BUILDING DESIGN AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN RESIDENTIAL HOUSEHOLDS
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Date
2015
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PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY. HYDERABAD
Abstract
The study was planned with an aim to explore building location characteristics, design aspects, material and maintenance practices that affect the Indoor air quality of the residential buildings. Sample for research was drawn from five highly polluted zones of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
The houses near to heavy traffic roads were found with inadequate ventilation due to closing of windows to prevent the entry of outdoor polluted air. This resulted in high concentration of CO2 in indoors. The release of VOCs in indoor was mainly when the residents were using cleaning reagents and personal care products. Relatively more amount of VOCs were released in indoors where residents were using cosmetics, like body lotion, nail polish, perfumes, deodorants, lipsticks and so on. Majority of the houses were found to have level of Relative Humidity, Dew point and Temperature more than the acceptable levels in indoor air
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The building location characteristics selected for the study were found to be affecting the IAQ of residential buildings. CO2 was found to be influenced by geographical location of building site and site orientation.VOC was found to be influenced by only side of the building facing the main road. None of the building location characteristics were found influencing the level of PM10 in indoor air of residential buildings.PM4 was found to be influenced by geographical location of building site and side of the building facing the main road.PM2.5 was found to be influenced by site orientation, height of the building with reference to main traffic road, side of the building facing the main road. Relative Humidity was found to be influenced by geographical location of building site, site orientation, and side of the building facing the main road. Temperature was found to be influenced by geographical location of building site, and side of the building facing the main road. Dew point was found to be influenced by site orientation and side of the building facing the main road. Side of the building facing the main road was found to be a major factor that influence the IAQ. As the area of the plot increased, the concentration of CO2 in indoor air decreased. Significant variation according to the plinth area with regard to indoor air quality was found in the level of CO2, PM2.5, Relative Humidity and dew point. Level of Relative Humidity and Dew point decreased with increased plinth area. Open area in the form of windows, doors and ventilators had impact only on the level of indoor air temperature .The concentration of CO2 in indoors increased with an increase in the open area on the outer wall of the building. Height of the building had no impact on indoor air quality. Residential buildings with medium ceiling height were found to have high indoor temperature. Relative Humidity and Dew point in the indoor air decreased with an increase in the number of rooms. Concentration of VOC, PM2.5, Relative Humidity, and Dew point were high in the houses used cement brick, cement mortar and cement plaster for wall construction.
Indoor temperature was relatively high in the houses that used traditional brick, lime mortar and cement plaster for wall construction. Walls finished with luppum finish and paint were found to be contributing for relatively high level of CO2, and VOC in indoor air. Walls finished with white wash and distemper contributed for relatively high level of PM4 and walls finished with luppum and paint contributed for high indoor temperature.
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The houses used granite as flooring material were found to be with relatively high level of PM2.5 in indoor air. The type of ceiling had not shown any impact on indoor air pollution. Household maintenance practices like extent of presence of dust in the house, frequency of household cleaning, feeling of congestedess, extent of use of cleaning reagents for household maintenance were found to be significantly contributing to accumulation of pollutants like CO2, PM10, PM4, PM2.5,Relative Humidity ,Temperature and Dew point No significant variation was found in the level of CO2, VOC, PM10,PM4,PM2.5, Relative humidity, temperature and dew point in indoor air of the residential households with reference to the extent of use of electrical gadgets. Highly Significant difference was found between houses with high and low extent of use personal care products on level of PM2.5, whereas significant difference was found between houses with high and medium extent of use personal care products on level of PM2.5 in indoor air. Use of personal care products by the residents was found to have an impact on the level of PM4, and PM2.5 in indoor air. The contribution of cleaning practices for the presence of CO2 in residential buildings was relatively more.The contribution of height of the building towards the presence of VOCs in residential buildings was relatively high.With reference to the presence of PM10 in indoor air, there was no difference in the extent of influence exerted by selected variables. The contribution of side of the building towards the presence of PM4 in indoor of residential buildings was more followed by wall material. Floor area ratio,followed by dust accumulation features contributed towards the presence of variations in the level of PM4 in residential buildings. Highest contribution towards the presence of Relative Humidity in indoor air was from personal care products. Highest contribution towards the presence of Temperature in indoor air was from geographical location. Major contribution towards the presence of Dew point in indoor air was from floor material. The results of the study can act as guidelines for developing residential buildings with good Indoor Air Quality and promote health and comfort in living..