Indoor Environmental Quality

Frumkin, H. (Ed), Geller, R. J. (Ed), Rubin, L. (Ed) & Nodvin, J. (Ed). Safe and Healthy School Environments. (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2006). This book covers the environment of the school and concentrates on health and safety from multiple perspectives. It provides information on the physical environment of the school, and then makes an emphasis on multiple topics that are critical for health. Among these are indoor air quality, toxic hazards, nutrition and physical activity, violence and disasters, transportation to and from school, school management and school health services. The book is based on the idea that schools are spaces where there is an opportunity to promote children’s’ health, as they can prevent disease and promote wellbeing. 56

Publication type: Book Study type: Literature review

Altomonte, S., Allen, J., Bluyssen, P. M., Brager, G., Heschong, L., Loder, A., Schiavon, S., Veitch, J. A., Wang, L., & Wargocki, P. (2020). Ten questions concerning well-being in the built environment. Building and Environment, 180, 106949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. buildenv.2020.106949 This document crates an argument for different directions of research and a new model regarding well-being and health in the built environment. To do this, experts answer ten questions arguing for a change in the focus of studies regarding well-being in the built environment. For them, wellbeing needs to shift from a negative (no harm) perspective to a positive (delight) approach. To achieve this, they propose simultaneous considerations of positive outcomes regarding environmental performance, human preference, and experience. They say that new considerations should include having an integrated analysis approach that accounts for the individual occupant and for transient conditions over time. They advocate for the creation of opportunities for well-being. They say this might demand a “reconstruction of the field from its fundamentals”, and a paradigm shift from the way the field has developed so far in scholarly articles and in the general press. However, despite this surge in attention, there are still many questions on how to effectively design, measure, and nurture well-being in the built environment. Bringing together experts from academia and the building industry, this paper aims to demonstrate that the promotion of well-being requires a departure from conventional agendas. The ten questions and answers have been arranged to offer a range of perspectives on the principles and strategies that can better sustain the consideration of well-being in the design and operation of the built environment. Placing a specific focus on some of the key physical factors (e.g., light, temperature, sound, and air quality.57

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Literature review

Brink, H. W., Loomans, M. G. L. C., Mobach, M. P., & Kort, H. S. M. (2021). Classrooms’ indoor environmental conditions affecting the academic achievement of students and teachers in higher education: A systematic literature review. Indoor Air, 31(2), 405–425. https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12745 This paper is a literature review of the impact of IEQ on higher education, which it uses the same framework and methodology to organize the studies as (Mendell, 2005). They identify relevant information by searching on multiple databases and select 21 publications that show positive or negative effects of IEQ. Their evidence suggests that IEQ can contribute positively to the quality of learning and short-term academic performance of students. They state that the influence of IEQ parameters on the quality of teaching, and the long-term academic performance could not be determined. Students’ performance is task dependent and varies depending on the IEQ conditions. Their findings suggest that classrooms that provide multiple IEQ conditions may facilitate different types of learning. 58

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Literature review Number of studies: 21 studies

Dorizas, P. V., Assimakopoulos, M. N., & Santamouris, M. (2015). A holistic approach for the assessment of the indoor environmental quality, student productivity, and energy consumption in primary schools. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 187(5), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4503-9 This paper presents a field study that investigates students’ performance, perceptions on IEQ, and energy consumption in primary schools. The study includes physical measurements and questionnaires to assess thermal comfort, ventilation rates, relative humidity, air pollutants, acoustics, sick building syndrome and lighting. The study included 9 naturally ventilated primary schools, where field measurements were registered during 32 days between April and May. A total of 193 11-year-old students participated in the survey, and 665 questionnaires were collected. Math and code tests were administered to students to investigate student performance. Finally, yearly data on energy consumption for electricity and oil for heating was collected for 8 of the 9 schools. A cluster analysis was carried out to determine the ranges of IEQ parameters at which the students were satisfied with the indoor environment. The study found that most students were satisfied with IEQ. Also, increased levels of particulate matter didn’t affect perceptions of IAQ, but temperature and humidity variations did seem to affect IAQ perceptions. Students were found to prefer a cooler environment. Pm and CO2 concentrations were correlated with respiratory health effects, and girls seemed to be more sensitive than boys. CO2 negatively affected test scores. Students were satisfied with light and acoustic levels. Finally, the study found that energy consumption was positively correlated levels of indoor pollutants.

