Unoccupied Rooms Research Articles

Energy Performance of Higher Education Institutions Buildings Operating During Quarantine Restrictions and/or Martial Law in Ukraine

Abstract During the pandemic and periods of martial law, educational institutions in Ukraine implemented various forms of organising the educational process, combining in-person and remote classes. As a result, there has been a decrease in the level of use of building premises. The analysis of the characteristics of energy consumption in these conditions requires additional attention. In this study, a dynamic energy model of the building was created using the educational building of Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute as an example. Energy consumption for heating needs was determined for normal operating conditions and quarantine conditions in Ukraine (only a specific part of the premises is being operated, ensuring that the standard temperature value is maintained while people are present). Based on the results of the study, the features of the energy consumption of the building during quarantine/martial law restrictions, subject to the partial use of the building, were analysed, and the main disadvantages of such a mode were identified. For the educational building of the university, the total energy consumption for heating needs depends on the number of rooms that are actively used, and the modes of regulation of heating and ventilation; the consumption can decrease depending on the chosen scenario by 61 %, 56 %, and 34 % in quarantine mode. The findings indicate that the efficiency of regulation modes can decrease by more than four times when compared to normal mode due to internal heat exchange with unoccupied rooms.

AN ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENCE IN FEMALES AND MALES ATTITUDE TOWARDS ECO-FRIENDLY PRACTICES AT HOME

Background: Eco-friendly behavior, sometimes referred to as green behavior or eco-behavior, is the idea that people, groups, and communities should make decisions and take activities to reduce their environmental effect and advance ecological sustainability. Ecological behavior is essential for maintaining biodiversity, protecting ecosystems, and conserving natural resources. The current study focuses on the environmentally conscious actions that Bhopal city’s men and women take at home. Objective: The objective of the study was to examine the attitude of men and women towards eco friendly habits at home. Methodology: The present research is quantitative, in nature. The study was conducted in the Bhopal city. Convenience sampling was used for the collection of the data. Respondents were asked closed-ended questions on 5-point Likert scale related to their demographic profile and their attitude towards eco friendly practices at home. 270 responses from162 male and 108 were female respondents aged more than 18 years was collected. Descriptive statistics was adopted to get the results of present research. Results: In order of importance male showcased importance for saving water (84%), switch the light off when leaving a room (76.5%), use of energy efficient light bulbs (76.5%) and turn AC off in unoccupied rooms (75.3%) are the top four eco-friendly practices. For female switching the light off when leaving a room (90.7%), saving water (83.3%), turning AC off in unoccupied rooms (81.5%) and turning heat off in unoccupied rooms (79.6%) were the top four eco-friendly practices followed at their homes. Conclusion: Saving water, switching the light off when leaving a room, using of energy efficient light bulbs and turning AC off in unoccupied rooms were the top four eco-friendly practices which are mostly practiced by males at their homes. For female switching the light off when leaving a room, saving water, Turning AC off in unoccupied rooms and Turning heat off in unoccupied rooms were the top four eco-friendly practices.

Characterization and decontamination of deposited dust: a management regime at a museum

Deposited dust represents a nutritional niche for microflora. Inhibiting microflora-associated deposited dust is a critical approach to manage cultural heritage buildings. Knowledge on the effectiveness of commercial disinfection on microflora in a real field environment is limited. The present study aims to: (1) characterize deposited dust composition, and (2) assess the effectiveness of several commercial biocides/and an air ionizer on microflora-associated floor surface and air before and after treatment. Deposited dust was collected using a dust collector and microbial air sampling was conducted via a volumetric impactor sampler. Susceptibility of microorganisms to biocide/ionizer was performed in a naturally ventilated unoccupied room with a floor area of 18 m2. One-treatment protocol, a daily disinfection mode, was applied to each biocide/ionizer. The surface floor was adjacently sprayed by a biocide, and the ionizer was turned on for 30 min. Indoor deposited dust rates varied between 0.75 and 8.7 mg/m2/day with indoor/outdoor ratio of ~ 1:100. Ion concentrations of NH4+, Cl−, SO42− and NO3− were higher indoor than outdoor. The concentration of microorganisms-associated deposited dust averaged 106 CFU/g; 105 CFU/g and 104 CFU/g for bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, respectively. A total of 23 fungal taxa were identified, with Aspergillus flavus, Asp. fumigatus and Asp. niger were the predominant taxa. Biocides quickly reduced floor surface and airborne microbial loads. The biocidal effect was time limited, as microflora loads increased again after ~ 4 days of the treatment protocol. Benzalkonium chloride (BAC) out-performed other biocides, showed a relatively permanent microbial inhibiting effect. The air ionizer reduced airborne microorganisms and increased surface floor ones. Characterizing of deposited dust (rate and composition) and choice an appropriate biocide may effectively reduce biodeterioration. Further real field treatment trials under various microenvironmental conditions are needed to determine the effectiveness of disinfection treatment.

