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Perception of Air Quality and the Thermal Environment in Offices

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Akereva 6, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, vincenc.butala{at}fs.uni-lj.si

Simon Muhi

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Akereva 6, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

People's perception of the thermal environment and the quality of air in mechanically and naturally ventilated office environments is discussed. Interdisciplinary research of the indoor environment (technical and medical fields) was based on the simultaneous measurement of the thermal environment parameters, as well on as on surveying employees during their normal working activities. The survey sought to determine the health status and health problems of those surveyed in the 6 months prior to the study, as well as the current state of health and current subjective evaluation of the thermal environment and air quality. Deviations between the measured values evaluated by predicted mean vote (PMV) — predicted percent of dissatisfied (PPD) model (PMV—PDD) and the subjective evaluations of thermal environment of those surveyed were found. The subjectively stated reasons for the health problems of employees gave precedence to natural, as opposed to mechanical, ventilation, which is confirmed by the average absence from work for health reasons. An index of health was defined and analyzed for the people within a building. Significant correlations between indoor air parameters and the way people felt were found. Findings from the study indicate a significant role for the psychological factors and psychological state of the respondents when subjectively describing the indoor environment.

Key Words: Thermal environment • Perceived air quality • Health index • Symptom prevalence • Well-being • Air conditioning • Natural ventilation

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Indoor and Built Environment, Vol. 16, No. 4, 302-310 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1420326X06079886


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (2) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Butala, V. Articles by Muhic, S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?