A significant studies of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and performance have been conducted by the T.H. Chan School for Public Health at Harvard.
These studies focus on the office environment and the research showed when air quality was improved participants taking a standardized test measuring 9 categories of cognition improved 60-200% in the optimum air environment and a productivity improved 20%.
The indoor built environment plays a critical role in our overall well-being because of both the amount of time we spend indoors (~90%) and the ability of buildings to positively or negatively influence our health. The advent of sustainable design or green building strategies has reinvigorated questions regarding the specific factors in buildings that lead to optimized conditions for health and productivity.
The study concluded that cognitive function scores were significantly better under Green+ building conditions than in the Conventional building conditions for all nine functional domains. These findings have wide-ranging implications because this study was designed to reflect conditions that are commonly encountered every day in many indoor environments.
Blue = Average Office Air
Light Green = Green or LEED buildings
Dark Green = Optimum Air Quality
The solution seems simple enough – double the fresh air into the indoor space.
The effect on the spread of virus is also the subject of current investigations.
The same solution, double the fresh air into the indoor space, is the order of the day.
For the environmental impact to be minimised, Energy Recovery Ventilation is an imperative addition to the HVAC. This is already well researched and readily available from renown suppliers such as Armcor Air Solutions.