In-situ assessment of the thermal performance of earth masonry construction

The interest in traditional earth constructions has grown in Europe since a few years. This growing interest can be attributed to the fact that earth has among other qualities a good capacity for the hygrothermal regulation inside a building. This well-established ability of earth to store and manage heat and moisture has been extensively studied in the past at the material scale. However, the evaluation of the building envelop performance is rarely achieved in practice. This study presents an evaluation of the thermal performance of earth masonry construction based on in-situ measurements under real conditions of exposure. The construction consists of a single unoccupied room with habitable surface area of 12.9 m2 located in Canohès in the Southern France. Firstly, the airtightness of the envelop was quantified with the blower door test. The air permeability results indicated a very good level of airtightness. Then the thermal insulation of the envelop was measured according to the ISABELE method (In Situ Assessment of the Building EnveLope pErformances). The latter is a method developed by the CSTB to deduce the transmission heat transfer coefficient of the building with its uncertainty within short unoccupied period (few days). The results of the different ISABELE tests demonstrated that the total thermal insulation level of the tested envelop could be classified as good to average according to the scale of the building heat loss coefficient (Ubat) of the French Energy Performance Diagnosis. The results of the ISABELE tests were confirmed by the outcomes of a Coheating test conducted during a long period of 3 months. This study gives encouraging results on the application of the ISABELE method on earth masonry buildings to deduce the thermal performance of their envelope quickly, instead of a complete Coheating test which can be too long to apply in practice.

Mechanism changing iron solubility and oxidative potential associated with PM2.5 during outdoor-to-indoor transport

Water-soluble transition metals are more bio-accessible than insoluble particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5) components and can contribute to PM2.5 oxidative potential, a metric that has been linked to air pollution health impacts. Fifteen pairs of indoor-outdoor PM2.5 samples were collected outdoors and in unoccupied rooms to examine change of iron solubility and dithiothreitol-based oxidative potential of PM2.5 during outdoor-to-indoor transport. Changes of relative humidity (ΔRH = RHin/RHout - 1) and aerosol acidity (ΔpH = pHin/pHout - 1) together were found to modify iron solubility (ΔS = Sin - Sout) during outdoor-to-indoor transport. Multiple linear regression was performed to examine relationship between ΔRH, ΔpH and ΔS, resulting in a statistically significant correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.68 and P value < 0.05). This correlation coefficient is higher than that for ΔRH or ΔpH alone (0.40 between ΔRH and ΔS and −0.32 between ΔpH and ΔS). This supports that during outdoor-to-indoor transport, increases in RH lead to increases in water content in PM2.5, increasing the amount of iron in the aqueous phase, and decreases in pH would lead to stronger metal mobilization capacity. These two factors together explain the change of iron solubility during the transport process. A correlation coefficient of 0.67 was also found between ΔRH and ΔpH and changes in intrinsic oxidative potential (OPM) of PM2.5, further corroborating the combined role of relative humidity and aerosol acidity in driving change of iron solubility and OPM of PM2.5 during outdoor-to-indoor transport.

