People tend to spend considerable amounts of time in buildings; thus the issue of providing proper indoor environmental quality is of significant importance. This paper experimentally analyses the subjective sensations of the occupants of intelligent and traditional buildings with the focus on possible differences between these two types of buildings. The study is based on a large database of 1302 questionnaires collected in 92 rooms where simultaneous measurements of the indoor environment physical parameters (air and globe temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and illuminance) were carried out. Their impact on the subjective assessment of the indoor environment has been presented and analysed. The results show that the occupants seemed to be more favourable towards the indoor conditions in the intelligent building; however, the differences in comparison to the traditional buildings were not considerable. Similarly, self-reported productivity proved to be higher in the intelligent building, while the optimal range of air temperature, which ensured highest productivity, was 22–25 °C. Moreover, a strong correlation between the occupants’ overall comfort and their perception of the air quality has been found.
1 December 2021 in Civil and Environmental Engineering
Currently, thermal comfort and indoor air quality are essential elements in designing modern and intelligent buildings or improving existing ones, so that they would provide proper indoor conditions. The article focuses on the thermal sensations of the students of Kielce University of Technology and determining whether the given parameters of the internal environment contributed to their well-being. 164 people aged 16 - 24 participated in the study, which was conducted with the use of a microclimate meter and questionnaires. It turned out that the temperature range from 19.3 °C – 27.6 °C is acceptable and comfortable for nearly 78% of people. As a result of further analysis, it turned out that the research group definitely prefers and feels better in colder temperatures.
This paper experimentally analyses an indoor environment assessment of a large group of respondents regarding their subjective perception of overall comfort, indoor air quality and humidity. The questionnaire survey was applied as a testing method together with measurements of the physical parameters conducted with a microclimate meter. Two types of environment were analysed: educational rooms and the climate chamber. The comparative analysis of the sensations experienced within them indicates that they generate quite similar responses; however, some discrepancies have been identified. The overall comfort of the climate chamber was typically assessed as being higher than that of the educational rooms at the same air temperature. The most favourable air temperature in the climate chamber was ca. 20.7 °C, while in the educational rooms it was ca. 22.3 °C. The most preferable conditions in the climate chamber occurred at a thermal sensation vote of −0.4 (“pleasantly slightly cool”), while in the educational rooms it occurred at +0.2 (“neutral/pleasantly slightly warm”). Quite strong correlations between overall comfort and indoor air quality as well as between humidity assessment and humidity preference votes were observed, which did not seem to depend on the type of environment. These findings are important because results from the simulated conditions are often used in the analyses of actual living/working environments.
The indoor environment of buildings significantly affects the well-being and health of room users. Experiencing thermal discomfort reduces concentration and productivity during study or work, causing drowsiness, fatigue or deterioration in general well-being. The study focuses on presenting the results of the questionnaire study on the symptoms of sick building syndromes (SBS), namely: dizziness, nausea, eye pain and nasal mucosa, experienced by 69 students during a lecture in a large and modern auditorium of Kielce University of Technology. The results show that many students experienced SBS symptoms, which seem to have affected their concentration during the class. The article also discusses the thermal sensations of the students with a focus on comparing the obtained results with the Fanger model of thermal comfort. The discrepancy between the model calculation results and the experimental data has been observed and discussed.
The paper presents experimental results of a study on indoor thermal environment in selected educational buildings located in the city of Kielce (Poland). The volunteers in the investigated rooms were asked to fill in the anonymous questionnaires containing questions on their thermal sensation, thermal preference and thermal acceptability votes as well as humidity assessment and humidity preference votes. In total, 83 people completed the questionnaires. Simultaneously, the indoor air parameters were measured with a microlimate meter equipped with precision sensors to measure air and globe temperatures, air velocity and relative humidity. The analysis of the obtained results provides information on the subjective assessment of the thermal environment in the considered rooms. It allowed to assess whether the guidelines given in the standard are consistent with the real feeling of comfort of the respondents. Research in the performed scope has shown that the feelings of the respondents and the standard guidelines diverge. It was noticed that that the subjects definitely felt better in the rooms where the temperature was around 22.5°C. The subjects felt worse at the temperature of 25.3°C and the worst of 27.6°C.
Renewable energy is becoming widely used all over the world nowadays. More single-family houses use such sources to generate heat and electricity. The article presents a case study of a house located in central Poland, in which a photovoltaic system was used, additionally with other renewable sources, such as a small wind turbine, biomass boiler and solar panels. The article describes the advantages of using renewable energy sources in the building sector considered and presents the results of experimental studies of electricity generation in a given period of time with their analysis. It turned out that the production of electricity using photovoltaic panels in autumn can support high electricity demand at this time.