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Publication type: Journal article Study type: Field study Sample: 9 primary schools, 193 students Duration: 32 days of measurements, repeated tests, and questionnaires Age or developmental stage: 11-year-olds

Fisher, K. (2001). Schooling Issues Digest Building Better Outcomes: The Impact of School Infrastructure on Student Outcomes and Behaviour. Australian Dept. of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Canberra. http://www.detya.gov.au/ schools/publications/2001/index.htm. This report covers a series of papers dealing with the impact of the school environment on student learning. It touches on building age, building condition, school size, color, thermal conditions, air quality, furniture, lighting, and acoustics. The review also presents an interesting matrix of socio-spatial factors in school design covering formal and informal learning spaces, as well as indoor and outdoor spaces. The review concludes that by 2001most of what was known about the relationship of school infrastructure and learning was theoretical, rather than proven relationships. Only very specific issues like lighting, acoustics, air quality and temperature had more conclusive research. Therefore, the review concludes that there is a need to develop more empirical research on this topic. 60

Publication type: Report Study type: Literature review

Gilavand, A., Espidkar, F., & Gilavand, M. (2016). Investigating the Impact of Environmental Factors on Learning and Academic Achievement of Elementary Students: Review. International Journal of Pediatrics, 4(4), 1663–1670. https://doi.org/10.22038/ ijp.2016.6672 This paper presents a literature review that examines the impact of schools’ open space, noise, lighting, and paint in schools on learning and academic achievement of elementary students. The authors found 252 articles on carefully chosen databases, since the year 2000. They selected 39 of those, based on medical education experts’ advice. Two investigators analyzed the data independently. Their results show that noise has a negative effect on learning, while color, light, and open space have a positive effect. They conclude that environmental factors are important for the design of schools.61

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Literature review Sample: 39 papers

Hviid, C. A., Pedersen, C., & Dabelsteen, K. H. (2020). A field study of the individual and combined effect of ventilation rate and lighting conditions on pupils’ performance. Building and Environment, 171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.106608 In this study they investigated the combined effects of dynamic lighting and ventilation rates on children concentration, math skills, processing speed and logical reasoning. The study looked at combined exposures of low ventilation rates (3.9 l/s per person) and high ventilation rates (10.6 l/s per person) with warm light CCT of 2900 K and 450 lux or dynamic cool light CCT 4900 K and 750 lux. A total of 92 students 10 to 12 years old participated in the study over four weeks and answered different questionnaires and performance tests. Among the tests were the d2 concentration test, the Baddeley test for logical reasoning, and math assessments including multiplication and subtraction. They found significant improvements (p < 0.01) in concentration,

processing speed, and math skills in the scenario with high ventilation rates and dynamic cool lighting. The logical reasoning tests didn’t show significant changes. The study showed that pupils were satisfied with the classrooms, but the environmental changes didn’t affect these perceptions. 62

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Quasi-experimental study Sample: 92 students, four classrooms Duration: 4 weeks Age or developmental stage: 10 to 12 years old

Issa, M. H., Rankin, J. H., Attalla, M., & Christian, A. J. (2011). Absenteeism, performance and occupant satisfaction with the indoor environment of green Toronto schools. Indoor and Built Environment, 20(5), 511–523. https://doi.org/10.1177/1420326X11409114 This study compared the absenteeism, performance an occupant satisfaction in energy retrofitted schools, green schools, and conventional schools in Toronto. The authors used data from a sample of 10 conventional, 20 energy-retrofitted and three green schools. For the first part of the study, they collected student, teacher, and staff absenteeism data, as well as Grade 3 and 6 student performance data on reading, writing and arithmetic tests administered by Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office. On the second phase of data collection, they conducted an IEQ satisfaction survey with 150 teachers. Their analysis showed that “teachers in green schools were in general more satisfied with their classrooms and personal workspaces’ lighting, thermal comfort, indoor air quality, heating, ventilation and air conditioning than teachers in the other schools. Nevertheless, they were less satisfied with acoustics.” They also found that student, teacher, and staff absenteeism improved by 2–7.5% in green schools, and student performance improved by 8–19% when compared with conventional schools.