About the effect of tailored energy feedback on space heating consumption and indoor air temperature in social housing buildings: An experimental investigation

Providing the occupants with tailored feedback on their energy consumptions can be an effective method to help the users to adopt energy-efficient behaviours. However, in specific contexts such as the social housing, this may be challenging, due to the peculiarities and the economic constraints of the end-users, which make them vulnerable and needing a proper design of the information. Nevertheless, there is a lack of detailed studies in the literature analysing the effects of personalized energy feedback on the space heating consumption and the indoor air temperatures in the social housing sector. This paper aims to evaluate the effects on space heating consumption and indoor air temperature of a personalized feedback campaign delivered in three social housing buildings consisting of 27 apartments in Mediterranean climate. To this end, a personalized feedback campaign was designed and developed, providing for the use of disaggregated energy consumption indicators to show the location of excessive thermal energy consumptions. The daily thermal energy consumptions, as well as the indoor air temperatures of the single dwellings, were monitored daily for over four heating seasons and their variations were analysed before and after the implementation of the personalized feedback. A saving in normalized natural gas consumption of the buildings was found on average equal to −14,8% after the feedback campaign, with no significant variations in the indoor air temperatures. However, some critical issues have been highlighted in the response of individual end-users to the feedback provided. A greater propensity of the occupants to regulate the indoor air temperature through the thermostatic radiator valves in the unoccupied rooms of the house was also observed after the occurrence of the feedback campaign.

Computational analysis of a new biomimetic active ventilation paradigm for indoor spaces

PurposeVentilation of indoor spaces is required for the delivery of fresh air rich in oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide, pollutants and other hazardous substances. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the topic of ventilating crowded indoors to the front line of health concerns. This study developed a new biologically inspired concept of biomimetic active ventilation (BAV) for interior environments that mimics the mechanism of human lung ventilation, where internal air is continuously refreshed with the external environment. The purpose of this study is to provide a detailed proof-of-concept of the new BAV paradigm using computational models.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed computational fluid dynamic models of unoccupied rooms with two window openings on one wall and two BAV modules that periodically translate perpendicular to or rotate about the window openings. This study also developed a time-evolving spatial ventilation efficiency metric for exploring the accumulated refreshment of the interior space. The authors conducted two-dimensional (2D) simulations of various BAV configurations to determine the trends in how the working parameters affect the ventilation and to generate initial estimates for the more comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) model.FindingsSimulations of 2D and 3D models of BAV for modules of different shapes and working parameters demonstrated air movements in most of the room with good air exchange between the indoor and outdoor air. This new BAV concept seems to be very efficient and should be further developed.Originality/valueThe concept of ventilating interior spaces with periodically moving rigid modules with respect to the window openings is a new BAV paradigm that mimics human respiration. The computational results demonstrated that this new paradigm for interior ventilation is efficient while air velocities are within comfortable limits.

Sigmund Freud, 19 Berggasse, Vienna. André Breton, 42 Rue Fontaine, Paris

Sigmund Freud, 19 Berggasse, Vienna. André Breton, 42 Rue Fontaine, Paris

Heritage and Hate: Old South Rhetoric at Southern Universities

Heritage and Hate: Old South Rhetoric at Southern Universities

The impostor.

