance of the particle board from the radiant source (20, 40, and 60 mm). The obtained results show a significant dependence of the time to ignition on the thickness of the sample and on the heat flux density. The weight loss is significantly dependent on the thickness of the particle board. Monitoring the influence of time to ignition from sample distance confirmed a statistically significant dependence. As the distance of the sample from the source increased, the time to ignition decreased linearly. As the distance of the sample from the source increased, the time to ignition increased.

Nest sites used for daytime rest in urban Garden Dormice (Eliomys quercinus) in Wiesbaden, Germany

Garden Dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) populations have declined by 50% throughout Europe over the last 30 years. They are increasingly found in German cities, but little is known about their urban lifestyle. A radiotelemetry study was performed in the city of Wiesbaden, to investigate the daily resting habits of Garden Dormice. The location and structure of nest sites used for daytime rest (DNS) of five individuals (one female, four males) were recorded each to every second day during the months of May to July 2021. The animals were located 90 times in total in a DNS, and two to six different DNS per animal were identified. DNS were found in hedges, trees, bird nests, facade greening, nest boxes, and inside buildings. Garden Dormice in this study were often located in DNS that provide consistent temperatures (false floors, walls) and a high degree of protection from predators. DNS with visual cover and possible food supply (facade greening, hedges) were also often used. The frequency with which DNS were changed varied greatly depending on the individual. The dormice in this study showed adaptations to urban living, as each animal used at least one anthropogenic structure as DNS. Recommended conservation measures for Garden Dormice in urban areas, based on this study, include raising public awareness and protection and promotion of facade greening (climbing plants on walls and fences), hedges and old buildings. Further research on the life of Garden Dormice in urban areas is needed.

A Hybrid Indoor Positioning Model for Critical Situations Based on Localization Technologies

The domains of positioning and tracking have undergone substantial evolution and advancements recently, especially within the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) and in health care. Unfortunately, neither the current satellite positioning systems nor the standalone cellular systems remain useful for successfully localizing and tracking inside buildings. This paper proposes a new model that could improve the accuracy of localization in indoor environments. In addition, a broad review is conducted to discover the state-of-the-art indoor localization technologies appropriate for disasters and rescue situations. After a comprehensive study, three important technologies that need to be deeply reviewed are identified, which are wireless local area network (WLAN), dead reckoning (DR), and hybrid approaches. Based on these, a novel architecture is introduced that is more convenient to meet the operation of rescuing injured or older people in critical situations, where other technologies might be unavailable or require some extra infrastructures. The proposed model has two modes and selects one of these modes automatically. The first mode assumes the existence of both WLAN signals and smartphone sensors to be used for identifying the position of the object; otherwise, only smartphone sensors will be employed to achieve positioning. Significantly, the designated components and the flow control depicted provide a proper and suitable horizon for the next researchers who desire to develop a new indoor positioning system in this discipline with a low positioning root-mean-squared error on the centimeter scale that can later be incorporated in numerous applications relating to the IoT, health care, and evacuation plans.

Pengenalan Software Desain 3D Modelling Untuk Siswa SMK Bima Utomo Bs

One way to improve the quality of education in schools is to implement an information system based on computer technology, one of which is to provide an understanding of the development of software technology. In today's digital era, software technology is one of the necessities for creating and planning products. In designing interior and exterior buildings, software is needed to plan buildings which were originally from sheets of work paper in the form of sketches but can only be made into 3D modeling. By introducing the role of 3D Modeling software technology as a supporter of student interest in learning so that it can improve achievement, student understanding and student interest in 3D Modeling Software. The form of community service activities carried out is counseling by presenting material about the introduction of 3d Modeling software which is developing and widely used in the current digital era and practicing tools on the software.

Study on received signal strength of femtocell with circular and rectangular microstrip patch antenna designed at 2.55 GHz

In large cities, the coverage and quality of telecommunication services inside buildings is low and needs more effort for its improvement. Signal attenuators like number of walls, number of floors and others affect the quality of received signal. Therefore, femtocells are used for improving the poor performance of network inside buildings and other dead zone areas. The aim of this work is to compare the received signal strength of femtocell with rectangular and circular microstrip patch antenna designed at 2.55 GHz. This work considers the received signal strength of femtocell with the designed rectangular and circular microstrip patch antennas. The performance analysis uses Multi Wall Multi Floor indoor propagation model. The result showed that the total gain of rectangular and circular microstrip patch antenna are 3.6528 dB and 2.924 dB, respectively. The received signal strength of femtocell with rectangular microstrip patch antenna is larger than that of circular microstrip patch antenna designed at the same frequency. The effect of number of walls and floors on the received signal strength of femtocell is also clearly indicated. Generally, it is found that much higher received signal strength is observed in rectangular microstrip patch antenna than in circular one. The outcome of this work shows that femtocells are capable of enhancing signal quality for indoor users.