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Publication type: Journal article Study type: Field study Sample: 10 conventional, 20 energy-retrofitted and 3 green schools. 150 teachers. Duration: Single point in time, secondary data on absenteeism and performance from a single year Age or developmental stage: Grades 3 and 6

Marchand, G. C., Nardi, N. M., Reynolds, D., & Pamoukov, S. (2014). The impact of the classroom-built environment on student perceptions and learning. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 40, 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2014.06.009 This study assessed the effects of the classroom indoor environmental factors of light, sound and temperature on students’ learning, mood, and perceptions of performance during listening and reading tasks. The study was performed in a laboratory where the students were exposed to optimal or suboptimal environmental conditions and had to develop a listening or a reading task. A total of 158 undergraduates participated in the study. They used the PANAS (Positive Negative Affect Scale) brief measure, a comprehension assessment, and a built environment experience survey as

measures for the experiment. They found that the sub-optimal environment was more detrimental to students performing listening tasks than reading tasks, even though the effect was small. They found partial support to the hypothesis that the built environment had an effect on participant affect, as they found no effects on positive mood from the environmental conditions or learning modality. Nonetheless, students outside the comfort zone reported more negative affect. They end by stating that it is possible that suboptimal built environment conditions may impact learning indirectly by affecting student mood or motivation.64

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Experimental study Sample: 158 students Duration: Single point in time Age or developmental stage: Undergraduate students

Ricciardi, P., & Buratti, C. (2018). Environmental quality of university classrooms: Subjective and objective evaluation of the thermal, acoustic, and lighting comfort conditions. Building and Environment, 127, 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.10.030 In this paper, the authors study thermal, acoustic, and lighting comfort conditions of 7 university classrooms. They carried out physical measurements and developed specific questionnaires to assess students’ comfort perceptions. The authors then used the qualitative data to compare to the questionnaire. They found no significant differences between the classrooms regarding thermal comfort. The analysis of the lighting questionnaire showed that the average measured illuminance value had a high correlation with the perceived visual comfort. Similarly, glare had a strong relationship to the classroom excessive light contrasts and a good correlation with the measured illuminance values. Among the acoustic and lighting questionnaires, the authors chose the ten questions with the best correlation with the experimental results and proposed ten indexes to describe the comfort conditions. 65

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Field study Sample: 7 classrooms, 928 questionnaires Duration: spring and fall Age or developmental stage: Undergraduate students

Turunen, M., Toyinbo, O., Putus, T., Nevalainen, A., Shaughnessy, R., & Haverinen-Shaughnessy, U. (2013). Indoor environmental quality in school buildings, and the health and wellbeing of students. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 217(7), 733–739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2014.03.002 This study is aimed at understanding indoor Environmental Quality in Finnish schools. Authors used health questionaries to understand how IEQ impacted the health of 6th grade students. A sample off 297 elementary schools participated in the study, and a total of 4248 questionnaires were used for the analysis. A sample of 56 schools was used to measure the actual

indoor environmental conditions. They found that the most common weekly symptoms were fatigue, stuffy nose, and headache. Also, the most frequently IEQ factors listed as causing daily problems where noise, and poorer air quality, perceptions of high temperature, and dust or dirtiness. The results show that classrooms might have low ventilation rates and high indoor temperatures according to student perceptions. 66stuffy nose (7.3%

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Field study Sample: 4248 questionnaires, 56 schools Duration: Cross-sectional Age or developmental stage: 6th grade