‘Welcome Dr X. Your very first day as a consultant isn't it? Well, who better to take charge of the ward round? Dive right in and all that. Over to you’. ‘Well…aahh…thanks. It's been a while since my last ward job, so I might be a bit rusty…’. I take a step towards the first patient. My breathing shallows. Visual fields constrict. My surroundings are now indistinct, the voices of my colleagues distant. I feel the urge to run. That's when the alarms go off. Raucous, piercing. It's Defcon One in here. I am suddenly surrounded by menacing types in combat fatigues, their eyes invisible behind dark visors. ‘Dr X, I am Agent Brown from the Impostor Detection Squad. These are agents Blue, Pink and Orange. Please step this way’. I am ushered into an unoccupied room. ‘Why are you people here?’ I stammer. ‘We are investigating a complaint about your competence’. ‘Complaint from whom?’ ‘Your Psyche’. Wow. I didn't see this coming. Nobody warned me. ‘What are the issues?’ I manage. ‘Well…here's the charge sheet’. Agent Brown reads from his notebook. ‘Somehow faked your way through training. Yawning gaps in knowledge. Not on the same page as the rest of the group. Everyone else is better at this’. Heavy allegations. But deep down, surely we are good judges of ourselves? Must be true then… A knock on the door. ‘Agent Blue has entered the room. Interview paused at O815’. ‘Can I have a word with you, Chief?’ said the agent. ‘Got some further intel on this one. Doesn't always get it right, but mostly. Safe practitioner. Good track record of clinical care. Lots of strengths. Good potential’. ‘We have had word from the Voice of Reason. No need to keep hold of him’ she added. ‘Roger that. Happy to hear it’ replied Agent Brown. “Doc, you are free to go. Keep an eye out though. Next time you are facing something new or difficult, we may be back.” As the agent turned to leave, I found my voice. ‘Hold on a minute. I don't fancy another grilling. I don't like this feeling. What can I do?’ ‘Well OK…a word to the wise’. Agent Brown lifted his visor and met my gaze. ‘Reflect. Connect with your peers. Check in with a mentor. Ask them if they have ever felt like this. Realise what a common experience this is. Notice when you do good things. Clever things. Do not let these drift away. Capture them, store them, refer back to them. Learn from your mistakes, but don't dwell on them. Get some help to reframe your thoughts or manage your feelings if you need to. Most of all – be kind to yourself’. He smiled. ‘Now off you go Doc. You have a ward round to lead’.

Using Real Time Measurements to Derive the Indoor and Outdoor Contributions of Submicron Particulate Species and Trace Gases.

The indoor environment is usually more polluted than outdoors due to emissions of gas and particle-phase pollutants from multiple sources, leading to their accumulation on top of the infiltration of outdoor pollution. While it is widely recognized that negative health effects arise from the exposure to outdoor air pollution, exposure to indoor pollutants also needs to be well assessed since we spend most of our time (~90%) breathing indoors. Indoor concentrations of pollutants are driven by physicochemical processes and chemical transformations taking place indoors, acting as sources and/or sinks. While these basic concepts are understood, assessing the contribution of each process is still challenging. In this study, we deployed online instrumentation in an unoccupied room to test a methodology for the apportionment of indoor and outdoor pollutant sources. This method was successfully applied to the apportionment of PM1 and VOCs, however, there are limitations for reactive gases such as O3. The results showed that this unoccupied indoor environment acts as a source of VOCs and contributes 87% on OVOCs and 6% on CxHy, while it acts as a sink for particles, likely due to losses through volatilization up to 60%.

Patterns of Delirium in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Associations With Noise Pollution.

Objective: Delirium is a common problem in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and is associated with increased length of stay, cost and mortality. This study evaluated the relationship between noise pollution and delirium risk. Design: This is a Quality Improvement (QI) initiative at an academic PICU. Sound levels were monitored and patients were screened for delirium using the Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium (CAPD). Setting PICU Patients: All PICU patients Interventions: None Measurements and Main Results: Over the 83-week study period (2015-2017), the median [IQR] CAPD score was 8 [3 to 14]. Nursing compliance with the CAPD was 72.2%. The proportion of patients screening positive for delirium (CAPD ≥ 9) was 45.9%. A total of 329 711 hly decibel (dB) measurements were collected and reported. Occupied rooms were louder than unoccupied rooms (51.8 [51.6-51.9] dB vs. 49.8 [49.7-49.9] dB, respectively, p < 0.001). Days (10 AM to 4 PM) were louder than nights (11 PM to 5 AM) (52.8 [52.7-53.0] dB vs. 50.7 [49.9-51.5] dB, respectively p < 0.001) in occupied rooms. Winter (Nov-Feb) months were louder than summer (May-Aug) months (52.0 [51.8-52.3] dB vs. 51.5 [51.3-51.7] dB, respectively, p < 0.002) in occupied rooms. Median weekly nighttime noise levels and CAPD scores demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.6 (p < 0.001). Median weekly risk of mortality (ROM) and CAPD scores demonstrated a correlation coefficient of 0.15 (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Significant noise pollution exists in the PICU with a moderate correlation between nighttime noise levels and CAPD scores. This could potentially implicate noise pollution as a risk factor for the development of delirium.