Exploring the Concept of Spatial Identity within a Building Environment

This paper discusses the spatial identity theory for a smaller scope of the built environment - a building design. The research objective is to explore the concept of spatial identity theory within a building and interior setting through literature analysis and synthesis. A literature review is the primary methodology for this research paper, which considers extensive precedent studies associated to place identity, sense of place, place attachment, spatial experience - among others. The synthesis towards the end of this study may better comprehend the concept of spatial identity for a building design and interior environment. Keywords: Spatial identity; building environment; sense of place; spatial experience eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i19.3268

An Appraisal Among Wired, Hybrid and Wireless Smart Homes to Mitigate Electromagnetic Radiation

The global Covid-19 pandemic caused a rapid transitioning to remote work settings, one likely to linger post-pandemic, resulting on people spending more time at home for work or study. The globalpandemic defined a new normal that is expected to be digital and heavily relying on technology. Smart buildings which are envisioned to be the next paradigm shift in the built environment are also foreseen as a response solution to aid in situations like pandemic. However, such a move yields benefits as well as risks, prompting wide debates on the priority to safeguard building occupants health, safety and well-being. Researchers, designers and engineers are seeking solutions to incorporate or modify design features in the indoor environment that prioritize the dwellers’ health and wellness. Though benefits of smart and IoT devices aid in monitoring health and wellness, radiation from these wireless devices may cause harm to human health, especially those with weaker health, as indicated by several research findings. Some of the negative impacts from wireless radiation include cell damage, cancer, tumor, change in hormonal levels, and neurological damage. Thus, this study seeks to determine the difference in radiation level inside a wired, hybrid and a wireless smart home through Computer Simulation Technology (CST) simulation. Such a quantification can help designers develop strategies to design smart buildings that cause low radiation for its occupants. Antenna field source was imported to CST to create the wireless and hybrid design scenario. The measurement for wired and hybrid were evaluated keeping the wired design as baseline. The results revealed that wireless produced 26.55% more radiation than wired scenario at 2.45 GHz, taken as baseline measurement. Further, the total Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) and radiation patterns are dependent on several factors like proximity of IoT and smart devices to building walls and interior furnishings, frequency of operation. In order to create a safer indoor environment, this study recommends the use of both wired and hybrid design in lieu of totally wireless smart buildings.

Polymer dispersed liquid crystal retrofitted smart switchable glazing: Energy saving, diurnal illumination, and CO2 mitigation prospective

Smart switchable glazing provides better thermal control and daylighting performance in building compared to conventional glazing. The polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) glazing can switch translucent to transparent when an active electric field is applied. Solar and visible light properties were measured experimentally for four different colored PDLC film glazing (pink, yellow, blue, and white) in transparent (on) and translucent states (off). The PDLC glazing unsteady-state thermal transmittance (U-value) and solar heat gain coefficient (g-value) were computed to analyze heat gain/loss through glazing. The measured solar optical properties were used to compute the solar heat gains and cost savings when existing glazing in a library building was replaced with different PDLC glazing systems. The PDLC glazing has shown substantial reductions in building cooling loads which correspond to cooling cost savings. Different colored PDLC glazing systems (on/off-states) were studied for cooling cost savings to replace tinted bronze glazing (TBG) in an existing building in a cooling-dominant climate. In on-state, white PDLC glazing (PDLCW-on) had concluded the highest mean air-conditioning cost savings (5.76 $/m2) and total air-conditioning cost savings of 8286.6 $ with the lowest payback time of 8.92 years (on-state) compared to other studied PDLC glazing in on-state mode. PDLC glazing systems have also shown substantial mitigations in CO2 emissions. The white PDLCs in on-state (PDLCW-on) had reported the highest CO2 savings of 101.5 tCO2/year among all PDLC glazing studied in on-state mode. Daylighting analysis was performed to know the daylight accession and distribution inside the building interiors with Design-Builder (V 6.1.8.021). The average daylight factor (DF) metric of PDLC glazing was well above the minimum recommended level for library interiors as per Indian codes. The color rendering properties of PDLC glazing systems were also investigated for interior visual acceptability.