Page 37 - Climate Control News Aug-Sep 2020

Indoor Air Quality
LEFT: If the office is being repainted or refurbished, select materials that do not have a high VOC emission rate.
SHINE A LIGHT ON LED
The main driver for upgrading lighting installations today is energy efficiency. But good lighting can actually improve Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ).
While energy efficiency has been the main driver behind the transition to LED technology, the focus needs to shift to the many other benefits that accompany good lighting installations.
Experts believe the focus on healthier buildings since the COVID-19 pandemic began will make a difference. People spend 90 per cent of their time indoors, which is why the quality of our indoor environment has a direct and indirect impact on our health, well-being, and productivity.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has linked household air pollution to a high number of premature deaths worldwide,
The visual impact of lighting can be felt directly, but also impacts mood and emotions.
With good quality lighting employees perform better, students score higher, and it improves the sleep, mood and behaviour of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
For buildings, the Lighting Industry Association (LIA) recommends LED lighting in combination with controls and sensors.
“Replacing luminaires or introducing a whole new lighting design should be encouraged as this will lead to greater benefits in terms of energy savings and IEQ,” the LIA said.
Standards should be applied including mandatory minimum requirements on IEQ.
centrations, can give an indication of where the problem is – it is not an expensive test.
“Ensuring that the ventilation system is on (and working properly) can dilute the concentra- tion of these contaminants, and proper selection of building materials can limit their release into the building,” Dr Beato-Arribas said.
“THE LEVEL OF CO2 IN AN OCCUPIED SPACE IS A GOOD INDICATOR OF THE GENERAL IAQ.”
– DR BLANCA BEATO-ARRIBAS”
“For example, if the office is being repainted or refurbished, selecting materials that do not have a high VOC emission rate and flushing the build- ing should reduce the VOC concentration levels.”
The location of the building can indicate what contaminants to look for, such as a busy road.
If your building is next to a busy road then
measure for nitrous oxides (NO, NO2) and par- ticulates (PM2.5 and PM10).
If the building is on a Radon (Rn) area, check- ing Rn levels in the building and investigating ventilation solutions should be a priority, as ex- posure to Rn, which is naturally released from the ground, can cause lung cancer.
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) looks be- yond IAQ and considers the wellbeing of people in a holistic way.
IEQ looks not only at air quality, but also in- cludes lighting, acoustic and thermal comfort, and some wellbeing standards also take nour- ishment, water quality, ergonomics, electro- magnetic frequency levels and building aesthet- ics into consideration.
In summary, approximately 90 per cent of the associated costs of a building are staff-related.
IEQ not only affects people’s health and pro- ductivity but also has an impact on the building management. It can determine if the building is a desirable space to sell or rent, or if it requires ex- tensive and costly investigations to rectify. Therefore, providing good IEQ at work should be a priority for employers.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020
37