Title: | Assessment of indoor environmental quality in existing multi-family buildings in North-East Europe |
Author(s): | Du L; Prasauskas T; Leivo V; Turunen M; Pekkonen M; Kiviste M; Aaltonen A; Martuzevicius D; Haverinen-Shaughnessy U; |
Address: | "Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: liuliu.du@thl.fi. Department of Environmental Technology, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. Department of Civil Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, Finland. Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland" |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.envint.2015.03.001 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1873-6750 (Electronic) 0160-4120 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Sixteen existing multi-family buildings (94 apartments) in Finland and 20 (96 apartments) in Lithuania were investigated prior to their renovation in order to develop and test out a common protocol for the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) assessment, and to assess the potential for improving IEQ along with energy efficiency. Baseline data on buildings, as well as data on temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radon, and microbial content in settled dust were collected from each apartment. In addition, questionnaire data regarding housing quality and health were collected from the occupants. The results indicated that most measured IEQ parameters were within recommended limits. However, different baselines in each country were observed especially for parameters related to thermal conditions and ventilation. Different baselines were also observed for the respondents' satisfaction with their residence and indoor air quality, as well as their behavior related to indoor environment. In this paper, we present some evidence for the potential in improving IEQ along with energy efficiency in the current building stock, followed by discussion of possible IEQ indicators and development of the assessment protocol" |
Keywords: | "Air Pollutants/*analysis Air Pollution, Indoor/*analysis Carbon Dioxide/analysis Carbon Monoxide/analysis Environmental Monitoring/methods Finland Formaldehyde/analysis Housing/*standards Humans Lithuania Nitrogen Dioxide/analysis Particulate Matter/analy;" |
Notes: | "MedlineDu, Liuliu Prasauskas, Tadas Leivo, Virpi Turunen, Mari Pekkonen, Maria Kiviste, Mihkel Aaltonen, Anu Martuzevicius, Dainius Haverinen-Shaughnessy, Ulla eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Netherlands 2015/03/24 Environ Int. 2015 Jun; 79:74-84. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.03.001. Epub 2015 Mar 20" |