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Indoor air temperatures, CO2 concentrations and ventilation rates : Long-term measurements in newly built low-energy schools in Sweden

Simanic, Branko LU ; Nordquist, Birgitta LU ; Bagge, Hans LU and Johansson, Dennis LU (2019) In Journal of Building Engineering 25.
Abstract

Within a period of ten years a large number of schools need to be built in Sweden and these new schools need to be nearly zero energy buildings. School classrooms are required to provide healthy learning environments to help children perceive and process information. This means that classrooms must provide adequate levels of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This article investigates CO2 concentration levels and indoor air temperatures in several recently built, low-energy schools in Sweden, and compares them with design criteria stipulated in specific international standards and Swedish regulations to provide feedback to the building construction industry. Field measurements of CO2 concentrations, indoor air... (More)

Within a period of ten years a large number of schools need to be built in Sweden and these new schools need to be nearly zero energy buildings. School classrooms are required to provide healthy learning environments to help children perceive and process information. This means that classrooms must provide adequate levels of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This article investigates CO2 concentration levels and indoor air temperatures in several recently built, low-energy schools in Sweden, and compares them with design criteria stipulated in specific international standards and Swedish regulations to provide feedback to the building construction industry. Field measurements of CO2 concentrations, indoor air temperatures and ventilation rates in seven low-energy schools, with a total of 145 classrooms, taken during several months spanning both summer and winter periods, are analysed in this article. All the schools in the study have mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation systems with demand control devices in the classrooms. The study shows that all the classrooms, in general, comply with the design criteria regarding indoor air temperatures and CO2 concentrations in EN15251, ASHRAE 62.1 and the Swedish national regulations and recommendations. Median values of indoor air temperatures were between 19 and 23.5 °C in all classrooms during school hours. The 90-percentile levels of CO2 concentrations were below 1000 ppm in 60 of 61 classrooms in which these measurements could take place. It is concluded that during this long-term measurements in the studied seven low-energy schools, modern HVAC systems with demand control and heat recovery, in general, provided satisfactory indoor climates in terms of CO2 levels and indoor air temperatures.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
CO, Indoor air temperatures, Long-term measurements, Low-energy schools, Ventilation rates
in
Journal of Building Engineering
volume
25
article number
100827
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85067185782
ISSN
2352-7102
DOI
10.1016/j.jobe.2019.100827
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
2f6873d4-9580-49e5-baaf-374713848989
date added to LUP
2019-06-26 11:16:00
date last changed
2022-04-26 02:12:14
@article{2f6873d4-9580-49e5-baaf-374713848989,
  abstract     = {{<p>Within a period of ten years a large number of schools need to be built in Sweden and these new schools need to be nearly zero energy buildings. School classrooms are required to provide healthy learning environments to help children perceive and process information. This means that classrooms must provide adequate levels of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This article investigates CO<sub>2</sub> concentration levels and indoor air temperatures in several recently built, low-energy schools in Sweden, and compares them with design criteria stipulated in specific international standards and Swedish regulations to provide feedback to the building construction industry. Field measurements of CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations, indoor air temperatures and ventilation rates in seven low-energy schools, with a total of 145 classrooms, taken during several months spanning both summer and winter periods, are analysed in this article. All the schools in the study have mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation systems with demand control devices in the classrooms. The study shows that all the classrooms, in general, comply with the design criteria regarding indoor air temperatures and CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations in EN15251, ASHRAE 62.1 and the Swedish national regulations and recommendations. Median values of indoor air temperatures were between 19 and 23.5 °C in all classrooms during school hours. The 90-percentile levels of CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations were below 1000 ppm in 60 of 61 classrooms in which these measurements could take place. It is concluded that during this long-term measurements in the studied seven low-energy schools, modern HVAC systems with demand control and heat recovery, in general, provided satisfactory indoor climates in terms of CO<sub>2</sub> levels and indoor air temperatures.</p>}},
  author       = {{Simanic, Branko and Nordquist, Birgitta and Bagge, Hans and Johansson, Dennis}},
  issn         = {{2352-7102}},
  keywords     = {{CO; Indoor air temperatures; Long-term measurements; Low-energy schools; Ventilation rates}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Building Engineering}},
  title        = {{Indoor air temperatures, CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations and ventilation rates : Long-term measurements in newly built low-energy schools in Sweden}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2019.100827}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jobe.2019.100827}},
  volume       = {{25}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}