Junk Food or Haute Cuisine to the Ear? – Investigating the Relationship Between Room Acoustics, Soundscape, Non-Acoustical Factors, and the Perceived Quality of Restaurants

Sound and music are well-studied aspects of the quality of experience in restaurants; the role of the room acoustical conditions, their influence on the visitors’ soundscape evaluation and their impact on the overall customer satisfaction in restaurants, however, has received less scientific attention. The present field study therefore investigated whether sound pressure level, reverberation time, and soundscape pleasantness can predict factors associated with overall restaurant quality. In total, 142 persons visiting 12 restaurants in Berlin rated relevant acoustical and non-acoustical factors associated with restaurant quality. Simultaneously, the A-weighted sound pressure level (LA,eq,15) was measured, and the reverberation time in the occupied state (T20,occ) was obtained by measurements performed in the unoccupied room and a subsequent calculation of the occupied condition according to DIN 18041. Results from linear mixed-effects models revealed that both the LA,eq,15 and T20,occ had a significant influence on soundscape pleasantness and eventfulness, whereby the effect of T20,occ was meditated by the LA,eq,15. Also, the LA,eq,15 as well as soundscape pleasantness were significant predictors of overall restaurant quality. A comprehensive structural equation model including both acoustical and non-acoustical factors, however, indicates that the effect of soundscape pleasantness on overall restaurant quality is mediated by the restaurant’s atmosphere. Our results support and extend previous findings which suggest that the acoustical design of restaurants involves a trade-off between comfort and liveliness, depending on the desired character of the place.

A systematic review on disinfection, airborne precautions and biomedical waste management for prevention of infection by SARS-CoV-2: Current evidences and adoptable practices in healthcare settings

The emergence and spread of the novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2 causing pneumonia and severe respiratory tract infections has put the whole world in grave situation. The pandemicity is because the virus is highly contagious with very high transmissibility and spread from person to person by infected respiratory droplets and contacts. As no specific drug or vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 are available in the market, so preventive measures that break the chain of transmission are the mainstay to prevent COVID-19 infections. The present systematic review article highlights the current updates on preventive measures in the context of disinfection practices, droplet precautions, airborne precautions and biomedical waste management based on various research articles, national guidelines by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Pollution Control Board, Government of India and international guidelines by WHO, CDC. Search was conducted in Medline, Embase and Google Scholar with articles published in English language from 1st January 2020 to 20th July 2020 and were taken for reviewing. A systematic review protocol was developed based on PRISMA checklist and the PRISMA statement and was conducted to synthesise adoptable best practices based on current evidences. Three disinfectants have become most important to combat this novel corona virus, which are 70-85% ethanol, 0.1% sodium hypochlorite for routine environmental disinfection and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for large spillage management and >0.5% hydrogen peroxide with a minimal contact time of 1 minute for all three disinfectants. Fogging of unoccupied rooms and testing laboratories can be done by 2% hydrogen peroxide solution. UV radiation at 240-260 nm have wide applications in routine terminal disinfection of unoccupied rooms and biosafety cabinets and also used for decontamination of N95 masks for reuse. Based on available evidences from WHO and ICMR it is suggested to take respiratory droplets and contact precautions in every health care settings taking care of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, and airborne precautions are recommended when aerosol generating procedures are performed. According to CDC droplets and contact precautions are essential in routine health care settings and airborne precautions are essential when aerosol generating procedures are performed and are also recommended when taking care of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases depending on resource availability. Whether airborne precaution is essential for all settings is debatable and is still unclear based on available evidences. Proper handling of biomedical waste, segregation at source and disposal as per classification along with proper disposal of PPE after doffing can help in preventing the disease in community and among health care providers. Evidence on the modes of transmission of COVID-19 from dead bodies to individuals is yet to be established. Steps to be followed are based on Government Guidelines. However scholarly article depicting desirable and undesirable effects of dead body handling strategy is lacking.

