Demand for good indoor air quality is increasing as people recorgnise the risks to their health and productivity from indoor pollutants. There is a tendency to reduce ventilation rates to ensure energy conservation in buildings; in this instance schools. However, evidence reviewed shows that this can be detrimental to health and wellbeing in schools because of the learner density within a small area (1.8 - 2.4m2/person); eventually indicating that carbon dioxide (CO2) levels can rise to very high levels in classroom occupancy periods. A preliminary study to investigate the impact of indoor environmental parameters has been performed in a secondary school classroom in Pretoria, South Africa. Factors monitored include temperature, relative humidity, lighting, air velocities and CO2 concentrations. From the results low air velocities are recorded (i.e. 0.1-0.3m/s) impacting on the retention of CO2 build-up in the classroom. Results presented in this paper are the initial findings of ongoing research.
Reference:
Essah, E.A., Kwawu, W. and Motsatsi, L. 2016. Indoor microclimate in a South African school: impact of indoor environmental factors. In: The 14th International Conference of Indoor Air Quality and Climate, 3-8 July 2016, Gent, Belgium
Essah, E., Kwawu, W., & Motsatsi, L. (2016). Indoor microclimate in a South African school: impact of indoor environmental factors. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/8979
Essah, EA, W Kwawu, and L Motsatsi. "Indoor microclimate in a South African school: impact of indoor environmental factors." (2016): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/8979
Essah E, Kwawu W, Motsatsi L, Indoor microclimate in a South African school: impact of indoor environmental factors; 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/8979 .