Wang, C., Zhang, F., Wang, J., Doyle, J. K., Hancock, P. A., Mak, C. M., & Liu, S. (2021). How indoor environmental quality affects occupants’ cognitive functions: A systematic review. Building and Environment, 193(September 2020), 107647. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107647 This review analyses five different categories of Indoor Environmental Quality including IAQ, thermal environment, noise, lighting, non-visual lighting visual factors, lighting and related them with different aspects from cognition drawn from the literature. These aspects include attention, perception, memory, language function, higher order cognitive skills, and social cognition. The review points to the fact that the associations between indoor Environmental Quality factors and the five main categories of cognitive functioning have a large set of inconsistencies, uncertainties, and possible explanations. Issues related to age, gender, skill level, emotion, and personal attitudes in past events, could act as mediators, moderators, or confounders. The relationship between IEQ and cognition the existing literature does not have enough granular evidence to present a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanism. Also, different cognitive tests have been developed in isolated research communities so there is no consensus of a single mechanism for measuring cognition. The complexity of the relationship between IEQ, cognition, and causality needs multidisciplinary endeavors to developing protocol that permits the synthesis of the findings in this area.67

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Literature review Study type: Literature review Sample: 66 studies selected

Young, B. N., Benka-Coker, W. O., Weller, Z. D., Oliver, S., Schaeffer, J. W., & Magzamen, S. (2021). How does absenteeism impact the link between school’s indoor environmental quality and student performance? Building and Environment, 108053. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108053 Young et al. studied how absenteeism acted as a mediator between IEQ and test scores in math and reading in the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program – TCAP, using the ORC (operations report card) of the school as an indicator of IEQ. The study used over 18000 test scores from grades 3rd to 9th , in 47 schools in Colorado since 2016. The ORC was measured for 5 building conditions. Absenteeism was found to not be a mediator, but an important

variable for test performance. Absenteeism had no effect in the association between exposures and test performance. Also, there was no association between IAQ and test performance. On the other hand, other variables such as socioeconomic status, free lunch program, and race/ ethnicity were key influencers of test performance. The study works with a large dataset, but the absenteeism measure they use can’t be directly related to health, as this measure wasn’t available for their study. 68

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Secondary analysis Sample: Over 18000 test scores in 47 schools Age or developmental stage: Grades 3rd to 9th

Catalina, T., & Iordache, V. (2012). IEQ assessment on schools in the design stage. Building and Environment, 49(1), 129–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.09.014 Catalina and Iordache address how schools are affected by IEQ and by making an IEQ index model to help builders and engineers as they are designing buildings. There was also a focus on building’s energy consumption compared to indoor environmental conditions. The methods involved in this research and case study were using a regression models approach to understand the dependent variable and its relation to multiple independent variables. This would then measure visual comfort, acoustic comfort, indoor air quality, climate, glazing surface, and distribution, building shape, average building insulation value, fresh air, wall/window sound, and outdoor noise level. The IEQ was measured with a rating based on parameters. The case study focused on a single school that involved prediction models analysis and IEQ assessment to understand how the indoor environmental quality in schools could be affected by design. The study concluded that the models proposed in the text can be viewed as accurate for rehabilitation or building design to understand energy consumption and IEQ. 69

Publication type: Journal article Study type: Research Paper and Case Study Sample: 1 Building Duration: Longitudinal Age or developmental stage: School Age

De Giuli, V., Da Pos, O., & De Carli, M. (2012). Indoor environmental quality and pupil perception in Italian primary schools. Building and Environment, 56, 335–345. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.03.024 De Giuli, Da Pos, and De Carli address how students perceive their environment at school, specifically how the indoor environmental quality is perceived and affects students. The methods involved in this study are seven primary schools close to Venice, Italy. The measurements involved spot measurements that were taken in 28 classrooms that were not airconditioned, during the springtime. 614 students participated in the study, ages 9 to 11, and they were given a questionnaire that measured their perception of their indoor environmental conditions. There were nonparametric statistical tests given to understand the possible effect of gender. Physical measurements were also measured as well as discomfort measurements. The study found