Investigation of a compact hybrid liquid-desiccant air-conditioning system for return air dehumidification

In some automatic workshops, pharmaceutical warehouses, etc., there are control requirements for indoor air temperature and humidity, yet almost no occupants or no fresh air demand in the rooms. In this study, a hybrid liquid-desiccant air-conditioning (LDAC) system is proposed for the unoccupied rooms without fresh air demand. In the proposed system, the liquid dehumidifier and regenerator are cascaded, and the regeneration process is creatively moved to indoors. Two systems are selected as the reference systems, i.e., conventional vapor-compression system (reference system I) and conventional LDAC system using outdoor air for regeneration (reference system II). The simulation results reveal that, under the typical summer condition in Guangzhou of China, the coefficients of performance (COPsys) of the proposed system, reference system I, and reference system II are 2.6, 1.8, and 2.3, respectively, when the air is dehumidified from 13.0 to 7.7 g/kg. Compared to the reference system I, the reheating process can be avoided, and higher-temperature chilled water at 16 °C can be used in the proposed system. Compared to the reference system II, using indoor air for regeneration helps to reduce the regeneration temperature. Thus, the proposed system demonstrates energy and space advantages than the reference systems.

Investigation of PM10, PM2.5, PM1 in an unoccupied airflow-controlled room: How reliable to neglect resuspension and assume unreactive particles?

It is now well recognized that Particulate Matter (PM) is one of the main air pollutants affecting both ambient and indoor air quality. While ambient PM mass concentration measurements are often performed by air quality monitoring networks, current regulations do not address their indoor concentrations. The latter can be estimated nonetheless from a mass balance analysis accounting for (i) the transfer of particles from outdoor and (ii) their typical indoor sources (emissions, resuspension) and sinks (deposition, removal by air exchange). Inherently, the mass balance analysis is valid with inert atmospheric species, i.e. mass is conserved and described by sources and sinks, thus assuming no physicochemical transformations. To check that the relative imbalance (RI) is not significant over different size fractions, a series of careful measurements were conducted in an unoccupied room within a building incorporating an energy-efficient design (minimal heat losses, negligible air leaks, etc.). We show that by carefully characterizing the room properties, i.e. the air exchange rate, penetration factors and deposition rates for sized-resolved particles, the PM10 and PM2.5 fractions, which are typically regulated outdoors, as well as PM1, can be well estimated indoors (with RI between measured and expected values < 19%) under moderate ambient temperatures (<22 °C in this study). However, RI increases significantly, especially for submicron particles, at higher temperatures, indicating possible transformations in the particulate phase, which are not accounted for by the mass balance model. Therefore caution is recommended regarding the mass balance analysis to estimate PM fractions indoors, especially for PM1.

Casting Shadows at Chesney Wold: Empty-House-Time and Realism in the British Novel

AbstractWhat insights into literary realism can be found by dwelling in the empty rooms and abandoned spaces of Bleak House, a novel more often read for its representation of overcrowded environments? Traveling between and imaginatively inhabiting empty houses of Charles Dickens's and Virginia Woolf's construction, this article proposes empty-house-time as a distinctive narrative chronotope, one that nineteenth- and twentieth-century British writers use to investigate the processes of realist fiction, especially its affective dimensions. Taking the character-less built environment as a figure for the novel form, the article shows that the chromatic present that characterizes narratives of spaces like Chesney Wold when the Dedlocks are absent throws into flux boundaries between the fictional and the real, the reader and the world of the text, and different modes of imagining. It opens up continuums along which strategies of realist characterization and world-building are dramatized and interrogated. Most powerfully, empty-house-time reveals how affects associated with imagining the world going on without you shape encounters with fiction. Identifying the vital, ongoing existence of unoccupied rooms in Dickens's writing can in turn revitalize studies of the relationship between Victorian and modernist novels and theories of realism. This article concludes by turning to the Ramsays’ abandoned coastal home in To the Lighthouse, in which Woolf, like Dickens, links an interrogation of realist fictionality to a historically specific reimagining of the household.

Indoor air partitioning of Synthetic Musk Compounds: Gas, particulate matter, house dust, and window film

Due to diversity of contaminants indoors and complexity in the physical structure of particulate matter, partition process of chemicals affects indoor concentration distribution. Synthetic Musk Compounds (SMCs) are ubiquitously found in household and personal care products, thus, in the environment. Exposure to SMCs is important for human health, therefore, their partitioning in indoor environmental media is a key issue. In this study, gas – particle, house dust, and window film partitioning of SMCs were investigated in an indoor micro-environment. In a sealed and unoccupied room, a polycyclic and nitro musk mixture was left for volatilization for an hour. Then, samples were collected using XAD-2 sandwiched between two PUF plugs, glass-fiber filter, and wipes for gas, PM10, window-film, house dust phases, respectively, for 145 h. Collected samples were analyzed using a GC–MS. Results demonstrated that SMC concentrations decreased over time, non-linearly. Six of the SMCs partitioned to PM10 with at least 10% at beginning of the experiment, whereas the number of compounds dropped to two at the end, showing that SMCs may partition well between the two phases but they tend to be in the gas phase. They were also detected in the film and dust phases but a decrease pattern similar to gas-particle was not observed. Spearman correlations indicate that the dust and film-associated concentrations were governed by similar processes but PM-associated concentrations were not. SMCs may be found in all phases, mainly in house dust in terms of mass among the studied media and unaccounted surface reservoirs. Therefore, their partitioning between indoor media has key implications for human exposure.

Exploring particulate matter pollution in hotel guestrooms

Purpose A growing number of travelers seek well-being when traveling. As concerning about outdoor air pollution in tourism destinations escalates, little is known about indoor air pollution in hotel guestrooms. The purpose of the present study is to assess particulate matter (PM) pollution in US hotel guestrooms and to provide baseline indoor PM readings in occupied and unoccupied rooms. Design/methodology/approach A series of field tests and experiments monitoring PM levels were conducted in the guestrooms overnight – with and without occupants – using the sophisticated, industrial-grade PM-monitoring equipment. Findings The results revealed that PM levels were very low when rooms were unoccupied or when guests were asleep. However, unhealthy PM mass concentrations were observed in occupied rooms when guests engaged in physical activity such as showering and walking around or while room attendants cleaned rooms. Among the physical activities, room cleaning caused hazardous indoor PM pollution, reaching 1,665.9 µg/m3 of PM10 and 140.4 µg/m3 of PM2.5 although they tended to be brief. Research limitations/implications Leveraging increasing guest demand in well-being is essential for sustainable business and further growth. Indoor air quality must be recognized as an important factor to be controlled for well-being and health of guests and employees. Major hotel brands should take it into consideration as they infuse well-being DNA into their products and culture. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical investigation of PM pollution both in occupied and unoccupied hotel guestrooms in the USA, which reveals unhealthy PM pollution associated with the routine human activities in occupied guestrooms.

Leaving lights on – A conscious choice or wasted light? Use of indoor lighting in Swedish homes

Promoting resource- and energy-efficient home lighting through technology and behaviour change requires an understanding of how residents currently use lighting and what they want from it. However, users' needs and desires relating to lighting in homes are poorly understood, as research is still limited. This paper aims to provide a fuller picture of residents' experiences with their home lighting. Interviews about how residents perceive the character of lighting and luminaires and lighting use suggest that home lighting has nine capabilities: to enable vision; to facilitate visual tasks; to display objects; to send a message; to support a particular atmosphere; to shape the architectural space; to offer a visual aesthetic experience; to maintain or change rhythmicity; and to evoke memories. Secondary data confirmed five of them. The identified capabilities relate to behavioural goals, psychological wellbeing and social needs. We conclude that seemingly wasted light in people's homes, i.e. lights left on in unoccupied rooms, can serve a purpose for the residents, such as avoiding visual or aesthetic discomfort, making the home inviting, benefitting people outside and providing safety. Findings have implications for the further development of new lighting technologies and design, energy-saving campaigns targeting residents and for urban outdoor environments.